Kozol Article

The Kozol article was a real eye opener. It showed the other side of the situation when it comes to poverty and what comes along with it. When we think (myself included) of poor people or homeless people it is a sudden thought of almost disgust or sometimes even fear. They are looked down upon and assumed that it is there fault for why they are like this. Our minds automatically go to drugs and alcohol and even diseases. I think this article brought up some great facts and I think it sunk in more because it was from first hand accounts. These are the people who are living in these impoverished areas and are telling their own experiences and the experiences of family and friends.
            The divide between the classes are really eye opening, especially with this account. It opens with the idea that you can get on a train in New York and start off in one of the richest neighborhoods with the wealthiest people in the country and in nine stops end up in one of the poorest sections of the country. It is startling how close in proximity these places are. As the article went on it talked about one place in New York that had a staggering rate of people with HIV and AIDS. They also had a high rate of depression among children and children who had a great deal of fear and anxiety. At first glance we automatically expect this. Judgment comes right away. But what they go on to explain is that much of this is not their fault. HIV and AIDS are passed down from parent to child. So that when the children are born they already are infected with the disease. They are born without a fighting chance. How can one be judgmental of a child for having AIDS which could not be prevented.
            It is also sad how the only thing the state can do in the winter months is hand out sleeping bags. These people do not have heat and have small children who in cold winter months may not make it through the night. I also think that the opinions between upper class and the poor are appalling. The quote from the professor at NYU was interesting. She said, "If poor people behaved rationally they would seldom be poor for long in the first place" (p21). This is really unsettling. Looking back at all the accounts throughout this article it just seems so naive. To say that the little boy who has no money and yet shares his only piece of pizza with a homeless man because God says to share is irrational behavior? Or the woman who was previously a cocaine addict who now helps addicted women and their children? I feel like people are constantly getting the wrong message from these people. Being homeless or poor is not everyone's fault. There are circumstances that lead to this. This article was very telling when it came to discussing how different classes view other classes and specifically lower classes.