Actually, what I said was the following:

“…many of us have made the plight of the Black poor the sum-all of the Black American experience,

I guess what I’m saying is that you assume a little too much absolutism; but there is some smoke to your fire.

Next time, take more time reading the post instead of jumping to conclusions. Just this one time, let me re-post everything I said in this post for you. Notice that most of it were QUESTIONS. I intentionally did not draw any conclusions with this post.

I raise this question only because since many of us have made the plight of the Black poor the sum-all of the Black American experience, just how many of us who write day in/day out basis to our own blogs about issues such as poverty actually know what it is like to live in that situation? Was the Katrina experience nothing more than a flash in the pan solidarity movement by Black folks online who would normally not associate with this segment of our society? Does one have to have experienced poverty in order to articulate the issue? And if so, why do we expect our politicians to have such experience?

Next sentence…

Very hard questions indeed.

I could add some commentary to this, but I think I much rather wait to see what kind of comments this post yields before adding my two cents. I may even create a whole separate post altogether depending on how the rest of my goes.

Read, my brutha, READ!

Now I understand that I’m commenting to this months after the fact and you may not even see it; but anyway I’m in that second highest household income bracket now; but I have been poor. So where one is now doesn’t tell the story of where one has been.

I have to reject this notion that you intimate that on the whole that Black folks who are well off don’t “associate with the poor”. While I think the poverty issue isn’t paramount to middle class Black America, and there are certainly some who make it a point not to be involved with the poor; so many of us are related to poor folks, go to church in poor neighborhoods; have longtime friends that haven’t made it yet, ect; that it’s hardly reality just to assume that because a Black person is not poor that they don’t associate with the poor.

This may be much more true for whites, but being that so many of us are only one or two generations from having been poor; and one or two paychecks away from being their again, it’s not so much the case.

I guess what I’m saying is that you assume a little too much absolutism; but there is some smoke to your fire.

I think something else.

I think that it is fair to say that much of the Black blogosphere has been somewhat negative towards mega churches and crooked preachers yet a good percentage of our demographic are their biggest supporters. You would not know that reading most Black blogs. ‘Class’ may play a role in this, but then again it may be something else.

I know I do.

I share that story to say this. I lived one part of Katrina, not all. I have my story that is much brighter than other’s. I did not lose everthing like many others I know, but Katrina effected my life forever, as I believe it has effected people that had know connection to the region prior to Katrina. Frankly, I wonder about anyone who was not moved by Katrina and her devastation. So I was happy that black people rally around katrina victims including those who voice their opinions on the internet. I do, however, wish we could unify more and make some progress, less talk and more action. I think blogging is important and dialogue is beneficial, but I would encourage those on the internet, including myself, to take action.

The same can be said about proverty. I do not consider myself rich or poor (I don’t have a computer in my home now, but have access). But I know what it’s like to struggle. My mom made less than 30,000 For me it comes in waves. I’ve been without a house/apartment, but I’ve never been homeless, thanks to a tight-knit family. I’m going on another tangent so I’ll get to my point. Those that have never been poor can effectively speak on the subject, when they are genuine. Still, there is a difference between sympathy and empathy. Those people can never fully understand poverty, just as white abolitionish could never understand being black, and I can never understand losing everything in Katrina. But if we don’t say anything then who will? In this case something is better than nothing. Some politicians have felt it necessary to experience poverty. I think it is the major of Newark who lives in a project building w/o hot water. My only question with that is why doesn’t he get some hot water in there? Complicated I know.

Thanks for the site. I just found it today. You are living up to the name

i dont think that it is fair to say that a person who hasnt experienced poverty cant advocate for those who do. i do think that not knowing what it is like can hinder your effectiveness to a certain extent. there might be a certain passion or urgency that is lost if you dont fully understand the gravity of the issue and know firsthand the effects that it can have.

alternatively, its not feasible to expect all activists to have a firsthand knowledge of everything they advocate, sometimes an empathetic heart/spirit can make you an effective advocate.

what does strike me as interesting is that, as you stated, some in the blackosphere have made the plight of the poor Blacks the sum of the Black American experience. i would then ask, what of the deeper issues that cause this poverty…the social, psychological, systemic issues that have contributed towards this poverty. better yet…the hard thing about being a black blogger who writes on poverty issues, is that in writing a blog about it, and getting a dialogue going, you are to a certain extent excluding those who you seek to help. clearly i think if you are to help ANY group, and you cant identify with them, you have to be in contact with them to find out whats really good - keep your ear to the streets, so that you know what the people are after.

yes i do think we can hold politicians up to the task, because the reason why they are in office in the first place is to represent the people. the problem with that has now become the fact that we are a less engaged and less informed citizenship here in the US and have allowed politicians to run amuck without holding them accountable in a fair and just manor. everything is so skewed and biased these days that some of us expect a politician to be corrupt as if the two are synonymous - though these days it is proving more and more to be the case. yet what we ought to do is to have those who are more informed, inform those who arent (however that might be) and get together and take a greater stake in this country.

lastly…and my apologies for all this writing, lol..Katrina was a beacon call for all Black folks to unite…and bemoan how this country does nothing for us. it was a reminder that here in the US black = expendable. and for a moment we were all united in the horror and the hurt, but i think like all things that are sensational, eventually the sensation dies down and leaves those who are dealing with the issues in real life without an ear to listen or a voice with which to speak. the blackosphere, great as it is for the sharing of information and ideas…i dont think a blog can move people to act on a large enough scale to get some real changes going. i dont think that we should stop writing and sharing ideas, but i think that for me - looking at how the blackosphere seems to operate…its like an issue will pop up and for a second it will be a hot topic (the Jena 6 for example), but outside of the blackosphere it will remain dormant and most folks wont even know about whats going on, or better yet wont feel compelled enough to act.

Bless