Taking the 'P'?
22/11/06 10:10 |
Personal
I
don't know about you, but I am getting increasingly
uncomfortable when I hear the word 'poverty' used to
describe some people's living conditions in the UK.
Technically,
I guess it is correct; it is defined in my dictionary
as "the state of being extremely poor" although what
officially counts as extremely poor I do not know.
However, my definition of 'poverty' is somewhat different. It is what we are shown in the likes of programmes like Comic Relief or concerts like Band Aid. It is where people do not have the means to even have water to drink let alone begin to drag themselves out of the mire and into a better life.
The sight of a person scavenging in a dry barren wasteland looking to find a few grains of rice is far more descriptive of 'poverty' than that of a 'poor' person in the UK who can still afford to waste what little money they may have by smoking it at £5 for 20.
The word 'poverty' in the UK often seems to be used as an excuse to cover the effects of not living by the meaning of another 'P' word....Priority!!
It is insulting to those who are truly poor to think otherwise!!
However, my definition of 'poverty' is somewhat different. It is what we are shown in the likes of programmes like Comic Relief or concerts like Band Aid. It is where people do not have the means to even have water to drink let alone begin to drag themselves out of the mire and into a better life.
The sight of a person scavenging in a dry barren wasteland looking to find a few grains of rice is far more descriptive of 'poverty' than that of a 'poor' person in the UK who can still afford to waste what little money they may have by smoking it at £5 for 20.
The word 'poverty' in the UK often seems to be used as an excuse to cover the effects of not living by the meaning of another 'P' word....Priority!!
It is insulting to those who are truly poor to think otherwise!!
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