Lori Alexander: There isn't poverty in America

[lilwriter85]

Lori "Nitwit" Alexander posted this today.

lorialexander.blogspot.com/2013/04/definition-of-poverty.html

The family has a nice, warm home. They have warm clothes and a comfortable bed to sleep in. They are well fed. Are they in poverty? According to many people, they are and need more money so they can have more things.

Our definition of poverty is crazy. We don't have poverty in America. Even the homeless people can have a place to stay and food whenever they want. The definition of poverty in America is if you don't have three wide screened televisions and can eat out three times a day.

Poverty in America is a poverty of moral values. Poverty in America is families without fathers. Poverty in America is the break down of the family and the "anything goes" mentality. Poverty in America is the unwillingness to work and expecting others to take care of you.

God tells us if we have food and clothing we should be content. I don't see any naked, starving people in America. I see that in Africa but not in America. We are a spoiled country and it is going to be the death of us unless we wake up and start being thankful.

God commands us over and over in the Bible to be thankful because when we stop being thankful, we fall into sin. We need to appreciate all that we have been given and rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS for He promises to provide our needs for us.

When a young woman is looking for a husband, I tell her to look for two things: a man who has deep roots in Jesus {loves the Lord with all of his heart, soul, and mind} and works hard. These are the most important qualities in a husband.

You will not experience poverty then since you have a husband who will work hard and provide even if it means bagging groceries and a God who will provide you with everything you need.

I have to agree with Lori in a way. Yes, poverty in other parts of the world is worse than some of the poverty in U.S. But I thought it was idiotic of her to say this

Even the homeless people can have a place to stay and food whenever they want.

Ugh, Lori not homeless Americans have places to stay or food whenever they want. Some homeless people in smaller cities often sleep out in the streets because there are no homeless shelters near them. Some soup kitchens and food banks/pantries in some areas have limited resources.

ETA: On Lori's "poverty of morals" about homes without fathers and the "break down" of family, what a bitch.

[Cora Persephona]

Fundie death match: Lori vs Abigail!

[GolightlyGrrl]

Lori is a mean-spirited cunt!

[lilwriter85]

Also the last part really irked me

When a young woman is looking for a husband, I tell her to look for two things: a man who has deep roots in Jesus {loves the Lord with all of his heart, soul, and mind} and works hard. These are the most important qualities in a husband.

I'm atheist and my boyfriend is agnostic. It matters me that he is hard worker. I guess by Lori's logic, Jewish men don't meet her criteria in addition to atheists, agnostics, and non-other Christian men. What a cunt, we know Lori's snowflake Alyssa will only bring home "good Christian" boys.

[Jana814]

Also the last part really irked me

I'm atheist and my boyfriend is agnostic. It matters me that he is hard worker. I guess by Lori's logic, Jewish men don't meet her criteria in addition to atheists, agnostics, and non-other Christian men. What a cunt, we know Lori's snowflake Alyssa will only bring home "good Christian" boys.

Agree!! By her logic all they need is to be a good Christian!

[Hane]

Lori is a mean-spirited cunt!

She can't be a cunt--she lacks the warmth and depth.

[GolightlyGrrl]

Also the last part really irked me

I'm atheist and my boyfriend is agnostic. It matters me that he is hard worker. I guess by Lori's logic, Jewish men don't meet her criteria in addition to atheists, agnostics, and non-other Christian men. What a cunt, we know Lori's snowflake Alyssa will only bring home "good Christian" boys.

Not to mention, a man could have a strong faith in Jesus and be a hard worker and lose his job due to countless reasons, which could have his family fall into poverty.

Lori's willful ignorance and lack of compassion truly makes me stabby. She's the least Christ-like Christian ever!

[GolightlyGrrl]

She can't be a cunt--she lacks the warmth and depth.

Bwah! Plus cunts are useful!

Lori is useless.

[RosyDaisy]

Lori is cold-hearted fundie bitch!

[So Says I]

Bwah! Plus cunts are useful!

Lori is useless.

She is definitely not worthy of the title "cunt". I don't think she even deserves to be an asshole, in spite of all the shit that comes out of her.

:angry-banghead:

[louisa05]

How about Lori's family start from scratch living on what someone makes bagging groceries? Seriously. The stupid hurts.

[lilwriter85]

Not to mention, a man could have a strong faith in Jesus and be a hard worker and lose his job due to countless reasons, which could have his family fall into poverty.

Lori's willful ignorance and lack of compassion truly makes me stabby. She's the least Christ-like Christian ever!

Yup that happens. I've seen it happen to friends and relatives. There have been some Christian men who have ended up disabled and can't work. There is a blog that I followed for a long time and then stopped. I started following them again. It's the blog of a couple living near D.C., both are conservative Christians, but I like them. The husband is wheelchair bound and doesn't work. The wife is the breadwinner. The husband was already disabled when the wife met him. I can Lori ripping apart women for marrying a man who can't work.

[desertvixen]

The family has a nice, warm home. They have warm clothes and a comfortable bed to sleep in. They are well fed. Are they in poverty? According to many people, they are and need more money so they can have more things.

Our definition of poverty is crazy. We don't have poverty in America. Even the homeless people can have a place to stay and food whenever they want. The definition of poverty in America is if you don't have three wide screened televisions and can eat out three times a day.

This is just bullshit. Not to mention the fact that for a lot of homeless people (including among them a depressing number of veterans, people with mental illness and/or both), all we provide is a bandaid and no real help.

Poverty in America is a poverty of moral values. Poverty in America is families without fathers. Poverty in America is the break down of the family and the "anything goes" mentality. Poverty in America is the unwillingness to work and expecting others to take care of you.

Re: the bolded - pretty rich from a stay-at-home wife of a guy who makes good money. Not to disrespect SAHMs, because I know it is hard work, but I think our general consensus is that Lori is one of the people who has never known struggle or discomfort, and so has a very skewed version of things.

We are a spoiled country and it is going to be the death of us unless we wake up and start being thankful.

I'm sorry, the sheer hypocrisy of being lectured on being spoiled by a woman who wrote an entire entry complaining about how her adult daughter didn't make her precisely the soup she wanted when she was feeling poorly is making me laugh hysterically.

You will not experience poverty then since you have a husband who will work hard and provide even if it means bagging groceries and a God who will provide you with everything you need.

Oh Lori, it must be nice living in your world, where nothing bad happens to people who do the right things.

[Hane]

I'm sorry, the sheer hypocrisy of being lectured on being spoiled by a woman who wrote an entire entry complaining about how her adult daughter didn't make her precisely the soup she wanted when she was feeling poorly is making me laugh hysterically.

Oh Lori, it must be nice living in your world, where nothing bad happens to people who do the right things.

Tell me again how one can support a family by bagging groceries? One of my favorite cashiers at the local supermarket was terrified of divorcing her emotionally abusive husband because she knew it would be virtually impossible for her to support herself and the kids, one of whom had a chronic health problem, on her Foodmart paycheck.

[kpmom]

Has Lori, as a woman in her 50's, really never known any hard times? No financial difficulties? No health scares? Can she really have gotten this far in life and not developed any compassion at all?

Like someone up thread said, does she really believe everything will be fine as long as you do the right thing? That's such a childish pov.

[jenny_islander]

Most of the poor people I know are working as many hours as they can get, and they still qualify for public assistance. Sometimes they are working two or three jobs! They're just lousy jobs. And they can't find anything else. Or they work for an outfit like Wal-Mart, that keeps them just barely part time and screws around with their work schedule so much that they can't hold down another job.

The other poor people I know are old and/or sick. The whole "clean living would have saved you, so fuck you if you're sick" argument is monstrous anyway--doubly so when you meet the young man I know who is going to die before he turns 30 because his nervous system is slowly disintegrating due to a genetic defect. He looks like a fine upstanding healthy young man, just with something a little off in his expression because the nerves in his face are already going--and the instant you see him try to walk, you know. He can't work. He is too old to be classed as his parents' dependent child, and they can't pay all his medical bills. He must rely on government aid, and even though he has a doctor's note that says he's going to die, he has to prove over and over again that he "deserves" to eat and not be cold. He is poor.

Then there is the third class of poor people. Children.

I have lived all my life in a town where people expect to go on aid every year when work shuts down for the season, and I have never, but never, met a welfare cheat. Plenty of people who have to buy second-hand underwear for their kids, or hope their childhood cavities don't rot all the way down to the adult teeth before the baby teeth fall out, or walk by the fruits and vegetables that are "essential" to a healthy diet because they cost twice as much as the parents can afford. ("Eat the rainbow" is a bad joke if you can't afford most of the colors.)

Lori is a self-satisfied arrogant ass.

[Wolfie]

Has Lori, as a woman in her 50's, really never known any hard times? No financial difficulties? No health scares? Can she really have gotten this far in life and not developed any compassion at all?

She has had some health issues, including a brain tumor, but it doesn't seem to have caused any compassion. I would like to suspect that she has brain damage, but she's got a husband with long ears who seems to encourage her thought processes.

[Trynn]

Also the last part really irked me

I'm atheist and my boyfriend is agnostic. It matters me that he is hard worker. I guess by Lori's logic, Jewish men don't meet her criteria in addition to atheists, agnostics, and non-other Christian men. What a cunt, we know Lori's snowflake Alyssa will only bring home "good Christian" boys.

Of course those are the only boys she'll bring home... she wouldn't dare bring home the rest.

[idonthaveajname]

There is no poverty in America? Sweet! I'll be sure to tell the homeless men living under the bridge when I bring them sandwiches tomorrow. I'm sure they're just out there for fun.

[lilwriter85]

Tell me again how one can support a family by bagging groceries? One of my favorite cashiers at the local supermarket was terrified of divorcing her emotionally abusive husband because she knew it would be virtually impossible for her to support herself and the kids, one of whom had a chronic health problem, on her Foodmart paycheck.

I worked at a grocery store during my first year of college. I worked in floral and then I was a cashier. Several of my co-workers faced money troubles despite having working spouses or working additional jobs. I don't think Lori realizes that working in retail isn't something that can support a family. I think she probably married Ken at time when he already had his business set up. His business has done well and they live quite comfortably for being an expensive state like California.

[GolightlyGrrl]

She has had some health issues, including a brain tumor, but it doesn't seem to have caused any compassion. I would like to suspect that she has brain damage, but she's got a husband with long ears who seems to encourage her thought processes.

Um, don't you need a brain to have a brain tumor?

Yes, you would think having serious health issues would cause Lori to be more compassionate to others who are suffering but that is clearly not the case. This seems to quite common with the fundie set. For instance, Kelly "2 Breasts" Crawford lost her home to a tornado, but that hasn't increased her capacity to feel compassion for her fellow human beings.

Are fundies born with no sensitivity chips or are they removed once they become adults?

[lilwriter85]

I think when it comes to other health problems or people who have trouble with medical debt, Lori has the "I have my health insurance, screw those who don't" type of attitude. I'm a bit surprised that Lori and Ken haven't ended up with some debt. There are caps on insurance and certain co-pays can be costly. Some families making six figure incomes have ended up with medical debt due to severe illnesses or injuries.

Ken's business involves being a business consultant to orthodontists. It is hard to tell how much that business makes, but it seems to do well enough to afford living in California, going on trips to Hawaii and New York. Lori said that one of her sons graduated from a private Christian college. She did hint at them having financial issues when the youngest daughter left Biola University to attend a state college. But overall, I think they are living comfortably.

Another fundie discussed on FJ who seems to not any major debts is Nathan Lawrenson, the husband of a CF patient. He doesn't seem to be living very well like Lori or Ken, but he probably doesn't have worry about not paying bills or having food.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Depends how they became fundie. If they were born fundie, their sensitivity and emotions were beat out of them before they were old enough to learn how to tie their shoes. If they became fundie in life, they probably dont have empathy and religion gives them the excuse to be assholes.

Of course theres poverty in America. There are people who die from easily treatable diseases because they cant afford medication. There are people who have to choose between food and heating in the winter months. There are people who only have 2 chicken breasts to feed their family of 11 (although most of that is Kellys fault, she is proud of this, and refuses to get a job or accept any government help to feed the kids better). There are people who are homeless and homeless shelters cant accomodate and feed them all. There are people who work hours cleaning toilets for minimum wage and barely get by.

[Anxious Girl]

Just because somebody doesn't look poor doesn't mean that they aren't, Lori.

[lilwriter85]

Depends how they became fundie. If they were born fundie, their sensitivity and emotions were beat out of them before they were old enough to learn how to tie their shoes. If they became fundie in life, they probably dont have empathy and religion gives them the excuse to be assholes.

Of course theres poverty in America. There are people who die from easily treatable diseases because they cant afford medication. There are people who have to choose between food and heating in the winter months. There are people who only have 2 chicken breasts to feed their family of 11 (although most of that is Kellys fault, she is proud of this, and refuses to get a job or accept any government help to feed the kids better). There are people who are homeless and homeless shelters cant accomodate and feed them all. There are people who work hours cleaning toilets for minimum wage and barely get by.

Lori has written about her background. Her father was a doctor and her mother was a SAHM. They are conservative Christians and Lori married Ken who came from the same background. Some people would mistake them as mainstream Christian types, but they are more fundie lite types. I wouldn't be surprised if Lori's parents are huge snobby assholes who didn't teach their daughter not everyone in America is living comfortably.