I asked him if he had another reason for voting for McCain and he said that McCain would trim back unneeded government programs. I knew exactly where he was going with this so I left just enough rope to hang himself with. I asked him which programs should go. He said, "Welfare should be the first to go!" His implication could not have been more evident. I told him that he probably doesn't even realize that there are more whites on welfare than black. His face began to turn red. Not from embarrassment, more like rage. I said that I wasn't sure on the numbers exactly since they change so readily but I said that whites make up somewhere around 80% of our population and blacks only 12 percent. I told him that just by that statistic alone he should question his take on welfare. He said "welfare is a black problem." I asked him where he gets this from and he said, "I read it somewhere." I said, `you really are Joe the Plumber. It is somewhere around 70% white on welfare to 30% black but that did not include Hispanic and other races in the factoring but it was very close.' He bristled and said, "You got to be voting for Obama. You're making up statistics just like he does." To which I replied, 'Oh, Joe. There ya go again with your assumptioins based on squat. I'm not making them up.' I went on to clarify that I was relying on older statistics and he said, "Well I know you're wrong" and he said I should find out what the real numbers are and get back with him. I said, 'Okay. I will, Joe.' As he angrily walked away he said, "I'd rather be Joe the plumber than a black on welfare."
I said nothing. Sometimes it's best to let their own last words be the thing that echoes deep in their vacuous heads.
~~~
An article from Time...
So we white folks have a choice. We can keep pretending that welfare is a black program and a scheme for transferring our earnings to the pockets of shiftless, dark-skinned people. Or we can clear our throats, blush prettily and admit that we are hurting too -- for cash assistance when we're down and out, for health insurance, for college aid and all the rest.
It would be well worth your time to read the full Time article and spread it around (call it "welfare of truth").
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Who gets welfare? Despite prevailing stereotype, whites, not blacks, collect greatest share of public aid dollars
Despite prevailing stereotype, Whites, not Blacks, collect greatest share of public aid dollarsSAY the word "welfare" and immediately the image of the lazy Black wellare queen who breeds for profit surfaces in the minds of those who have come to believe the hideous stereotype. It is a myth that persists despite government figures and authoritative studies showing that Whites overwhelmingly reap the lion's share of the dole.
The image of the Black "welfare cheat," public aid advocates say, is based on misconceptions about poor minorities. The notion, they say, comes from society's resentment of seemingly ablebodied people getting paid for doing nothing.
"For some people, there is a need to believe that there are professional welfare recipients who are deliberately trying to get not only what they need to survive, but more," says Anne D. Hill, director of programs for the National Urban League. "People say to themselves: 'I work. How come this person who appears to be healthy isn't working?' We tend to equate our condition with others without fully knowing their circumstances."
(Read the full BNET article)
