[Netta F.]

Why is it that when black people are on welfare, they are claimed to be milking the system, but when white people are on welfare, they just need some 'assistance'?

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Name : Netta F., Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : cosmetologist, 

[Augustine23579]

Just as there are blacks who truly need the assistance, there are whites who are adept at 'milking the system.' In many poor white parts of the United States, such as southern Appalachia (where I grew up), you have the phenomenon of 'symptom hunters' who find any medical pretext for benefits. These are not the truly disabled; these are people among whom the ability to 'draw' is prized. I have an 'invisible disability', which I won't elaborate on here, and I don't always feel like getting up and going to work in the morning, but I do. I don't like supporting welfare cheats, whatever their color. The only thing I ask is that their children not be made to suffer because of their parents' laziness.

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Name : Augustine23579, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Invisible partial disability, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 40, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jesse-N30788]

Says who? I don't think blacks on welfare are regarded any differently than whites or others. In my experience, anyone who remains on welfare for an extended period is likely to be regarded as a useless parasite, regardless of racial issues.

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Name : Jesse-N30788, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 41, City : Herzliya, State : NA Country : Israel, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Senetra]

It's just like the Willie Horton issue with Michael Dukakis. If you put a (brown) face to it, you have someone to blame. It's easier to demonize 24-year-old LaShaQuanda, who can't hold a job and has six kids by six men, than it is to demonize Allison, who lost her only source of income, be it job or husband, she has two kids and is in her 30s. Most people would assume LaShaQuanda is the typical welfare mom, when statistics show that Allison is. The biggest problem with welfare, no matter the background, is that the average person receives it for less than three years, but the public perception is that of the generational recipient: Mom raises her kids on it, daughters raise their kids on it, the grandkids grow to raise their kids on it. And many times, AFDC is the only way parents have of making sure their kids have insurance, because if they are working (and many do), they can only work at a low- to no-benefit job and keep their AFDC.

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Name : Senetra, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 26, City : Anderson, State : IN Country : United States, Occupation : Looking for work, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[ED25436]

To Jesse N.: It's true, people who milk the welfare system are disgusting, whatever their skin color. However, in the American media, whenever the word 'welfare' is mentioned, pictures or video of black folks are disproportionately seen, giving the impression that they're the primary beneficiaries of welfare.

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Name : ED25436, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : K.C., State : MO Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[Murray C.]

Putting aside all the stereotypical conceptions, I'll try to provide a more 'politically correct' response. The reason it appears that there are more minorities in the welfare system is possibly due to two factors: 1) The well-known oppression factor, where blacks are simply not given the chance to be allowed to make a living for themselves, and thus, end up on welfare. And 2) Their children, and their children's children, are on welfare because they were 'born' into the system. It's all they've ever known, and therefore, there is no influence or impression for these children to abide by to have a comfortable, well-respected living.

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Name : Murray C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 31, City : Halifax, Nova Scotia, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Draftsman, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[Juno R.]

i've been on foodstamps at periods in my life and had a medical card when one of my girls was born. looking around at the clientele in the waiting room, you can tell who is long-term trash and who is just needing a little help. the slovenly vacant-eyed cigarette-smoking bitch yelling at her tangle-haired snotty nosed sickly litter of kids is usually white. the clean little kids with neatly braided hair and decent clothes are usually with a Black mom who is very conscious of other's eyes on her. This is in rural Oregon. i don't know how it is in the cities, but here, we have plenty of white trash and our Blacks are the ones trying hard to be independent. Maybe it's racial pride that they know they're being judged more harshly by the locals and they want to show them a thing or two.Same with Hispanics. They come here to work hard, and the lazy whites accuse them of taking all the jobs. BUt the white ones whould rather be on welfare than do 'spic work'. It's in the interests of the white elite to keep the white lower class blaming the 'minorities' for the problems. if the minorities and white lower class ever formed an allegiance, well my friends a genuine revolition just might happen. overthrow the plotocracy. Race is how they keep us divided.

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Name : Juno R., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 38, City : Swisshome, State : OR Country : United States, Occupation : mechanic/musician, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower class, 

[High Commander]

I don't think the general perception of welfare recipients is any different based on race. There is no more credibility to the notion that all black welfare recipients are 'milking the system' than there is credibility to the notion that all white welfare recipients are 'slack-jawed yokels.' I think the majority of people who have an opinion would say that anyone who stays on the dole for an extended period is 'milking the system,' regardless of the color of their skin. Perhaps your perception is influenced by a sense of embarrassment toward those blacks who do milk the system. Perhaps you bristle at the perception (however misguided) that anyone might harbor about others of your race. I feel that same sense of embarrassment regarding those 'redneck white trash'-types who have no desire to get a job and stop collecting welfare. The whole mindset may be associated with the fact that we more identify with people who look like we do, and when 'one of our people' does things of which we do not approve, we are more critical of them.

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Name : High Commander, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 37, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

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