ashleyorelse t1_is5yc1y wrote on October 13, 2022 at 3:22 PM

Reply to comment by FiendishHawk in In Pa. county jails, people with mental illness are routinely met with pepper spray and stun guns by WITFnews

Conservatives think everyone should do everything for themselves.

That's because their political views are designed to benefit rich people, who have the means to do this, but don't want to help or pay for others.

Everyone else who thinks that way was conned by rich people propaganda.

What's really fun is to discuss it in depth with a evangelical Christian conservative.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is always great to mention (Luke 10). Jesus teaches to help those in need in order to be a good neighbor.

So is the story of the sheep and the goats. (Matthew 25). Jesus teaches that whatever his followers do to others, they are essentially doing to him.

If they let you get that far, after presenting these scriptures and stories, it's great to ask them if they would tell Jesus to do whatever they insist the poor or needy should do.

Go tell Jesus to "get a job". Tell Jesus he "doesn't want to work because he's lazy". Tell Jesus "bootstrap yourself up". Tell Jesus he "doesn't deserve the help".

Most times you can't even get them that far because they will walk away in self righteous indignation as they do not want to hear the truth that their political ideas and their faith simply do not line up.

FiendishHawk t1_is63oa2 wrote on October 13, 2022 at 3:58 PM

Rich folks can throw money at any family problem so they think that everyone should. If their family member becomes an addict, they can pay for fancy rehab. If their family member get schizophrenia they can pay for the best psychiatrists and an apartment for them to stay in.

ashleyorelse t1_is694ex wrote on October 13, 2022 at 4:34 PM

Exactly.

Their real achievement is convincing poor and middle class people to adopt the same mindset, but without the resources. Not only that, but to advocate it for others.

FiendishHawk t1_is6fqzk wrote on October 13, 2022 at 5:17 PM

Ordinary people can’t necessarily take troubled relatives into their homes because they have other responsibilities and limited resources. If you can only afford to rent a room for yourself, you can’t necessarily let your drug addict brother stay. If you have children at home, a schizophrenic relative with terrifying behaviors might cause them to grow up traumatized. This is why people end up on the streets despite have family.