Jesus specifically addressed abuse and discrimination against the poor, according to the writings of the New Testament, and while many do not believe the writings to be trustworthy, one certainly cannot argue with the fairness or anti-discriminatory nature of the approach represented there. If you choose to believe that Jesus was God incarnate, as many do, perhaps you also believe that as God, he could see into many aspects of life with insight many of us lack. I certainly want to believe that Jesus was God, because I like his basic attitude, although I have not found it demonstrated in the lives or politics of most so called Christians. I believe it was Mahatna Gandhi who is quoted as saying that the only problem with Christianity is Christians, and perhaps the major problem with all major religions, including Gandhi's own, Hinduism, is the people who practice them.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Whether or not you accept Jesus as God, you cannot deny that the presence of scripture specifically addressing abuse and discrimination against the poor, verifies that the problem is as old as any other form of discrimination, and was around long before either the democratic or republican political party groups existed in the United States.

Most of the religious spokesmen today, prefer to quote the Apostle Paul, who was somewhat less empathetic towards poverty, being a blue blood of his own time, a Roman citizen who was also educated in the most respected of Jewish Schools (Ivy League, if you will), at the feet of Gamaliel. Paul was the son of a Pharisee, and became one himself. The Pharisees were a powerful religious order of high social class, in fact, one of the ones that was also responsible for putting Jesus to death, if scripture is accurate.

Jesus, on the other hand, was from humble beginnings, and probably experienced discrimination first hand. Scripture states that many in his own town questioned him as a prophet based on knowledge of his family background. Many today still question whether or not he was the son of God, or the illegitimate son of a poor woman, questions that were also asked in his own time, I suspect.

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE POOR TODAY

Discrimination for reason of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or religion are not openly accepted today by most people, at least publicly, though it certainly continues to exist behind closed doors, as our president addressed concerning the Reverend Wright controversy, during his recent election campaign.

Certain forms of discrimination still exist publicly towards specific groups, as most Christians or supporters of Hillary Clinton will agree, though such discrimination is usually thinly disguised as something other than what it is. Only the poor are openly discriminated against, shamed and ridiculed by both the right and left factions of our society, before nationwide audiences, and shamelessly by the press, both democrat and republican focused, without serious consequences to anyone doing so.

The N word is so unacceptable (as it should be), that I will not even write it in this article, and no news commentator in his right mind, would refer to a lesbian using the D word, or a gay male using the F word. I respect those public boundaries as being in our best interest as human beings, and do not object to them. Why then, do news broadcasters still refer to people as "Trailer Park Trash," or speak publicly of those who accept "hand outs?" Is it any different to make such assumptions of those who live in poor areas, or require public assistance in order to survive, than it is to make negative judgments of any other group? It appears to be okay to be whomever you happen to be these days, at least publicly, as long as you are not poor.

Unfortunately for me, at this time in history, I am not black, gay, a lesbian, or any other kind of minority, other than a poor person, or should I refer to myself as financially challenged. Poverty does not appear to be a protected class, or at least not publicly, as some other groups are. Many types of discrimination and unfair treatment exist for poor people, and they are simply taken for granted as being okay, and part of the general system.

THE POOR PAY MORE:

In utility and other bills

While we all know it costs more to buy on time, generally that is a choice we make. I wonder how often we think of the other financial consequences of poverty. Those who can not pay their bills on time, have late charges added to their debt, making their bills more difficult to pay. Credit card companies are especially notorious for this, but all businesses do it, as if people pay bills late because they choose to do so. This is especially punishing when the bills in question are basic utility bills for services necessary to live normally in our society. Electric bills, propane gas bills, and water bills all charge late fees when your payment does not arrive on time, and these are not services most of us feel we can live without.

In Legal Expense

If you are poor, you will pay more money out to the legal system than a wealthier person will be required to do, for the same crime committed, simply because you are not able to pay your fine on the day of court. Twice I have gone to court over seemingly non-criminal violations of the law, one that included running a stop sign while confused about the location of a substitute teaching work opportunity, and the other, an unexpected breaking of a dog leash on public property. Neither of these problems were premeditated, or the result of poor planning on my part; however, today's society has little tolerance for what would have once been considered an accident. It has even less tolerance for those of us who do not have the money to pay our fines on the day of court.

In both cases, I was placed on probation, basically for not having enough money to pay the fine on the day of court, and saddled with monthly payments that added up to five times, or more, the amount of the original fine. Those who could pay the original fine walked out with a fifth of the expense of those of us who did not have the means to do so, and it goes without saying, that even if I had been able to pay the original amount of either fine on the court date, it would not be relatively the same, or an equal amount of money for me, as it would have been for Paris Hilton, or Donald Trump. As in Jesus' day, the powerful make the laws, the poor accept the consequences of their social class.

SOME LEGAL REQUIREMENTS MAKE CRIMINALS OF THOSE WHO LACK THE FUNDS TO OBEY THEM

Auto Insurance is required in order to drive a car, an action that is necessary in order for most of us to work. You may drive the same old car for over ten years, as I have done, in order to avoid the cost of monthly car payments, but you cannot escape the legal requirement to pay at least the minimal amount of liability insurance necessary in order to protect others in case of an accident.

I have not been able to protect myself through health insurance for over five years (we'll discuss that next), yet I am forced to either protect others against a possible automobile accident that may never occur, or face criminal charges under the law. I am much more likely, given my present family history and driving record, to develop breast cancer than I am to injure anyone else in an automobile accident, since thus far, none of my minor traffic accidents have caused injuries to anyone. Please excuse my paranoid assertion, but I suspect those laws were put in place for the financial benefit of insurance companies, rather than to protect the public.

HEALTH INSURANCE

This is a hot issue, so I will only ask one question. Why am I required to pay school taxes to support the education of other people's kids, when I never had any kids? Certainly, I covered the cost of my own public education years ago, through payment of my own income tax.

In case you have not already figured out where I am going with this, why is it any different for the government to provide taxpaying citizens with health insurance, than it is to provide them with public education, police protection, military protection, or any other personal need? Why is it any more socialistic to provide taxpayers with health-care protection, than it is to provide them with any of the other needs listed above? Again, insurance companies have a lot of power, just as the pharisees did in the days of the old testament, and those who have power tend to use it in order to keep it. If you can't help me stay alive through appropriate medical care, I should not have to use my tax money to educate your kids.  Case closed.

ONE MORE MYTH DEBUNKED

It is a myth that poor people are those who are not willing to help themselves. I completed seven years of formal education, then three more years of supervised Internship towards my International Substance Abuse Certification through the IC&RC. While I have never been wealthy, it has not been because I am not well educated, or did not work. I have held many management and supervisory positions within the human services field, most paying below $35,000 annually, while requiring that I work 50 to 60 hour work weeks, just to get the work done.

Please do not tell me to accept a job outside of my field in order to work. I presently have five such jobs, all outside of my field. Together, they still do not make up for the loss of the income provided through my recent counseling business, a business that flourished, then recently failed, due to Governor Sonny Perdue's budget cuts to substance abuse services in the state of Georgia.

I am, in fact, producing a googlesense ad at present, one of my five sources of income, on a Sunday morning. If you are not working on Sundays, please do not tell me I am not working hard enough, or pass judgement on me for being poor. I work for one of my employers on every day of the week, and on most days I do more than one job. I am also awaiting my food stamp card, because the income of all of my jobs combined does not equal enough income to eat regularly, while paying my own utility bills. If I did not receive some support from my family, I would be homeless, or living here with no electricity, water, or food, and many do not receive such support.

MORE DEBUNKED GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS

All poor people are not black, and those who are black are often working full time, or like me, more than full time. Many food stamp "hand out" takers work at McDonald's or Burger King on a full time basis, or accept as many hours as they are allowed to do, for minimum wage, or little more. It is often difficult for the educated poor to find employment in such establishments, as was the case with me; however, I was able to find five low paying jobs that assist with my survival, while not covering all of my needs.

Next time you consider referring to someone who is financially challenged as "trailer park trash," "white trash," someone who takes "hand outs," or is probably a "black crack addicted mom who is drawing public assistance," please think twice. Whether or not you choose to believe it, it happens to the best of us, and it can happen to you.