Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Poverty In Hampton Roads: Bundling Up

As I went to take the bus to today's TPO Retreat, it was snowing and the wind was whipping through. Therefore, I was surprised when the man who joined me in my home bus shelter was wearing only a fleece, with neither a hat nor gloves.

With my attention now on the issue, I started looking at what people were wearing when I reached the Military Circle Transfer Center. About one-third of those waiting weren't wearing proper Winter coats. In that weather.

Not smart enough to bundle up? Our region's notoriously low wages making a Winter coat unreachable for some? Has the recession just made things harder for many? I don't know the answer, but it was a sad sight to see.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bums need to get a job and stop buying booze on food stamps (then maybe they could afford a coat)

Avenging Archangel said...

Anon 10:03,

Don't let facts get in the way of a rant:

1. 57% of HRT passengers are people commuting to/from work.

2. You can't legally buy booze on Food Stamps. With Food Stamps having gone paperless (see: Cardinal Card), you'd leave an electronic trail of what it was spent on.

Now you can return to your VBTA cross burning.

fabricmaven said...

The many in this country who hold the poor in contempt fail to see that big box and burger flipping jobs leave no money for a decent coat in cold weather. It will be interesting to see over the next long four years if anything changes here in Southeastern Virginia. The same crap jobs. The same ideology over the reality. IMO.

Anonymous said...

Is it possible that we in SE Virginia seldom need a "proper winter coat?" I'm a "came here" from the north 30+ years ago. Don't own snow boots, ski parkas and snow shovels any more. I'm just saying . . .

Avenging Archangel said...

Uh...Denise...when you're a bus rider, you spend much more time outdoors than someone who drives everywhere. Given such, proper weather gear is a necessity. I myself carry rain gear in the riding bag I normally have with me.

When she walked into the City Council Retreat a couple years ago, Reba McClanan noted how much sun I'd got. (Retreats are normally in August.) Actually, it was simply from standing at bus stops through the Summer.

Anonymous said...

Point made.