ABJECTION RUINING LIVES OF AMERICANS
In the current climate we exist in, it is no secret that poverty has continually deprived those below and allowed for those at the pinnacle to thrive. For years on end it has become blatantly apparent that those in power would rather flip a profit than support those desperately in need. Throughout history, the United States has simply permitted poverty to pervade the lives of Americans’ to the point where it has repressed, abjected, and widened the divide between social classes made all but clear through Hurricane Katrina, the Great Repression, along with the American justice system.
In Julia Kristeva’s Power of Horror: An Essay on Abjection, she goes into detail about the topic of abjection. Abjection is neither a subject nor an object, but rather it is state in which those affected are confronted with an issue that they cannot necessarily mend. Kristeva describes abjection as an entity that rends her as “radically excluded” and “drags her toward the place where meaning collapses” http://users.clas.ufl.edu/burt/touchyfeelingsmaliciousobjects/Kristevapowersofhorrorabjection.pdf .
Kristeva intentionally claims that meaning collapses in order to describe the reality behind the topic. Although we may understand the concept of abjection, we may never be able to understand the severity of it once inflicted upon us. Abjection is profound in poverty as it finds a way to oppress those in poverty even if they aren’t completely conscious of the effects. While the less fortunate are in shambles attempting to provide for their own, the rich live lavishly with little to no concern those below them. Amidst the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which primarily affected those in poverty, those hurt the most were the ones who had no funds or means for transportation. In an article published by ABC News, Steve Osunsami claimed that “one in six had no car and no way out of town,” which would mean that approximately 17 percent of the population were forced to live in imaginable conditions due to the lack of support from their fellow brothers and sisters https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1081329&page=1 .
The poor were undoubtedly hit the hardest and had no way to rise from the rubble of what used to be home. The American Red Cross responded to the crisis, but neglected help from outside sources in order to maximize their profit margins. Systematic abjection has been intertwined in the system and is actively oppressing the poor.
When attempting to foster the youth, America has failed to provide equal opportunities to all citizens of the United States. In a report by Christopher Ingraham for the Washington Post, he stated “in the richest nation in the world, one in three kids live in poverty” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/10/29/child-poverty-in-the-u-s-is-among-the-worst-in-the-developed-world/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c7e05c86c532 .
I find it alarming that 33 percent of the youth will live in poverty and we are led to believe that there is nothing left for us to do about it. It would seem as if our nation is unbothered by the fact that the future of the country is maturing in conditions that are not exactly ideal. In describing abjection, Kristeva held that when activated “one must keep open the wound” and this could be an analogy for the way that the nation holds down those in poverty. Beyond what is apparent, there are multiple repercussions that come along with being poverty stricken. Children in poverty are subject to a sub-par education system, unstable home conditions, and are not given the same opportunities as those who are more privileged. Though the conditions of the poor are harsh, it only gets worse when disaster strikes. In an article written by Lucia Mutikani, she writes that the last economic recession that struck the United States opened up a new social class of the “working poor” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-poverty/in-recession-poverty-strikes-middle-class-idUSTRE50F0WB20090116 . Those who were living stable lives were condemned with the trouble of working their hardest and not being able to make ends meet, leaving their family in a tough position. Despite their efforts, the poverty stricken are faced with a never-ending cycle of repression stemming from a divide between the wealthy and the poor. The middle class of working citizens is virtually non-existent and is slowly but surely pushing those individuals into lower-class America. Without a restructured system, it seems inevitable that the problem will only expand leaving many with no support. .
The continual repression of the poor is apparent in more than just the free world. In a report by Bernadette Rabuy and Daniel Kopf, they explain that inmates, on average, earned 41 percent less than non-incarcerated people who are of the same age and that is absurd https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/income.html . Quite evident is the unfortunate fact that poverty leaves the population vulnerable to enduring a life of crime. The “sublime alienation” of those faced with poverty is a prime example of abjection as described by Julia Kristeva. When living at the bottom of the food chain ascension is not a simple task, hence the ill-advised decision to participate in delinquent activities. Some may feel as if they have no other choice but to resort to a life of crime to keep themselves afloat. Alienation of the poor has left citizens hopeless and lost with little to no sign or hope. If this attitude is upheld it will cause a sea of bad moral to conquer those affected by poverty. The abjection formed through poverty is quite self-evident.
While repressing the poverty engulfed areas of America, we are only hurting ourselves. In order to grow as a country it is imperative that we make an active effort to aid the war on poverty. By fostering the youth to believe that they cannot make it out of poverty we are only disguising the truth. In an ideal society these problems would cease to exist and perhaps that should be the objective we seek. We must pick up our brothers and sisters before abjection and repression swallow the moral of the nation.
