Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Hey You Got EBT? Hell No But Please!!!
So i'm in the grocery store with my children. Dahvi is in the stroller and Phina is walking. As i make my way down an isle on a mission to find mac and cheese, I notice a woman staring at me. Now being the country gurl that I am, I briefly glance at her, politely smile and keep moving. I turn to the shelves and remember i need to call my ole man aka my hubby to find out what else we needed. But this lady keep staring. So I broke down and said "Hi." She says "Hi" back awkwardly because I guess now she's realized she's bore a hole in my back with her steely stare. AND then ladies and gents, she announces " Oh you know the ebt machine is down". Now for those of u who don't know the ebt machine is used for the ebt card which is government assistance. I was immediatly taken aback by her assumption and wondered why she needed to inform me of this. So I said rather direct "Oh, Well I don't have a card but I wish I did." "Oh, yeah okay," she said with her face pulled back. As I finished shopping I wondered why this woman would assume I had an ebt card. What specifically about me makes her think I have one? Is there a look? Is there a special walk? Of course not. But if i were to feed into a certain sterotype, I guess the bottom line would be because I was rolling with mi ninos. u know. my seeds. my kids. Although I felt the woman should of been minding hers, I wasn't in the least offended. And I meant it when I said I wish I had one. But because I'm married and my husband's income is at a certain level means we don't qualify for the ebt card. But like most just-getting-by americans, we struggle paying bills and even live check to check sometimes. we make it. We try to save. We labor away to get a chip of the american dream. And if you're not elderly, a single parent and or making next to nothing; those types of benefits don't apply to you. Though it is my tax money and I do feel like I should get a little piece of the action. My youthful appearance and frugal ways make people of all races assume I'm a young single mother on "the system". And with that comes all kinds of negativity. And that's sad. So what if you're a young single mother on "the system" in the grocery store getting food for your children. Isn't that what you're supposed to do. In the past months prior to my husband's work hours changing and my son's new gig at the daycare; my son Dahvi would obviously accompany me on errands. And while I watched other mamas'of other ethnicities receive immediate help in a store, I would be ignored until I whipped out my credit card. This didn't happen every time. But it did happen a lot. This discrimination came mainly from my own people. There were times I thought maybe it was because I wore sneakers instead of high heels while comparing fruit or didn't push my son in that $800 stroller. Our model was a hand me down Graco. Whatever sterotype or assumption they tried to put upon me quickly dissolved when they saw me give snacks to my child, or whip out the plastic. I say "so what" to that that lady in the grocery store or to anyone for that matter who assumes I'm on assistance or in the system. It doesn't matter whether I have an ebt card or American Express. I'm providing for my family the best way I know and that's all that should matter.
So i'm in the grocery store with my children. Dahvi is in the stroller and Phina is walking. As i make my way down an isle on a mission to find mac and cheese, I notice a woman staring at me. Now being the country gurl that I am, I briefly glance at her, politely smile and keep moving. I turn to the shelves and remember i need to call my ole man aka my hubby to find out what else we needed. But this lady keep staring. So I broke down and said "Hi." She says "Hi" back awkwardly because I guess now she's realized she's bore a hole in my back with her steely stare. AND then ladies and gents, she announces " Oh you know the ebt machine is down". Now for those of u who don't know the ebt machine is used for the ebt card which is government assistance. I was immediatly taken aback by her assumption and wondered why she needed to inform me of this. So I said rather direct "Oh, Well I don't have a card but I wish I did." "Oh, yeah okay," she said with her face pulled back. As I finished shopping I wondered why this woman would assume I had an ebt card. What specifically about me makes her think I have one? Is there a look? Is there a special walk? Of course not. But if i were to feed into a certain sterotype, I guess the bottom line would be because I was rolling with mi ninos. u know. my seeds. my kids. Although I felt the woman should of been minding hers, I wasn't in the least offended. And I meant it when I said I wish I had one. But because I'm married and my husband's income is at a certain level means we don't qualify for the ebt card. But like most just-getting-by americans, we struggle paying bills and even live check to check sometimes. we make it. We try to save. We labor away to get a chip of the american dream. And if you're not elderly, a single parent and or making next to nothing; those types of benefits don't apply to you. Though it is my tax money and I do feel like I should get a little piece of the action. My youthful appearance and frugal ways make people of all races assume I'm a young single mother on "the system". And with that comes all kinds of negativity. And that's sad. So what if you're a young single mother on "the system" in the grocery store getting food for your children. Isn't that what you're supposed to do. In the past months prior to my husband's work hours changing and my son's new gig at the daycare; my son Dahvi would obviously accompany me on errands. And while I watched other mamas'of other ethnicities receive immediate help in a store, I would be ignored until I whipped out my credit card. This didn't happen every time. But it did happen a lot. This discrimination came mainly from my own people. There were times I thought maybe it was because I wore sneakers instead of high heels while comparing fruit or didn't push my son in that $800 stroller. Our model was a hand me down Graco. Whatever sterotype or assumption they tried to put upon me quickly dissolved when they saw me give snacks to my child, or whip out the plastic. I say "so what" to that that lady in the grocery store or to anyone for that matter who assumes I'm on assistance or in the system. It doesn't matter whether I have an ebt card or American Express. I'm providing for my family the best way I know and that's all that should matter.
Labels: ebt
# posted by kokayi @ 2:57 PM 
