You know why American families are broken up? Because…
1. For many years, in order to get any kind of monetary aid (Medicaid, WIC, food stamps, housing assistance, etc) a man could not be living in the house. So husbands and fathers moved out of the house so that their wives and kids could get food and healthcare and not end up homeless.
2. Another way of dealing with poverty, especially when there is job discrimination, is to sell illegal things. Whether it be drugs, cars, cds, loose cigarettes, etc. I know we technically don’t allow discrimination anymore in the US but companies have found ways to get around it, and then people end up desperate to try and find a way to feed and house themselves and their families. And when people get caught, they end up going to jail. And of course the punishments are draconian.
3. Even after someone has gotten out of jail, they are still a felon. And guess what? Felons don’t qualify for federal assistance. They aren’t even allowed to live in the same house as someone getting assistance so even if dad is a felon, and the assistance is in mom’s name and it’s for the kids, they all can still lose it and potentially have committed a crime themselves (at least the adults).
4. Bigotry itself destroys families. Experiencing bigotry is incredibly traumatic and after one has dealt with a lifetime of such, they can easily turn to drugs and alcohol to ease their pain and escape from what is a living nightmare. Some people don’t. Maybe they just white-knuckle it, or maybe they have enough resources and time to afford things like therapy, etc.
5. Domestic violence and entitlement absolutely destroys families. And I know that right wingers would love for women to be forced to stay with men who hurt them. They just blame us and say “well, why did you not predict that this person would hurt you even though when you talked about red flags society gaslighted you into not believing yourself??” And then they wash their hands of the issue and refuse to do anything to help like listen and validate.
Anyway I know there’s more, but I’m getting fuzzy again and need to stop. Omg I really hope this covid fog shit goes away like yesterday…