CNN contributor L.Z. Granderson condemns GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and his ilk for attacking the poor, saying they know nothing about the work ethics of poor people. He retells his own personal story of growing up in poverty to illustrate how poor people oftentimes work harder than most.
… Newt Gingrich and others say the work ethic is absent in neighborhoods like the one I grew up in. That's just wrong. Gingrich and his like have their collective noses too high up in the air to see this country isn't great in spite of the poor. It is great because of the poor.
I'm not saying that the richest country in the world should celebrate millions of her children going to bed hungry each night. But it should celebrate that so many of these children make it out of poverty and reach back to help those behind. They remember what it is like to be hungry. To be cold. To only be recognized for what they don't have, if they are recognized at all.
I was walking along the boardwalk in Santa Monica, California, this past weekend enjoying the view of the ocean, while pretending I didn't see the homeless people lying on the beach. How ironic to be in southern California to attend "CNN Heroes" and too afraid to look another human being in the eye. Growing up, I didn't do that.
Read L.Z. Granderson’s entire column at CNN.