Grant Kester

In reading the Grant Kester article, I found myself getting highly upset when they started talking about welfare and arts funding. It began to enrage me a bit because I have family who are on welfare. Now I understand their side and how it may encourage young women to have babies and how it can, "destroy the moral fiber of the poor." Yes, there are women who, sadly, do partake in having a child at a young age so they do not have to work. But for most people, they have no other choice. Some are not as fortunate to grow up with BOTH parents, or in a well stabled home, or in what could be considered, "a good area." I know that I have been fortunate enough to experience both sides of the spectrum. It maddens me because when I have heard my mother talking about the subject, it's not something that most people want to, but they HAVE to, to survive in this world and to feed their families. Not everyone is fortunate to have a substantial educational background to allow them to find a "well- paying" job. Some only know the streets and not the books as sad as that is to say. I'm from an area that you could call, "the hood" and I would see these kids everyday roaming the streets because they have nothing better to do. They don't have the parental guidance to tell them and to educate them about the importance of schooling and education so there is no way in hell, they could find a job that would be suitable for them to raise a family or to live "the American Dream." So therefore these young mother's they speak of, are not educated about sex and what is to come in the future, all they know is their surroundings. Welfare can be embarrassing to be on. Most people don't want to be on welfare but they do it to feed their children and themselves. It's not a luxury in anyway. It's a way of getting by day to day. I could go on and on about this from personal experience.

-Jemar Rovie- Frenchwood