Near the end of today's show, Melissa made an impassioned point in the conversation we had today about the issue of welfare, and how race is intertwined with that issue in our politics. The panel -- which also included business author Monica Mehta, columnist Bob Franken, Wake Forest professor David Coates, and writer/commentator Nancy Giles -- had been debating the specific issue of class mobility, and America's embarrassing lack of it.
Economist Howard Steven Friedman noted earlier this week at the Huffington Post that class mobility is inextricably linked to the cost of education, and Giles made a similar point, including health care in that calculus. Mehta interrupted, noting that such education and health care wouldn't have been possible without risk, presumably from those "job creators" Republicans like Mitt Romney always tell us about.
I say presumably, because at that point, Melissa interjected with this:
“What is riskier than living poor in America? Seriously! What in the world is riskier than being a poor person in America? I live in a neighborhood where people are shot on my street corner. I live in a neighborhood where people have to figure out how to get their kid into school because maybe it will be a good school and maybe it won’t. I am sick of the idea that being wealthy is risky. No. There is a huge safety net that whenever you fail will catch you and catch you and catch you. Being poor is what is risky. We have to create a safety net for poor people. And when we won’t, because they happen to look different from us, it is the pervasive ugliness.”
We'll have more on this welfare, race, and poverty discussion throughout the week, but for right now, we'll leave it there. It should be noted that Melissa offered an apology for "losing my temper" in that discussion. (Judging by the praise folks in #nerdland on Twitter and Facebook are lavishing on Melissa for saying what she did, it's up to you as to whether or not you wish to accept that apology.)
See the segment in full here, and below.
Melissa Harris-Perry and her panelists share a heated conversation on how many Americans link their perceptions on welfare to African-Americans, and later, they discuss the importance of the social safety net.
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The Scripture tells us "Be angry, but do not sin", so absolutely no apology needed here whatsoever. If I'd have been there I most certainly would've thumped MHP on the shoulder, preacher style, and said "go 'head!". Thank God for annointed people like her who refuse to "go along to get along".
Please do not apologize--you spoke the truth. I'm glad you were able to "seize the opportunity" and speak up and out!
You made my day" Melissa Harris Perry. You are able to articulate what so many of us think and feel about the rich and poor in America. Thank you!
no need to apologize - she was telling the truth!
I accept the apology, but as far as I am concerned, there was no apology necessary. As always, Melissa Harris-Perry was DIRECTLY on point.
what a show today ,just like i new it would im so glad to here melissa stand up for poor people and thank you for setting that women right i was screaming at my tv when monica methhead started talking about risk what she didn't understand is that when your poor your not only at risk of your life being ended when there nothing to help you out of poverty and you have been playing by the rules all your life and the rug gets pulled out from under your feet , and your leaders r talking bout just the middle class and the poor something is wrong i so love the fact that sister melissa stoped her dead in her tracks to set her srgiht i thank you so and tell monica to checkout dr,king march on wahsington i was there for the second march and it was all about ending poverty
Hey I'm not sure if you meant to spell her name "methhead". I hope not. But if you did I want to say that other points you made were good but so much gets taken away when you mess with someone's name, especially when they are from another country. Names are important and should be respected regards of her behavior. We don't want to racially degrade her while trying to prove our point.
MHP,you rock....you were right of course. Do not let them [ Reps] get you off your game.
We need you out there to stand for what is right. This debate was necessary,the media like to avoid deep issues.
Hi Melissa,
You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. I loved your show today. thank you for being who you are. We need more people like you in the world.
Much love
an excellent discussion. Melissa, you are the best! And don't be so hard on yourself--you always are able to see the other point of you and present interesting arguments that are intended to provoke thought, not anger. A little righteous indignation once in a blue moon (literally) is more than forgiveable! xxoo
Monica Mehta Lives in The "Bizarro World of the GOP! THANK YOU FOR BRING TRUTH TO POWER!
Dear Melissa
I would like to say that I could not believe what I was hearing while listening to your show Saturday morning, but unfortunately that would be a lie. The argument your self-proclaimed business expert was making that the very existence of the undeserving poor is a threat to the American way of life didn’t surprise me. Especially, after listening to a parade of republican speakers make the same argument, during the three days of the republican convention, that the nation’s poor are colluding with the president of the United States to steal the economic fortunes of the country’s hard working citizens.
To illustrate how ludicrous this argument is, imagine the US economy as the RMS Titanic and the sinking of the ocean liner as the responsibility of its third class passengers. The republican argument has gone beyond the claim that if more third class passengers drowned than first or second class passengers it was because they failed to earn enough money to travel in the first class sections of the ship. The Republican Party has sunk to a new low adopting the argument that the ships sinking was not due to inclement weather (Republicans do not believe in climate change) or the ship’s captain or the company which owned the vessel or even the bankers who financed the ships construction but was instead the responsible of the third class passengers trapped below deck.
The reason the leaders of the Republican Party are making this self-serving argument is simple the people who are most responsible for the nations fiscal problems are trying to avoid accepting responsibility for their ill-advised decisions and are blaming instead the most vulnerable among us.
I appreciate your indignation and willingness to speak out against someone who is making such an injurious argument against the working poor of America.
I love your comparison. May I use it, because it is so true.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. As a former homeless person, transgender outcast in New Orleans and elsewhere, your passion reflected a large minority of caring Americans.
Dear Melissa
I would like to say that I could not believe what I was hearing while listening to your show Saturday morning, but unfortunately that would be a lie. The argument your self-proclaimed business expert was making that the very existence of the undeserving poor is a threat to the American way of life didn’t surprise me. Especially, after listening to a parade of republican speakers make the same argument, during the three days of the republican convention, that the nation’s poor are colluding with the president of the United States to steal the economic fortunes of the country’s hard working citizens.
To illustrate how ludicrous this argument is, imagine the US economy as the RMS Titanic and the sinking of the ocean liner as the responsibility of its third class passengers. The republican argument has gone beyond the claim that if more third class passengers drowned than first or second class passengers it was because they failed to earn enough money to travel in the first class sections of the ship. The Republican Party has sunk to a new low adopting the argument that the ships sinking was not due to inclement weather (Republicans do not believe in climate change) or the ship’s captain or the company which owned the vessel or even the bankers who financed the ships construction but was instead the responsible of the third class passengers trapped below deck.
The reason the leaders of the Republican Party are making this self-serving argument is simple the people who are most responsible for the nations fiscal problems are trying to avoid accepting responsibility for their ill-advised decisions and are blaming instead the most vulnerable among us.
I appreciate your indignation and willingness to speak out against someone who is making such an injurious argument against the working poor of America.
I love your comparison. May I use it, because it is so true.
Dear Melissa
I would like to say that I could not believe what I was hearing while listening to your show Saturday morning, but unfortunately that would be a lie. The argument your self-proclaimed business expert was making that the very existence of the undeserving poor is a threat to the American way of life didn’t surprise me. Especially, after listening to a parade of republican speakers make the same argument, during the three days of the republican convention, that the nation’s poor are colluding with the president of the United States to steal the economic fortunes of the country’s hard working citizens.
To illustrate how ludicrous this argument is, imagine the US economy as the RMS Titanic and the sinking of the ocean liner as the responsibility of its third class passengers. The republican argument has gone beyond the claim that if more third class passengers drowned than first or second class passengers it was because they failed to earn enough money to travel in the first class sections of the ship. The Republican Party has sunk to a new low adopting the argument that the ships sinking was not due to inclement weather (Republicans do not believe in climate change) or the ship’s captain or the company which owned the vessel or even the bankers who financed the ships construction but was instead the responsible of the third class passengers trapped below deck.
The reason the leaders of the Republican Party are making this self-serving argument is simple the people who are most responsible for the nations fiscal problems are trying to avoid accepting responsibility for their ill-advised decisions and are blaming instead the most vulnerable among us.
I appreciate your indignation and willingness to speak out against someone who is making such an injurious argument against the working poor of America.
Melissa
When you spoke from your heart,
Gaining momentum as you went,
Listening to you was so hard
That I cried, that my body bent.
It was your passion that caught me,
But it was catch-and-release -
I'd say, whatever color you may be,
You should hear this woman speak.
Yes, some before you empowered
The you who now empowers herself.
I love how you're aware of that,
And how that's the better wealth.
If I had just one wish granted with regards to you,
It's that you be safe and that you keep doing what you do.
This is a beautiful poem.
And so is Melissa. I am still left reeling after watching the show this morning. Without a doubt the most electrifying moment on television in a very, very, very long time. (If ever).
Keep on telling the truth Melissa. You are magnificent.
You GO GIRL!!! I love your passion. Sometimes our anger outweighs our ability to suffer idiots.
MHP, thanks for your excellent response. It is long past time someone called these pundits mythologies. You MUST continue to speak boldly against these false myths that are endangering our country. The truth is more powerful than myths unless the truth is never spoken.
Poor poor Monica, she just has no empathy. Monica and her buddies have no idea what poor means. Could they find a job, with a living wage, for all those so called welfare cheats they claim are bankrupting the USA? Could they fight just as hard for the poor as they do for the wealthy welfare receiving companies, (oops, the job creators), currently trying to buy the elections?
I was born poor. I was one of those kids who didn't know she was poor, until one day when I was nine years old. I was babysitting my 3 younger sisters when I answered the door and handed a food/gift basket. It was Christmas time, and a local service club was given our name. My mother never solicited this charity, her boss at the restaurant did.
When my Mother came home she cried tears of shame, because people had found out we were poor. She could never escape her beginnings, (her mother died when she was 11 yr.s old and being the oldest girl),.........but she sure made sure us girls did our homework, educated ourselves, and got out of poverty.
We had a mom who knew education was the answer to escaping poverty, but her younger sibs never got it, and they and their children have struggled all their lives in poverty. They work so hard, but education was not afforded to any of these farm girls. They married waaaay toooo early, to gents just as uneducated as they were, got saddled with children, and regret to this day that they never wanted an education as much as a family of their very own.
No one, not even Monica, with all her education, can know what happened to the souls who linger in poverty today. The "poor" people the Repubs grind their disgust toward, are being asked to know about things they do not know anything about.
How about educating every child in America based on the fact that they are an American, and not based on the property taxes of their particular address they had the misfortune of being born at? Instead of looking to these souls to pull up their "whatever", how about treating every American citizen equally?
I'll have what she's havin'.
God Bless you !!!I think you said what so many wanted to but felt like they had no voice ...you are truly one of God's angels
Melissa, you warned everyone including your guests about tenure of this show. The definition of "retort" is: to answer (an argument or the like) by another to the contrary.a severe, incisive, or witty reply, especially one that counters a first speaker's statement, argument, etc. I'd like to hear you do it more.
Way to go Melissa! No need to apologize. Monica has no clue and you were just letting her know that she doesn't.
There is absolutely no need to apologize. You were passionate and your words came from a deep place. You were prophetic in your expression. You did not use any inappropriate language nor did your face express terror. You know how the old folks would say after a strong thunder presentation...Hush...God's talking... Well, I hushed when you spoke and knew that God was talking. When Jesus turned out the Temple after seeing that it was being used for individual.. personal gain He turned the Temple out. God does not always speak in a sweet whisper, but can speak however He wishes..and sometimes it is loud enough to get our attention. He uses our voices to speak for Him.
That is a thought provoking statement , Especially since even as bad as things are we are still the richest country in the world. Is it because our standards are so high ? Being poor is not just in America but all over the world . We are put on this earth to help one another not to hoard wealth . Never have the differences between party's been so clear. The Republicans are for the haves and Obama is for the have nots. It is sad that in the 21st century and all we have acomplished it comes down to this and never has the decision for President been so important. You have to ask will the Republican party make many more in this nation poor ?
No apology needed..you passionate words brought made this discussion more real than anything else said....you brought me to tears! I love everything you said and the passion behind it..beautiful!