May I invite your attention to a particularly vexing thread in GD, please?

[F4lconF16]

4. As the person you are accusing

I'd like to make a few comments to clarify, at risk of reigniting the discussion here. (If a host has a problem with this, please let me know and I'll self-delete; I know I'm not a normal poster here).

I was in no way trying to imply that the poor are incapable of resistance in all cases. Just that there are often good and legitimate reasons not to fight back against those holding them captive. Edit: what I mean by "incapable of resistance" is "unable to fight for fear of serious economic or other consequences", not "unable to fight, period". I absolutely think the poor can and should fight when they can. The resistance of the poor has been a driving force for change for a long time, and it would be sorely missed.

What you said was that "it reflects badly on poor folks too, when they let themselves be made doormats".

Now, if you were talking about only those who "let" themselves be oppressed, then yes, you're right.

But I interpreted it (in context of the OP) that you were referring to all poor, and that any poor person who isn't doing anything to fight the powers that be should be held accountable. I also think that when you say "reflects badly" on someone, it means that others than think less of them because of their actions. For instance, I think it reflects badly on Rick Perry when he activates the National Guard to fight children, and yes, I think less of him than because of it. Therefore, saying "it reflects badly on poor folks too, when they let themselves be made doormats" would mean that we should think less of any poor person who isn't actively fighting for their rights. I would disagree with that statement, because there are many times where someone can't fight (see my Walmart example in that thread).

If the first one was what you were meaning, than my apologies, and our resulting discussion was unnecessary. However, I interpreted your statement as the second meaning because I didn't see any evidence of the poor "letting" themselves be oppressed in the OP. If anything, the opposite.