We have more than a handful of non-white posters? In any case poverty is a curious thing; you and I may well disagree on what it means and in what context, and I myself might disagree with myself on what it means intellectually and personally. Surely you can't have been poor if people weren't out picking coal off slag heaps to survive, right? I maintain, of course, that you have no right to think such thoughts unless they do directly relate to personal experience in some way.
What I will note is that there is a significant difference between short-term problems caused by having no money (which is bitter but usually resolves itself fairly quickly) and the grinding horror of having not quite enough over an extended (and quite possibly permanent) period of time. The two things can be related but are ultimately not the same thing. I would also note that having been poor (no matter how defined) does not confer nobility of spirit or make you a better person.
Just wanted to express agreement with all of the above.
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