Many poor people work hard and shouldn’t be criticized for stimulus money

Editor:

Mr. Harker said something in a recent LTE that I have found resonating through me like an electrical charge. I simply must respond.

The generalization that anyone who is homeless is so purely by choice speaks volumes as to the writer’s closed mindedness and lack of world exposure. I made choices in my life that led me to places that probably can’t even be imagined from the farmland of Clarendon NY.

People, myself included, struggle daily from closer to the “bottom” than most reading this will ever see. We reach for that “hand up” that was mentioned (without example might I add), only to see it turn into a fist to knock you right back down.

Some of you reading this and know me as whatever person I was in my past, won’t care about all the progress I’ve made.

When I made the decision to quit working because of Covid, I started putting all my energy into my eBay store. I feel my work ethic is top notch and my sales show it. We are not lazy down here at the bottom. I live in a poor section of Syracuse and I see people trying every single day. Many, myself again included, face daily struggles like unresponsive landlords who say nothing more than “We will see what happens when all this is over.” All on top of problems like circuit breakers in need of replacement and black mold.

So, if my taking the “handout” of a stimulus payment and UI payments is an offense to your political views, and before you spew your narrow-visioned opinions, I suggest you come to terms with the fact that there is a much, much bigger world than Clarendon and broaden your perspective. Just a bit.

Charlie Hunt

Syracuse, former Albion resident