Why Does A Child’s Poverty Turn Into Society’s Violence?

A Noisy Street And A Fourteen-Year-Old Child

Fourteen years ago, I was living on a noisy street.
The reason for the noise was that many children were playing outside on the street.
When I was returning home from work, tired, I would see children shouting and playing football in the street.
We can answer the question “Should children shout and play football in the street?” in another section.
Today’s subject is fourteen-year-old Mahmut.

Every evening, he was the child who shouted the loudest while kicking the football.
He always looked very happy.
He wore old clothes.
Compared to his friends, it was obvious that he came from a poor family.
In fact, his family lived in our apartment building.

Mahmut was not bought new clothes.
He always wore his father’s or older brother’s worn-out and shrunken clothes.
This situation also made him a second-class student in the eyes of his teachers.
Teachers openly treated students whose families visited the school better.

The Evening Everything Changed

One evening again, while returning from work, I was trying to pass carefully so that the ball would not come toward me as the children were playing football.
Mahmut was sitting on the sidewalk, standing there with his head down and looking sad.
In fact, I was angry with him because he shouted a lot and filled the street with noise, but his sad state made me curious.

I quietly went over to him.
He was scraping the soil with a small stick in his hand.
He did not even notice that I had come next to him.
I called out “Mahmut” a few times; he did not hear me.
I had to raise my voice, and finally he startled and came back to himself.

“What happened?” I said.
He shrugged.
When I insisted, he started to cry.
I sat down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder.
I asked again, “What happened?”

He dropped the stick and opened both hands with his palms facing me.
I could not believe my eyes.
All the bones in his palms were bruised, and blood had pooled in the fleshy parts.

My eyes widened, and I immediately asked:
“Who did this?”

At first, he did not want to say.
Then he said that his teacher had hit him as a punishment because he had not done his homework.
It was clear that the teacher had used a thick stick for this.

Helplessness In The Face Of Authority

I had to do something, but I did not know what to do.
Going to such a defenseless child’s teacher and saying, “You cannot hit children because they did not do their homework!” could create an extra reason for the child to be beaten even more.
Moreover, if Mahmut’s mother and father were not getting involved in this matter, what could I do?

I later spoke to Mahmut’s father about this issue.
He probably spoke to the teacher as well.
Still, I knew that these kinds of problems continued not only for Mahmut but for all of humanity.

Now let us examine Mahmut’s problem and make social observations.

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Poverty As A Trigger For Fear

Because Mahmut came from a poor family, he could not dress in the same quality or in age-appropriate clothes as other children.
When we see a person with torn clothes, our brain automatically receives a signal of insecurity.

That is, we compare ourselves with the child wearing a torn T-shirt.
Our instincts whisper to us the fear that one day we could also become as poor and powerless as him.
We do not want to be in Mahmut’s situation.
We do not want to see Mahmut’s torn T-shirt.
We do not want Mahmut in our classroom.

We start to get angry at Mahmut’s family for bringing him into this world.
We may even hear an inner voice saying that it would be better for Mahmut to die than to live.

Something that represents the poor becomes pleasing to our eyes only when it is transformed into a sanctified work of art, like The Last Supper.
Mahmut can satisfy his hunger only at this table.

None of these have anything to do with Mahmut.
In fact, this is the effect that the fear of being poor has on a human being.
This is called hell.

A Society Built On Fear

In every society that does not guarantee the three basic needs to one another, individuals experience this fear.
That is why wealthy people live on streets or in countries where people like themselves live.
When the people within their field of vision are rich, they feel safer.

All of us want to live in orderly, comfortable, clean spaces.
We want to eat the foods that people with good financial means can eat and wear the clothes they can wear.

Mahmut’s teacher wanted exactly this as well.
But standing in front of him was Mahmut, who awakened all his fears.

From the outside, the teacher had many reasons that could even justify beating Mahmut:

1. I am a teacher, not a babysitter.
2. Children are constantly shouting; I am tired of the noise.
3. The salary I receive is already very low.
4. Should I educate children whom their own families could not educate?
5. I wish they would not come to school when they are sick, so I could rest my head a little.
6. None of these children will turn into useful adults; I am wasting my effort.

These are not the inner voice of Mahmut’s teacher.
They are all of our inner voice.

Whenever we see someone in a worse condition than ourselves, we find it hard to tolerate them.
Rather than living with them, we want to live with people who are better off.

The Only Real Solution

Let us put this observation aside for a moment.
Now it is time to talk about the solution.

First of all, fourteen years ago and today are very different.
At that time, artificial intelligence technology was not this advanced.
We still needed a teacher to learn things.
But today, we no longer need teachers at all in terms of the function they perform.

There is only one solution that can completely prevent violence by teachers toward students or by students toward teachers in schools.
That solution is guaranteeing the three basic needs for everyone.

The Three Guaranteed Needs

1. Everyone Must Be Able To Access Food

In this case, Mahmut’s teacher would not have to work at school because he could already feed himself and would not need the money he earned from this job.
Instead, a kind person who truly wants to be a teacher would take his place and would do this job not to survive, but because he loves it.

2. Safe Living Spaces For Everyone

In this case, no matter what Mahmut is wearing, we know that he also has a home.
Moreover, we know that none of the students will ever become homeless.
A person with a patch on their trousers will no longer mean a signal of poverty to us.

When everyone has a home, whether they go to school or not, children will receive education in the field they want and will study voluntarily.

3. The Meaning Of Life: “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself”

In this case, the most important spiritual value becomes wishing for our neighbor all the good things we wish for ourselves.
The concept of private schools disappears completely.
The gap between children who can attend paid schools and those who cannot disappears.

Saying “I send my child to a private school” means the following:

1. When I pay money, my child will be more successful than other children.
2. Teachers will pay more attention to my child than to other children.
3. My child will learn more languages.
4. No one can hit my child.
5. My child should be smarter than the others.
6. When my child grows up, he should be a boss, and the other children should be his workers.

This attitude is completely opposite to the spiritual value of “love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Root Of Today’s Problems

This is not limited only to private schools.
Some of the children raised this way later come to important positions and form a layer that sees itself as privileged and lives as if on a different planet.

There is only one reason for the problems the world is experiencing today:
The three basic needs are not guaranteed.

How Can These Needs Be Guaranteed?

1. Food For Everyone

By planting vegetable seedlings and fruit trees on every piece of land you find, doing this in all public spaces, and growing food everywhere until you are sure that everyone in your society is full and will never go hungry.
Give authority to people who can do this.

2. Safe Living Spaces For Everyone

Owning a home is not a luxury; it is a necessity.
Until you are sure that every child born has a personal room while growing up and their own living space in adulthood, demand from local governments and from the countries of which you are citizens the land on which these homes can be built.

3. Repeat “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself” Every Day

Before doing anything, think twice:
Does this have any benefit?

For example, if my neighbor’s child goes to school wearing branded shoes and my child’s shoes have holes in their soles, would this please me?
No.

Then should I also buy expensive shoes for my child and send them to school, and upset the children who cannot do this?
No.

Furthermore, how can I guarantee the three basic needs for all people so that no one compares themselves to others based on their clothes, cars, appearance, or possessions?

A Final Call

A human being’s fundamental duty in this world is to guarantee the three basic needs for all humanity.
Now you know the solution as well.

I will start this practically on a one-decare piece of land.
If you can, start before me.
The person who does this will be the leader of our age.