"On Thursday, around 100-150 folks came out, according to Debbie, to purchase a drink. Even more brought donations from friends who couldn’t make it out. Some people drove up and handed the family their donations in exchange for a cup; others got out and mingled and talked with the family. Some brought more lemonade, sugar, lemons and cups in case Emouree ran out. (In fact, the local Piggly Wiggly ran out of lemons Thursday.)
So much of the community was there – police officers, a motorcycle group, judges, EMS workers, nurses – to show their support. Numerous businesses – the list is long, and it keeps growing – brought checks or pledged money to help. Others have donated clothes for Emouree and brought food.
But that’s not it. Multiple local monument companies reached out to donate a tombstone to the family, and enough money has been raised to pay for her mom’s funeral costs."
As community should, this is not a dystopian story. People die, mothers die, this is a story of community coming together to help a little girl heal.
Maybe. Maybe she felt powerless and wanted to do something, anything, to feel like she was contributing during the process. Without more context its hard to say. People act in weird ways when loved ones die, maybe she's channeling her pain into something productive.
poor people exist, poor mothers die, this is not dystopian, it's the human condition, it maybe unfair, and point to an unfair system, but it's not dystopian, this isn't new, and it isn't imagines, it's the way things always have been. words have meaning. and this doesn't mean that.
my point is that poor does not automatically imply dystopian and therefor your a suggestion to the contrary (choose between "poor" and "not dystopian") is not true, as can be seen in this handy matrix
poverty is attribute that can be present in dystopia, but it is not a necessity.
in most major dystopias in popular culture (1984, Fahrenheit 451, blade runner, logan's run) the poverty is not the defining factor.
and on the opposite side, people can be poor, struggling through hardships, but still be looking for a bright future instead of feeling oppressed or dystopian.
as can be seen in scifi colonization stories or in real life communities in poor countries. despite lacking the wealth of the top 10% of western population, without our mortgages or antidepressants (or maybe just because of that), they can be much happier.
You're the type of person this sub targets, buddy.
I'm sure you think the teacher who had to have their colleagues donate sick time so they could be with their child with cancer, or the kid who sold candles to pay for his friend's wheelchair is heartwarming too.
The whole point is that people having to do stuff like that in the first place is bad, and is the result of a very sick society.
Apparently you just as I did not read the article. After actually reading it, it seems that the girl is just a generous person and likes helping others. Nowhere does it specifically say they did jot have the funds for the tombstone and it might just be her way of coping. The title does still make it sound hella dystopian though.
You are right though, this is a wonderful story of community coming together. I think much of the support isn't really monetary but an outpouring of love trying to help a little girl cope with her loss. But I do agree that no one should have to experience monetary stress in times of crisis. We can all do better all of the time, not just some of the time.