You’re poor? Tsk!

Language can be sexist, ageist, racist or homophobic if not used appropriately.

Main issue that one must be conscious about when writing or talking about poverty is
Povertyism. Povertyism is the idea that people are discriminated against simply based on living
in poverty. Negativity is associated with 'the poor', i.e. most typically, the poor are presented
either as an economic burden or as a morally bankrupt population. Then the question emerges,
how should we describe poverty? There could be three types of descriptions: effective
descriptions where the main aim of the writing is to deliver outcomes, for example raising funds;
sensitive description where the challenge of describing poverty is the way that is respectful
toward people experiencing poverty and aware of how these descriptions might be received by
them and progressive description that aims to change the negative perceptions that prevail
regarding the phenomena of ‘poverty’.
For Arindham Chaudhry, Poverty is a bad thing – He associates the middle class
to be trapped in a vicious cycle of uncertainty and despondence. Therefore, he showcases
expensive cars, fancy suits and luxurious homes to demonstrate what an ideal lifestyle should be.
For him, everyone should be this way. This is further demonstrated by the Beautiful and the
Damned, just the cover itself aims to generate a more ‘modern’ image of the Indian society.
Gifted journalists who want to address serious social issues but cannot afford to
do so in a media environment that thrives by refusing to pay. As for commentary about poverty –
a disproportionate share of which issues from very well paid, established, columnists like David
Brooks of the New York Times and George Will of the Washington Post (guardian) – all too
often, it tends to reflect the historical biases of economic elites, that the poor are different than
“we” are, less educated, intelligent, self-disciplined and more inclined to make “bad lifestyle
choices.” Therefore, this ends up taking a blend of journalism and fiction like in the work of
Arundhati Roy, when people want talk about sensitive issues.