Classism, Stigma and Long-Distance Running

Classism, Stigma and Long-Distance Running

Commentary by Andy Pope | FāVS News

This is going to sound horribly crass, but I keep thinking that only rich people are supposed to be about long distance running. I keep thinking that we poor people are supposed to be wasting all our money on drugs, cigarettes and alcohol in order to cope with all the miseries of poverty.

But as I analyze that sentiment, I begin to wonder about it. Let’s cite three specific wonderments, for the record.

1. Why on earth would I be relating something so simple as health and fitness to financial status?

Well, I think it’s safe to say that criminalization of the poor is a real phenomenon. Impoverished people in our society are not only criminalized by those who are well-off. We are criminalized by some of the very poor people we find in our midst.

Often, when I mention to someone in my financial bracket that I am going on a “run,” the word “run” is interpreted differently than I intended.

“A food run?” one might ask, supposing I’m about to go to the Food Bank or grocery store.

“A drug binge?” one might ask, since a “run” is colloquial for a bender.

When I tell them what form of running I mean, I have sometimes heard this reply: “You’re not going to see me running anywhere, unless I’m running from the law.”

Why is it that when a poor person is seen running, it is associated with running from the law?

For one thing, I don’t exactly have fine Nike shoes and Gore-Tex running suits. I run in my normal duds, wearing old beat up shoes with holes in the soles. I’m lucky if I even own a single pair of shorts for that matter. The ones I run in now have tears in the sides. But hey — how much of a priority is it to get good running clothes when one goes broke midway through every month? At the risk of further crassness, let’s get real.

If a person is a bit better off, they can afford expensive running gear, and expensive race registrations, for that matter. Not so with the poor folks. So we have the association of visible poverty with criminality. This cannot be overlooked — but let’s move on to the second question.

2. Who dictates what one is “supposed” to be doing in the first place?

While this is a very important question, I don’t think it warrants much extra analysis. Once a person is a grown adult, no longer under parental guidance, no one dictates what that person is “supposed” to be doing.

No one but God, that is — and even in the case of God’s “dictates,” there is plenty of grace and room for personal preference. The idea that poor people are “supposed” to be spending all their money on cigarettes and alcohol is only a social stigma. That many poor people do smoke is quite true, and quite sad. Cigarettes cost a lot of money, and poor people do not have that money. But cigarettes are also very highly addictive, and that addiction is hard to break — for rich and poor alike.|

3. Is poverty really all that “miserable”?

Personally, I don’t associate poverty with misery. I associate poverty with inconvenience. But inconvenience and misery are two different things.

Say I have a number of errands to do, as I did yesterday. Say my bicycle is in the shop, as it was yesterday. The errands take a great deal of time. At one point, a drug store that I was depending on turned out to have gone out of business. I then balked at making it all the way over to the next nearest drug store, which was miles away. All of this stuff is inconvenient.

But was I miserable once I had finished my errands? Not at all! To the contrary, I felt great satisfaction in getting them all accomplished, even though the process was time-consuming. In fact, if I had a car, I would be paying for upkeep and maintenance, if not car payments.

The bicycle consumes more time than a car, but it’s a wonderful way of getting around — given good weather conditions — and one gets one’s daily exercise in the process. It also points to the beauty of the “middle place” — that beautiful place where one finds a healthy balance between extremes.

The Bible makes it clear that many blessings are afforded to poor people. And no one relates God’s blessings to misery. In fact, the words “happy” and “blessed” are interchangeable in Old Testament languages. The words “blessed are the poor” appear verbatim in the Gospel according to Luke, and slightly qualified in the Gospel according to Matthew. The words “blessed are the rich,” on the other hand, are nowhere to be found.

Now the Bible does say: “The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all.” (Ecclesiastes 22:2.) This is one of many fine Scriptures, along with Colossians 3:11 and Galatians 3:28, which point to egalitarianism.

Outside of Scriptural documentation, common sense suggests we are all equal in the eyes of God, and that we should be equal in the eyes of each other. In my opinion, the only people who need to be robbed of certain rights to liberty are hardened criminals who should remain behind bars, as they would otherwise remain threats to society.

But whether one is rich or poor — or anywhere in between — does not alter their essential humanity. We have a lot more in common with people in other social classes than we think. We are all human.

The Bible does however go a bit harder on the wealthy. There are scores of warnings delivered in the Scriptures to those of high stature. James 5:1 and Mark 10:5 come to mind immediately — but there are many others as well. On the other hand, very few warnings are delivered to the poor. In fact, the Prayer of Agur is just about as close as they come:

This also points to the beauty of the middle class: the middle class that is gradually disappearing from our social structure. We have recently seen billionaires in the Cabinet. Decent people — I repeat, decent people — are strewn about the streets of Seattle and San Francisco, drowning in a culture that no human being should be forced to endure.

But in the middle place there is balance. One will neither think of God as unnecessary, nor curse God for apparent failure to provide.

Currently, after losing two jobs in a row due to mental health issues, I am working on a new mode of earned income through promoting my musical endeavors. If it works out — which so far, I am sad to say, it does not appear to be — I may be able to reach that middle place. If not, the words of the Apostle Paul still ring true:

“For we brought nothing into the world, neither are we able to carry out anything. But having sustenance and coverings, with these we will be content.” — 1 Timothy 6:8

There is a certain measure of comfort in that directive. That comfort may be felt by anyone who is human, and who believes. But to equate a quest for greater health and fitness with having the money to afford high quality health food and fancy running gear is to miss the mark.

Digest the word. Soak it in. Find in the Word the beauty and truth thereof. “It will bring healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones.” — Proverbs 3:8