Yes, the Stigma of Section 8 is Still All Too Real

• Author: Michael Bordonada
• Posted: 2023-12-09

The world is a very competitive place, and if ever you doubt that this is just the natural order of life, take a look at animals other than humans. It's not a Disney cartoon where every species exists in harmony and whistles while colorful flower petals float around. It's a brutal, cut-throat existence where organisms compete for resources. For humans, this doesn't differ too much, especially when it comes to poverty and housing. Nearly a century ago, America created the Section 8 program to provide poor Americans with housing assistance so that they could live in a home in safety and with dignity. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of stigma involved in this, with many feeling that Section 8 recipients are just drains on welfare. In a series of TikTik videos, a landlord recently illustrated just how poorly Section 8 recipients are treated by some in society.

A property owner named Mital Patel recently released a series of TikTok videos in which he goes to the home of a tenant and evicts them. According to Patel, the tenants trashed the home and were responsible for dozens of neighborhood complaints. So, he made the choice to evict the tenants. This is understandable; some tenants are bad and unruly and don't care at all about the property that they're placed in and do not have to pay for. This is unfortunately something that's true. However, many are now upset because of the way Patel handled it. In an ongoing series of videos, he would show up to the home acting gleeful, changing the locks, cursing about the tenants, and making fun of them for being on Section 8. This is where people draw the line. Patel has received massive backlash for insulting the fact that they're poor people who cannot afford a home.

Although it doesn't get publicized a whole lot in the mainstream media, likely because it isn't as sensational as other sorts of "isms" they can run stories on, classism is a serious issue in America. There's a stark polarization between many who have money and resources, and many who do not. "Get a real job," Patel yells at his impoverished tenants. "Today we're evicting somebody," he shouts and laughs into the camera. It really illustrates how a lot of wealthy people feel about poor people.

More than that, it also illuminates the attitude of wealthy, urbanite people and illustrates why the homeless may be treated so poorly. For example, the wealthy people of Seattle, Washington love claiming how progressive they are. They cannot go a single day without bragging about the causes they claim to champion. Though every single time it goes up for a vote in Seattle, the residents overwhelmingly declare that they will tolerate no shelters, soup kitchens or Section 8 housing in their area. And who can forget the very recent clown show in Martha's Vineyard? An island with enough resources to feed and shelter over one million people could not keep 48 poor people from Venezuela for more than a day, before calling the National Guard and having them evicted.

The stigma behind welfare programs like Section 8 is real. Millions of Americans do not even treat welfare recipients as people.

SNAP as an Example

Is there a way that Section 8 could be better implemented in order to help solve the issues of stigmatizing poor people? The Housing Choice Voucher was supposed to accomplish that. Poor people get to pick where they want to live, and the government foots the bill. From the outside looking in, you wouldn't know that your neighbor is on Section 8, because they're not housed in some government tenement. The landlord knows, however, and thus situations like the Patel videos can always happen and shame people who are poor.

There was a similar problem with food stamps for years. Having to hand these paper coupons over at the register was just really embarrassing and stigmatizing for some. Most people on welfare are ashamed of it and do not want to be on welfare. So, to help with the stigma, SNAP was created, and EBT cards were handed out, so that recipients could pay for their groceries with a debit card instead of food stamps. This has worked well for food stamps, but there is no equivalent for Section 8.

Hopefully enough Americans can voice their disgust against people like Patel, causing them enough shame to change the dynamics. Poor people have a tough enough time as it is; they don't need mockery from the wealthy.