I am also empathetic, but I find the author's writing in poor taste. She's still able to afford eating at expensive restaurants, but writes with the tone of a martyr because she has to get seltzer water instead of chardonnay.
I grew up quite poor and still have loved ones who are poor, often even more than I was. Poor in the sense of born poor, a life of labor into age 60 or 70 poor. I'm also aware that this isn't unique, lots of people out there are anywhere between very poor to obscenely indigent, so I and other poor or formerly poor people don't generally tend towards unabashed self pity. Because of that, this author's story just makes me roll my eyes. Here are some examples of what I mean:
> WHITE: You know, I have all the props and credentials. I have a Harvard MBA. I have a master's in international studies from Hopkins. I went to Oberlin undergraduate. You know, I worked at the World Bank.
> But if you paid attention, you would see the sadness in my eyes, hear that hint of fear in my otherwise self-assured voice.
> You invite me to the same expensive restaurants that the two of us have always enjoyed. But I order mineral water now with a twist of lemon instead of the $12 glass of chardonnay.
> There are no media stories about me. My slide out of the middle class is not sensational enough
I can empathize that the change is difficult, but I won't cry for her having to skip a chardonnay that's worth more than what many people spend on food (or earn) in a day. She's obviously a very intelligent and accomplished person and almost certainly has connections; I'd rather save my attention and empathy for the people who don't have a list of degrees and accomplishments. So when I see people do respond to this kind of story, I can't help but wonder if they have ever personally experienced poverty, let alone the lifelong and encompassing poverty (in the sense that everyone around you is poor and you have no connections somewhere higher up) that I saw so often growing up.