#i also know that all the crayons and puppet shows in the world wouldn't explain this issue to them

[hoochieblues]

I'm currently working on a ms that has some significant classism issues, and it's making me want to chew off my own arms.

Writers. Please. Whatever historical period you're writing, whatever genre, whatever the makeup of your worldbuilding... poverty doesn't make people immoral. Lack of education doesn't make people stupid.

I think the vast majority of people know this, but "The Poors" should not exist in your story to either be "content with their lot" and whimsically prop up wealthier characters' privilege, or to be handwaved or judged as venal, desperate, or cruel by those wealthier characters, especially with the condescending veneer of pity.

Sure, poverty is cruel and can change how you think. It can veer you towards sketchy decisions, limit your options, and embitter you. It can normalise certain things in a community that you don't see in wealthier places. But a lazy caricature of the type of person who is poor is a bullshit avoidance of those issues, and it's pure classism.

By all means, write antagonists or unpleasant characters who are poor. But, for the love of fuck, give them some interior motivation beyond being poor. Contextualise them. Show some variety.

If you've never lived under the poverty line, if you're not sure how to write it, do some research. You have the sum of human knowledge in a tiny computer in your pocket. It can show you worlds you never knew existed, and viewpoints far outside your own.