Living life in hell on Earth

Christopher Williams, an Imagination Connoisseur from Chicago, says he’s been living life in hell … on the south side of Chicago. Christopher offers a stark look at the double standards for rich and poor, from the poor’s perspective.

A letter on the double standards between rich and poor – from a poorer person’s perspective.

Hi, Rob. My name is Chris. I’m 29, almost 30; from the South Side of Chicago.

This is a darker question. I’m not submitting this as a cry for help. I want to get closer to an answer to something I’ve wondered for so long. I want to hear from someone on “the other side of the tracks” to get a view of things I’ve been desperate for, for so long.

You’re a deep guy. You look at the truth in fiction, and a lot of the conversations you have ABOUT fiction apply to this absolute reality. I thought you’d be a good brain to pick.

So…

I was born in “the hood”. But for the first 8 years of my time I got to spend part of my days in the stereotypical suburbs. I got to touch down with “civilization”. Everything was clean, peaceful, safe. People were nice. I WAS.

But at 8 years old my time was fully in “the hood”.

It didn’t take long for me to get abused in a house that was full of hoarding, poverty, insanity. It didn’t take long for me to start complaining about how I had goals, dreams, interests; and how my current environment didn’t support those things.

I was a nerd. I wanted to be a scientist, a writer…me.

I was LOUD, explicit about it all.

No one cared. Seriously.

And no matter how much I told people I needed “better”, things have just kept getting worse for me. My failing health, lost time, closeness to danger…no one took it seriously.

And I’m typing this letter fresh from getting kicked out of the house after the most random physical fight at 5 AM. I’m paranoid about my 20-year-old collection of media being out of sight. I’m in ANOTHER dysfunctional space now. I have health issues that are about to get even harder to manage. I’m also special needs in a way no one has sympathy for (“giftedness”).

And see…I’m not ignorant, Rob. Chicago is a global city that every year imports wealthier young people; giving them more access, opportunity, respect, and regard than I’ve ever been given. They LITERALLY get more mobility.

And the South Side…is HELL. The conditions are something some people listening can’t imagine.

And we have three Batman movies now (The Dark Knight Rises, Joker, The Batman) that have dealt with this class divide and the suffering that comes from it. Movies seen by millions. We have To Kill A Mockingbird: a book read by most grade-schoolers in this country, that deals with poverty, racism, and violence. There’s all this trendy talk about equity, diversity, and inclusion.

So why don’t these ideas penetrate people’s minds? Why is it seen as okay for some people in this society to suffer like this? Why is it that someone like me can tell people they’re in a dysfunctional environment, for over two decades, and it’s seen as something that’s appropriate to continue? Why don’t people see me as human?

– Christopher Williams

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