Man says everyone should ‘be poor for at least 5 years’ to understand empathy — it hits the nail on the head

A man on SubwayTakes (@subwaytakes), a talk show hosted by Kareem Rahma, said everyone on Earth needs to live at least five years in poverty. But why? Well, he explained that only those who've lived through awful experiences can empathize with others in similar situations. Rahma had this beautiful encounter with the man while shooting for Episode 530 on the New York City subway.

"You've got to feel like what it feels like to have insufficient funds," the man said, while mentioning how millions of struggling parents experience when they're unable to provide basic things to their kids. For wealthy people, he explained, it's especially important to acknowledge the ground reality because they, in turn, can provide better opportunities to whomever they can. "I don't think people know how hard it is," Rahma, the host, exclaimed, to which the guest responded, "Yeah, they have no clue." Rahma was so involved in the conversation that he even recalled his own struggling days. He was in debt for $2,000 and had to survive on only milk and cereal. The man wished for a committee that could help people get a hang of such experiences that can foster empathy in them. But if someone is born poor, he said, he doesn't have to go through financial struggles again to sympathize with others. Moreover, the man explained how one doesn't necessarily have 5 consecutive years of poverty and that it can happen at various stages of life. "In one of those times, if you are going to have kids, you can do a year or two for the kids," he added, because then it gets subtracted from theirs. 

The man's beliefs can be thought of as an analogy to C. Daniel Batson's Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis, where the findings suggested that people report greater empathetic concern when they perceive similarities between themselves and someone else. This further leads to altruistic behavior born out of genuine empathy. The hypothesis also suggests that people who help others after empathizing with them are usually the ones who don't expect anything in return. Moreover, Batson suggested that our ability to connect with others on an emotional level is actually the driving force for doing good.

Meanwhile, reacting to man's ideology about fostering empathy, @lifeis.complikated commented, "Every politician should be required to live on the median income of the district they represent. It would solve a lot." @kristalepore shared, "I also think everyone should work in a restaurant for at least one month… Work a Sunday brunch, work New Year’s Eve, and work Mother’s Day brunch… You will see the absolute worst of humanity, and nothing is more grounding and humbling." Similarly, @kaka.bes shared, "100% agree! In Bosnia, we have a saying, 'Sit gladnom ne vjeruje,' meaning, 'A person with a full stomach doesn’t believe the one who’s hungry.'" @elikasadeghi commented, "I agree in theory, but there are also tons of people — whether they are successful immigrants or self-made rich people— who love to pull the ladder up behind them and whose experiences did not lead them to be more empathetic or to want better for others. @nourhan_khaled wrote, "As an immigrant, asylee, and a New Yorker who’s been here and hustling for over 12 years, I say that it should be a requirement everywhere. But ESPECIALLY in the US."

You can follow SubwayTakes with Kareem Rahma (@subwaytakes) on Instagram for more such enlightening conversations.

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