People on Twitter took Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson to task after he said that poverty was a “state of mind.”
The neurosurgeon, who previously caught heat for suggesting that slaves who were brought to America were “immigrants,” made the controversial comment during a SiriusXM Radio interview with Armstrong Williams released Wednesday.
Listen to the clip here:
”I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind,” said Carson. “You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee you in a little while they’ll be right back up there.”
Carson’s comments sparked anger among Twitter users, including “Star Trek” actor George Takei. Here’s a sampling:
Ben Carson says that poverty is a "state of mind." You know what else is a state of mind? Always being a blithering idiot.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 24, 2017
Dear @SecretaryCarson,
— Nita Lowey (@NitaLowey) May 24, 2017
States of mind:
✔️ Happy
✔️ Sad
✔️ New York
NOT a state of mind:
❌ Systemic poverty https://t.co/HAuQrNzvTL
@WajahatAli @whattheshihtzu Im gonna use my "state of mind" to do all my farm work for me. Why have I not thought of this before. Gonna dream up lobster too.
— Teemedome (@teemedome) May 25, 2017
Huh. We say poverty is the condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support.https://t.co/HBXsKo83sQ https://t.co/IRdMSW93eC
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) May 24, 2017
So is hunger apparently. Let's Jedi Mind trick ourselves into eating a steak. https://t.co/t20slNjhIF
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) May 24, 2017
If poverty is "a state of mind" then so is wealth. So how about Ben Carson trade places with someone impoverished and show us how it's done.
— Nut Job (@MacSmiff) May 24, 2017
Let's have him swap with a family living below the poverty line for - meeehhh - 3 months & see what he says then. https://t.co/P7AKwz0tJj
— Nemesis Resis☨ (@LaPajamas) May 24, 2017
I just imagined a few million into my bank account, thanks Ben Carson https://t.co/uYqFjQwWXR
— thomas a moore 🎈 (@Thomas_A_Moore) May 24, 2017
Ben Carson said poverty is a state of mind.
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) May 24, 2017
Next month, I'm going to tell my landlord that I paid my rent with positive thinking!
Ben Carson says you can think your way out of poverty, time to start thinking hard. pic.twitter.com/eM0Hc6oHRs
— Ryan (@ryanztweetz) May 24, 2017
@washingtonpost Ben Carson is an idiot! Let him live in poverty for a year & then get a comment from him! Are poor people suppose to mediate out of poverty?
— Doc CB (@cbeidson) May 24, 2017
Ben Carson says that poverty is a "state of mind."
— Talia (@2020fight) May 25, 2017
Tell that to my low-income students whose parents struggle w/the basic necessities.
Ben Carson said poverty is a state of mind. The 45 million people living below the poverty line should just smile themselves to wealth.
— Michael, still here (@Home_Halfway) May 24, 2017
Ben Carson says poverty is a state of mind, so next month try paying your rent with The Force
— Bobby Big Wheel (@BobbyBigWheel) May 25, 2017
Ben Carson thinking that poverty is a mindset is a pretentious dismissal of the struggle that millions of working parents go through.
— Simar (@sahluwal) May 24, 2017
If poverty is a "state of mind" Ben Carson, why don't we put you in our lower class's shoes and you can just "think" your way out of it?
— Christian Tall (@ChristianLTall) May 25, 2017
On a serious note, poverty is physically&very mentally exhausting. Ppl like Ben Carson don't have a clue on how hard it is to live w/no hope
— Tina-TheResistance (@trcfwtt) May 25, 2017
Ben Carson called poverty a state of mind. No, sir stupidity is a state of mind. Perhaps you should go see a neurosurgeon.......
— Lynn V. (@lynnv378) May 24, 2017
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