PS: The point here is NOT that poor people shouldn’t have kids, it’s that no one should be having kids without having the basics of childcare covered, which necessitates widespread systemic, societal, and economic change so that no parent needs to worry about those basics, and kids can grow up in secure, healthy environments. I completely forgot to mention this when I originally posted it, and that’s my bad.
Anyone who succeeds in an environment like that would have succeeded even more in a more positive environment. Hardships are never a good thing. Some people flourish anyway, in the same way that some folks don’t let chronic illness or disability stop them. It doesn’t mean we have to celebrate the chronic illness or disability (or poverty). We celebrate the people who achieved greatness in spite of it.
I spent years of my life in hard situations. I got out of them eventually, but it just made me want to do better by other folks. There is no magic “shitty situation makes you a better person,” lots of my peers became deeply selfish & bitter.