Discussion on Poverty and Survival in America

Do you think it's tougher now for young people, um-

No

... just to survive than it was when you were 15?

No, I think life is so much simpler now.

Nobody starves in our country. Nobody has to go out on the corners to

beg.

You can go and get medical aid. There- nobody lives in the streets.

There's some people that live in the streets.

Here in this country?

Yes, ma'am.

Well, they don't have to.

Well, tell them.

Uh, I don't believe that.

Are you, are you telling me that there are-

I'm not being facetious.

No, I know you're not.

No.

You're telling me that people have to sleep in the streets

like they do in India?

Yes, ma'am. But they don't... Yes, ma'am, they sleep in the streets, and they die

here in America.

Well, they die anyway, even if you sleep in a bed.

You've just described a number of deaths.

No, I meant, like, in India, you die from starvation and stuff.

Well, you don't die of starvation here.

Yes, ma'am.

You can always get some food. We have-

I know we have it, but we don't always give it.

Well,

I don't...

I'm, I'm sorry to differ with you, but I don't think statistics would show

that

you're right. Nobody has to starve in this country.

There are-

All right, if you get a gun, you don't have to starve, no.

Oh, no, not with a gun. Come on, you know that-

Are you saying, are you saying that the people who

are below the poverty level

or... And there are a lot of people below the

poverty level in this country.

Of course there are. The poverty level now,

because of the cost of

living, is almost $5,000.

You know, in Appalachia-

And many people who live-

This is white people now, so I won't bring it to Black people so you

won't not

believe me. In Appalachia, ma'am-

I don't, there's no difference in my mind between

Black and white, and get that

straight.

You're crazy.

You cannot, you cannot say-

Now, he's being prejudiced now.

I'll tell you something. That's it.

You go hiding behind the fact that I must have a prejudice.

No, ma'am.

Well, damn it, I don't.

No, ma'am, I wasn't-

I don't have a single prejudice

... I wasn't hiding behind that. I was trying to tell you-

I don't have any prejudice

... in Appalachia, I was trying to make a common denominator

for the masses.

Like, if I use Appalachia rather than Watts-

Are they starving there?

... they would understand that better.

Are they starving there?

In Appalachia? Yes, ma'am. Sometimes the babies' bellies get swole

up.

They don't get enough food, and they get retarded.

You know, you understand what I'm saying?

Like, because they eat, they can't-

I do, but I don't believe it.

No, ma'am, it's true. The, the children get retarded because they

don't have enough

food to make the enzymes work in their brain.

Having, having listened to you before and some of the things you've said-

Well, it's not just me. Walter Cronkite said it.

I'll tell you something-

This is television at its finest moment, folks. Nights like this.

I don't know why I talk to him at all. I'm accustomed to talking to you.

No, I think he's very serious to what... I think he's very serious in what he says.

Of course he is.

And I think he, uh, I think he has a point.

I don't.

There are people in this country who don't get enough to eat.

They may not get enough, but nobody really starves.

I mean, I think this count-

No.

You asked me about the young.

No. No.

That's why you're here, 'cause you're starving.

Johnny Carson is back there. There'll be no yelling.

You let them yell?

Sure. It's an open-

Oh, I see.

It's an open country, sure.

Well, then if they like you, what do they say?

Hey.

These people are all cloned. Do you know that?

We clone them in the other room, and then we bring them here just for the

show.

I thought that only your purse that is cloned. And I thought that

was a great idea.

I thought I'd step in after the fifth clone and take hold.

What were we talking about, anyway?

We were on the subject of-

Cloning

... when you were young.

When I was young.

Yeah.

When-

Why was that?

When the earth was full of trees that

bore fruit and the flowers bloomed.

They were sweeter, and there were love affairs to be had.

And lynchings.

Now, I asked you, I asked you, Johnny.

Yes, ma'am. Yes.

Isn't it curious? You can talk about beautiful things,

nobody

applauds. You talk about lynching...

I don't know whether that applause is because you approve of lynching

or because

you're happy that he said so. I can't figure it out, you know.

Can you?

No, ma'am.

Oh.

I think it was a play on the beautiful thing and the absurdity and

the point that he was making, that in the early days when things were-

No

... there were other things going on that were not so good.

He was just drawing a situation out.

But there are some, there are some beautiful things in life.

If there weren't, why does everybody wanna live?

Why doesn't anyone wanna die, even your father?

Hey.