Welfare Legends in the United States:

While there is some challenges in defining which people constitute this folk group, I am going to utilise the group "general public", which can be refined to anyone who is likely to discuss current affairs in a group setting, such as the average "working-class american". Anyone who has political affiliations, pays taxes, is employed, or is on public aid constitutes members of this folk group, however those who spread and share welfare legends would likely be those who aren't currently on aid, and have at least some reservations about the welfare system in general. The breakfast club folk group in North Carolina was described as six, caucasian, businessmen, so I will use them as an example. What might this legend tell us about this group? Based on the stories they were sharing (many which mirrored the structure of the welfare queen, and most fell along the lines of criticising the "undeserving poor"), there is likely an underlying motive to these accounts. While circulating of this legend might not be done so with explicit malicious intent, it nonetheless reinforces negative stereotypes of an already marginalized group.

There is no definite answer to the question "what does the welfare legend tell us about those who share them", partially due to the sheer scale of the group. Nonetheless we can draw some observations from the field work done by Mould and his colleagues. Welfare anecdotes, it seems, are typically passed along in order to serve a particular point of view or established beliefs, whether political, economic, racial, or class-based. Welfare legends can be used to insinuate character flaws of the poor, attempt to show how the welfare system is broken, or even reinforce a prominent racial stereotypes. They can be outlets of frustration for the working class, as these stories seems to indicate people who work less are able to afford more, as evinced by the quote "they got ribeyes, we got hamburgers" (Mould 2016, 397). This sentiment occurs frequently in the online forum, as one user writes "There are too many hard working americans who have to pay for people being f***ing lazy and reap the benefits" (Mould 2016, 404). Many working class people shared stories of when they fell into hard times and recieved aid, however claiming they would never purchase luxury products while they were struggling. Many recounted all of the luxurys they had to give up when these times came, saying others who receive aid should act similarly. Again, these might not be said with malicious intent, however they often impact others' perceptions

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The variation of purposes this legend serves makes it difficult to conclude anything about the group, along with the fact that each group differs greatly from the next. One thing is for certain however, that is there is little doubt of how pervasive and powerful contemporary legends can be on public perception. I believe it is important study such legends as these, so that one may be able to differentiate fact from fiction, especially considering the consequences for many struggling Americans.