Read the paragraph titled “okies have lice” from years of dust. surrounding communities resented the newcomers. some locals assumed that, because okies were poor, they deserved to be poor—had brought poverty upon themselves through laziness, ignorance, and “immorality.” too often, okie children met bias in school. “the better dressed children shout and jeer,” a parent told john steinbeck. "the teachers are quite often impatient with these additions to their duties, and the parents of the ‘nice’ children do not want to have disease carriers in their schools." after all, everyone just “knew” that “okies have lice.” this piece of text is a sidebar. summary. quotation.