S
Siobhan Perricone
Guest
I wasn't going to respond to this thread because so many of you are so
judgemental about the poor, but I couldn't resist this particular post as
it was a prime example of one of the challenges the poor face in this
country.
On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 11:31:01 GMT, Someone wrote:
>I keep trying to
>tell her that it's the kind of food she's buying that's causing the weight
>gain, she nods and says "she knows", but she claims that this is all her
>kids will eat. Personally, I think she's killing her family.
She isn't killing her family, the indifference to fixing the problems that
create this situation of poverty is. It's more likely that it's easier to
tell you her kids won't eat good food than it is to explain the real
situation. The way you said this in the post makes me wonder just how
gently you're even saying this to her, and if it doesn't just come across
as something judgemental that embarrasses her and makes her feel like a
piece of **** failure, instead of actually encouraging her in some way so
she might actually succeed.
>Sad thing is,
>all this junk "food" is supported by the government. Yep, you got it, Food
>Stamps. Someone should supervise what kinds of foods people should be
>allowed to buy on government assistance.
It is *so* easy to judge people in this situation. Why don't you take some
time to find out how much in food stamps and other government assistance
she actually gets, then look at the prices for fresh foods in your local
supermarket and think about the size of her family and how much it'd cost
to feed them good, fresh foods every day. Even at the portions you'd
consider "sensible".
While it is possible to eat better than you described on such a small
amount of money, it takes a lot of time, effort, and training to do it. It
is not intuitive, and it is not something that people are taught how to do
much any more. Also, it is only possible to eat a little better, not a
great deal better. So eating a little better, with a whole lot more work,
that it is unlikely anyone has taken the time to show her how to do versus
spending her time on other things that may appear more productive to her in
the long run...
An awful lot of the people I know who are on government assistance don't
have the time, kitchens, cooking implements, or skills to do what would be
needed to improve their diet. The cost of setting themselves up with the
necessary things to make a diet of beans and rice palatable is likely
higher than that they'd save over the course of several months, which, when
you're living check to check and having to make choices about which bills
to pay, isn't a very good incentive.
They manage to eat enough to survive so they can work their **** jobs with
no hope of advancement (or look constantly for work with few skills and
little hope of finding anything other than soul crushing labour) so maybe
their kids can have some better chance, but aren't likely to because
they'll be fat and thus have a much harder time in school, in the office
place, and out finding jobs. All the while having to carry the stress
caused by all of this so they can die early and their kids can continue
this cycle that we as a society make it nearly impossible to break out of.
Lots easier to just judge her as a fat slob sucking off the government teat
than to actually help her learn a better way. What a great friend you are.
Oh maybe you're nice to her face, but you're here in public calling her a
fat, lazy slob who is *refusing* to feed her family well at the expense of
the tax payers.
Goddess save me from "friends" like you.
--
Siobhan Perricone
"Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family,
people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-o and all the other things I can
prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have."
- Penn Jillette from his "This I Believe" essay
judgemental about the poor, but I couldn't resist this particular post as
it was a prime example of one of the challenges the poor face in this
country.
On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 11:31:01 GMT, Someone wrote:
>I keep trying to
>tell her that it's the kind of food she's buying that's causing the weight
>gain, she nods and says "she knows", but she claims that this is all her
>kids will eat. Personally, I think she's killing her family.
She isn't killing her family, the indifference to fixing the problems that
create this situation of poverty is. It's more likely that it's easier to
tell you her kids won't eat good food than it is to explain the real
situation. The way you said this in the post makes me wonder just how
gently you're even saying this to her, and if it doesn't just come across
as something judgemental that embarrasses her and makes her feel like a
piece of **** failure, instead of actually encouraging her in some way so
she might actually succeed.
>Sad thing is,
>all this junk "food" is supported by the government. Yep, you got it, Food
>Stamps. Someone should supervise what kinds of foods people should be
>allowed to buy on government assistance.
It is *so* easy to judge people in this situation. Why don't you take some
time to find out how much in food stamps and other government assistance
she actually gets, then look at the prices for fresh foods in your local
supermarket and think about the size of her family and how much it'd cost
to feed them good, fresh foods every day. Even at the portions you'd
consider "sensible".
While it is possible to eat better than you described on such a small
amount of money, it takes a lot of time, effort, and training to do it. It
is not intuitive, and it is not something that people are taught how to do
much any more. Also, it is only possible to eat a little better, not a
great deal better. So eating a little better, with a whole lot more work,
that it is unlikely anyone has taken the time to show her how to do versus
spending her time on other things that may appear more productive to her in
the long run...
An awful lot of the people I know who are on government assistance don't
have the time, kitchens, cooking implements, or skills to do what would be
needed to improve their diet. The cost of setting themselves up with the
necessary things to make a diet of beans and rice palatable is likely
higher than that they'd save over the course of several months, which, when
you're living check to check and having to make choices about which bills
to pay, isn't a very good incentive.
They manage to eat enough to survive so they can work their **** jobs with
no hope of advancement (or look constantly for work with few skills and
little hope of finding anything other than soul crushing labour) so maybe
their kids can have some better chance, but aren't likely to because
they'll be fat and thus have a much harder time in school, in the office
place, and out finding jobs. All the while having to carry the stress
caused by all of this so they can die early and their kids can continue
this cycle that we as a society make it nearly impossible to break out of.
Lots easier to just judge her as a fat slob sucking off the government teat
than to actually help her learn a better way. What a great friend you are.
Oh maybe you're nice to her face, but you're here in public calling her a
fat, lazy slob who is *refusing* to feed her family well at the expense of
the tax payers.
Goddess save me from "friends" like you.
--
Siobhan Perricone
"Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family,
people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-o and all the other things I can
prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have."
- Penn Jillette from his "This I Believe" essay