"You can feed 4 people on $300 a month.
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Suppose you *could* through constant labor, strenuous planning, & deprivation manage to feed yourself & your family on a tiny budget, that would still be extreme poverty.
I hate that people who aren't in poverty try to explain to those who are "no, really, you can survive. You just need to find a way to suffer a little more."
The problem is not a lack of ingenuity & creativity. The problem is poverty. No one should have to struggle every moment of every day just to live.
Telling people they should live on a diet of exclusively rice & beans or whatever is just fucking cruelty.
"You're poor? Stop complaining & just suffer already."
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"You can feed 4 people on $300 a month. In this video, I will show you how to make a thin rice gruel..."
(The first sentence is really from a real person. The second is what I assume came next)
@artemis my new favorite YT channel
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@artemis my new favorite YT channel
@blueemu
Yeah, this must be where I saw it. I love this guy's videos! -
@blueemu
Yeah, this must be where I saw it. I love this guy's videos!@artemis "Yeah, that's right."
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Suppose you *could* through constant labor, strenuous planning, & deprivation manage to feed yourself & your family on a tiny budget, that would still be extreme poverty.
I hate that people who aren't in poverty try to explain to those who are "no, really, you can survive. You just need to find a way to suffer a little more."
The problem is not a lack of ingenuity & creativity. The problem is poverty. No one should have to struggle every moment of every day just to live.
"Instead of the conservative motto, 'A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work,' we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword, 'Abolition of the wage system.'" --pre-amble to IWW constitution
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Telling people they should live on a diet of exclusively rice & beans or whatever is just fucking cruelty.
"You're poor? Stop complaining & just suffer already."
@artemis we're past just rice and beans though considering I've actually seen people saying you shouldn't have rice for various reasons
- Victoria
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Telling people they should live on a diet of exclusively rice & beans or whatever is just fucking cruelty.
"You're poor? Stop complaining & just suffer already."
I lived my entire late teens and 20s on rice, beans and dumpster dives. To this day there are certain foods I still can't even look at.
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"You can feed 4 people on $300 a month. In this video, I will show you how to make a thin rice gruel..."
(The first sentence is really from a real person. The second is what I assume came next)
-
Suppose you *could* through constant labor, strenuous planning, & deprivation manage to feed yourself & your family on a tiny budget, that would still be extreme poverty.
I hate that people who aren't in poverty try to explain to those who are "no, really, you can survive. You just need to find a way to suffer a little more."
The problem is not a lack of ingenuity & creativity. The problem is poverty. No one should have to struggle every moment of every day just to live.
@artemis one of my absolute pet peeves in "budget friendly cooking" is that there are *very* few I've seen that aren't coming from a perspective of privilege.
They go "oh, this meal only costs $5 if we count that you use a tablespoon of milk" ... but you can't buy a tablespoon of milk. You need to buy a whole carton.
They often assume that you have a bunch of things at home already, some decently reasonable (hopefully all have basic salt and pepper), but some that ... aren't (several different types of oil, including olive oil; onions, potatoes, carrots ...)
They go "oh, but you save so much money if you buy dried beans and then cook them yourself!" ... but don't think about the fact that boiling them for a long time takes electricity, and you can't just leave them on the stove while you go out and work to actually make a living.
And that is the final point: saving money by shopping at half a dozen different places (which takes time) and making things from scratch (which also takes time), completely ignoring that a lot of people are poor *despite working far more than full time*. So they don't have the time to do this.
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@artemis one of my absolute pet peeves in "budget friendly cooking" is that there are *very* few I've seen that aren't coming from a perspective of privilege.
They go "oh, this meal only costs $5 if we count that you use a tablespoon of milk" ... but you can't buy a tablespoon of milk. You need to buy a whole carton.
They often assume that you have a bunch of things at home already, some decently reasonable (hopefully all have basic salt and pepper), but some that ... aren't (several different types of oil, including olive oil; onions, potatoes, carrots ...)
They go "oh, but you save so much money if you buy dried beans and then cook them yourself!" ... but don't think about the fact that boiling them for a long time takes electricity, and you can't just leave them on the stove while you go out and work to actually make a living.
And that is the final point: saving money by shopping at half a dozen different places (which takes time) and making things from scratch (which also takes time), completely ignoring that a lot of people are poor *despite working far more than full time*. So they don't have the time to do this.
@melindrea
Yes to all of this.There's also the fact that you may not have your whole food budget all at once. If you can go to the store & buy everything you need altogether, you can plan meals efficiently. If today you need food, & you only have $10, then you can't buy the staples that would let you stretch things out.
It's so idealized that it's ridiculous. That's not how people's lives actually work.
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@artemis one of my absolute pet peeves in "budget friendly cooking" is that there are *very* few I've seen that aren't coming from a perspective of privilege.
They go "oh, this meal only costs $5 if we count that you use a tablespoon of milk" ... but you can't buy a tablespoon of milk. You need to buy a whole carton.
They often assume that you have a bunch of things at home already, some decently reasonable (hopefully all have basic salt and pepper), but some that ... aren't (several different types of oil, including olive oil; onions, potatoes, carrots ...)
They go "oh, but you save so much money if you buy dried beans and then cook them yourself!" ... but don't think about the fact that boiling them for a long time takes electricity, and you can't just leave them on the stove while you go out and work to actually make a living.
And that is the final point: saving money by shopping at half a dozen different places (which takes time) and making things from scratch (which also takes time), completely ignoring that a lot of people are poor *despite working far more than full time*. So they don't have the time to do this.
My gf found out she needs a low sodium diet for her health. We've got zero chance of a functional diet for her, just the least bad option at any given moment because capitalism requires the lower classes to not have access to conveniences and staples. (all while selling the illusion of abundance)
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@melindrea
Yes to all of this.There's also the fact that you may not have your whole food budget all at once. If you can go to the store & buy everything you need altogether, you can plan meals efficiently. If today you need food, & you only have $10, then you can't buy the staples that would let you stretch things out.
It's so idealized that it's ridiculous. That's not how people's lives actually work.
@melindrea
OH. Additionally, there is zero margin for food that goes bad, meals that burn, something getting dropped on the floor, etc. Things happen sometimes! -
Telling people they should live on a diet of exclusively rice & beans or whatever is just fucking cruelty.
"You're poor? Stop complaining & just suffer already."
@artemis I grew up very poor. I actually think some people who grew up without wanting need to see these kinds of videos.
Edit: Just want to throw in here that my mom never let us go hungry.
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Telling people they should live on a diet of exclusively rice & beans or whatever is just fucking cruelty.
"You're poor? Stop complaining & just suffer already."
@artemis really smacks of feudalism.
"Nothing, Peasants, back to your turnips!"
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Telling people they should live on a diet of exclusively rice & beans or whatever is just fucking cruelty.
"You're poor? Stop complaining & just suffer already."
"No, no, really, just stop with your selfish expectation that you should enjoy anything in your life. The only thing anyone needs is the absolute bare minimum for survival."
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"No, no, really, just stop with your selfish expectation that you should enjoy anything in your life. The only thing anyone needs is the absolute bare minimum for survival."
As more & more people slip below the poverty line there seem to be a whole lot of others (still living comfortably) who are lining up to explain why the poor actually don't need even the smallest comforts in life.
"Stop whining. You haven't died yet. If you haven't died, why are you upset?"
Convenient that the people who HAVE died can't complain.
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My gf found out she needs a low sodium diet for her health. We've got zero chance of a functional diet for her, just the least bad option at any given moment because capitalism requires the lower classes to not have access to conveniences and staples. (all while selling the illusion of abundance)
@Kalshann @melindrea @artemis Diet compliance with CKD and other conditions is notoriously low because of time, costs, and limited options. The only way to contain costs is to eat basic staples constantly, and there's only so many ways you can dress up steamed rice and lean chicken. Whereas everything you buy in stores is loaded with sodium, potassium, and phosphates, often as preservatives.
Affluent people love to lecture us about how to eat better but they won't give us the money to do so.
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"No, no, really, just stop with your selfish expectation that you should enjoy anything in your life. The only thing anyone needs is the absolute bare minimum for survival."
it wasn't a fluke that the Auschwitz death camp had "Arbeit macht Frei" written above its gates. all capitalists want us to believe that lie.
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As more & more people slip below the poverty line there seem to be a whole lot of others (still living comfortably) who are lining up to explain why the poor actually don't need even the smallest comforts in life.
"Stop whining. You haven't died yet. If you haven't died, why are you upset?"
Convenient that the people who HAVE died can't complain.
We are just going to hear more & more & more about how you can theoretically survive on next to nothing, all delivered with the attitude of "you selfish, lazy person. Just eat a tiny bowl of unflavored rice & be grateful."
