7:35pm October 21, 2013

“What I had not understood before I found myself in true poverty, and what [Jamie] Oliver probably does not, is that it means living in a world of “no.” Ninety-nine per cent of what you need is answered “no.” Ninety-nine per cent of what your kids ask for is answered “no.” Ninety-nine per cent of life is answered “no.” Cinema? No. Night out? No. New shoes? No. Birthday? No. So, if the only indulgence that is viable, that is within budget, that will not mean you have to walk to work, is a Styrofoam container of cheesy chips, the answer is a thunderous “YES.”

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(Via Slate: “One of the few British newspapers to come to Jamie Oliver’s defense this week was the Independent, whose columnist Grace Dent argued that Oliver is entitled to his arrogant opinions about poor people. Dent is right—Oliver is entitled to his opinions. But he’s not entitled to the position of culinary hero for a population he disdains.”)

Via curiousgeorgiana

What none of these people who haven’t experience poverty seem to understand is that when you are poor and you come into money, you spend it. When you don’t have enough money on a regular basis, the things that need fixing and replacing pile up. The kids need shoes and clothing because they’ve outgrown everything, the roof is leaking and needs to be fixed, the toilet is broken, the car is leaking brake fluid, your sofa is a hand me down three times over and it’s falling apart, your credit cards are all maxed out. When you’re poor, everything is about sacrifice all the time.

So you get a tax refund or win a few bucks in a lottery or you get a bonus at work, you use the money to fix a few selected things, buy the kids some clothing, and then maybe you put a tv on layaway or use your windfall to buy it or put it on credit. Because you’ve been sacrificing for years, and having one nice thing makes you and your kids feel better, even if you’re still living in poverty.

You can’t stock up on fresh vegetables for a year, after you get a big tax refund check. You can’t use a Christmas bonus to buy a year’s worth of potatoes and spinach. If the money doesn’t get spent on something nice right away, it gets spent on the backlog of necessities and then it’s gone again and you’re back to the regular routine of sacrificing.

TLDR unless you’re poor or you’ve been poor, I don’t wanna hear your opinion about poor people and tvs.

(via colorschanging)

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