as small as a world and as large as alone

8:34pm December 14, 2013

petticoatruler:

abuseexcuse:

lancrebitch:

newwavefeminism:

theblackamericanprincess:

napoleonbonerhard:

More from the 26 Democratic Congressmen/women participating in the SNAP Challenge - living on food stamps ($4.25 a day) for an entire week to protest a GOP cut to the government SNAP program.

I fuckin HAAAAAAATE the SNAP challenge.

Congress is so detached from the people they make policy about. 

“omg people actually run out of eggs”

DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND POVERTY BEFORE YOU DID THIS.

There’s something really sad about the fact that the only way democrats can fathom fighting against food stamp cuts is through the SNAP challenge. There’s an implicit messages that bother me that say

- Poor people are so invisible that they can’t even be considered to illustrate the realities of their own experience. 

- We know living off SNAP is difficult but only care when “good” people live under similar conditions.

- Poor people are pathologically bad and are deserving of this harsh SNAP reality. But middle class poverty tourists live off a SNAP budget for one week and we all crowd around and revel in how commendable, humble, courageous and strong they are to slum it like those poor folks.

There are literally millions of people doing the ~SNAP challenge~ every day not by choice
How about ask them how hard it is

force them to adapt. make them do it for a year. 

MAKE THEM DO IT FOR A YEAR.

In month five, take away their cable. 
For two weeks in winter (but liveable conditions by poverty standards) take away their heat.
In month eight, take away their vehicle.  

In month ten, take away their oven.

In month eleven, take away their stove.

For the last month, take away hot water.

They have to hold their sick and feverish kid all night long, worrying about the fever spiking too high, because it will literally destroy the tiny fragile equilibrium they have to get the bill for the co-pay.

They crack a tooth and can’t afford to fix it until finally they have to have it yanked by one of the few dentists that accept state insurance, after months of pain and fever and inability to eat what food they can afford.

They miss an appointment because they couldn’t get to the office on time (since the car is dead and they’re bussing if they’re lucky enough to live in a place with buses). Their assistance is cut, and they’re lucky if they keep it at all.

The SNAP challenge is weaksauce and it frustrates me to see people doing it lauded when they keep every other piece of comfort and security.

This reminds me of disability simulations.  :-/

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