Re: Chicken Choices, poverty

[Guest guest]

Ann Marie,

Your elitism is very, very tiring. You have servants. You have a

nutrient rich diet. You have no idea what it is to be poor and try to

feed your children in the healthiest way that your small dollar can buy,

with the small amount of energy you have left over at the end of the day,

week, month, year.

You buy bones for more money than the majority of people in this country

can pay for meat, and subtly insult us by suggesting that your immigrant

servants are better at budgeting than we are, or are more committed to

their health- which is ludicrous.

What the pedagogy of the oppressed means, is that it is the opressed who

get to decide what is right for them, not the oppressors. It means that

the poor have a right to their own decisions about what is right for the

poor, and that we have a right to have conversations about it, without

interference from on high telling us what we should do, could do, what

you would do.

Desh

[Guest guest]

Desh and Patty,

First, I do appreciate what you are trying to say, but I also think

your tone is just as elitist as you claim others are being, only it

is the elitism of the downtrodden. Also, the thread has became

somewhat personal, which is unfortunate. Few of us know the exact

circumstances of the others well other to counsel (or judge).

Both your posts have economic problems. For instance, you cannot

compare cheesy mac with chicken, you need to compare it with a

similar item/foodstuff. For instance, breakfast cereal, even cheap

kinds, runs at least 2.50-3 per box and gives at most 6 servings.

Even a family with less means can purchase bulk rolled oats from

somewhere like Sam's club or ask a friend to do so. Too tired to

make your own breakfast cereal? Have the kids do it! They love to

learn and help in areas like this.

Moreso, not having a car is actually a good thing, IMO, if you live

in an area with decent public transit, but again, a lot of the

comments are rather meaningless because none of us has adequate info

on what is and is not for each other. So, just throwing out certain

statements really doesn't address the problems or the solutions

involved.

It is true that some poor people can't afford almost any meat, let

alone good quality. We need to work to remedy the problem. That

being said, I spend alot of time among poorer families, my own family

last year made less than $25,000 with two small children and we have

to pay for our own health insurance out of that, and we know many who

do purchase good quality stuff. They just don't have the video

games, TV's, cell phones, etc...

I do think the emphasis needs to be on what can we do rather than on

what we can't do and why we can't do it... Almost all people, even in

the worst of circumstances, still have " some " choices they can make.

Also, I think we need to, rather than pointing figures and tearing

into one another, ask, how can we help one another?

For instance, many families who know let us know months ahead of time

when they will be passing through and we begint to collect items they

will want/need from our buying club. Other families have us drop

ship or direct ship items to them or to groups of families who have

banded together. These families often have very limited/tight

finances and few good options (some live in the most expensive areas

of the country), but rather than focusing on that they have focuses

on finding solutions whenever they could.

So, my question to the two of you is to start a thread on how others

can help those who a lower income. Do you make your own household

cleaners? Do you travel by other groups who have access to good

items at lower prices? Etc...

If you let other people into your circumstances, rather than

attaching labels to yourself or others that block discussion, perhaps

many of us can offer practical help for your particular situation and

help you explore options.

I grew up very poor, for reasons that cannot be enumerated here. At

times, we have enjoyed enormous fiscal success as a family. But at

the end of the day, neither are what define our family and me. It is

the choices we make in our circumstances that finally matter. Almost

always, though in a broken world we cannot stay always for all

people, even the poor have choices and options and possibilities,

some more than others, some better ones than others. Perhaps we can

help each of you consider/find more of them rather than wasting our

energy lambasting one another?

[Guest guest]

On 3/22/08, louisvillewapf <louisvillewapf@...> wrote:

> Desh and Patty,

> First, I do appreciate what you are trying to say, but I also think

> your tone is just as elitist as you claim others are being, only it

> is the elitism of the downtrodden. Also, the thread has became

> somewhat personal, which is unfortunate.

Yes, please folks try to avoid personalizing the discussion.

(moderator)

[Guest guest]

Bless you . Gentle as a dove.

Okay i will post the first thread.... unless someone beats me to it of

course!

>

>> help each of you consider/find more of them rather than wasting our

> energy lambasting one another?

>

>

>