• Rhaedas@fedia.io
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    5 months ago

    Something tells me people don’t stand in line like this unless they’re desperate for help. I don’t want to accuse, but your post is victim blaming level. Glad for you that you don’t understand what it’s like to be this close or past the point of being able to eat every day.

    • jj4211@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      So NPR went to a heavy Trump voting area food bank while snap was not being paid out to see how hungry Trump supporters were feeling.

      They got this one lady saying it was good, SNAP was bad because people should be able to feed themselves. Seemingly realizing that was a pretty weird thing to say while getting food from a food bank. She said “I can feed myself, but just here in case that have some food I would like for free”.

      So at least she claims she wasn’t desperate for help, just taking some free food. Almost certainly BS, but we are dealing with a crowd that thinks taking food meant for the hungry when you didn’t need it is less shameful than actually needing food…

      • bthest@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        I’ve come to believe that an individual like that just isn’t really a person. They’re a human being, but not really a person. I still can’t put my finger on it but to me it’s like they’re incapable of understanding that everything exists independent of them or that they, deep down, can only view reality as though they are the only ones who are sentient, or something like that. It feels like it’s something a bit different than them just having narcissistic traits.

        • jj4211@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Nah, they have been taught their whole lives that if you are in need, you are just lazy, everyone is fundamentally capable of taking care of themselves and there’s zero excuse for not being able to just do it yourself. Based on her voice, I’d say at least in her late 60s, that’s a long time to hold a world view.

          So in all circumstances, they must show their own strength by asserting/repeating that world view. Even as they themselves should have learned better, either they are in denial about their status and needs or they feel a deep shame and see such a ludicrous stance as somehow saving face.

          It’s sadly quite consistent with being a human person.

    • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz
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      5 months ago

      Yeah I am sure they are, but financially how does it work? How can you be unable to afford food and yet able to afford somewhere to live? Are they all homeless, which if so USA wtf your homeless problem is WAY bigger than I could have ever imagined.

      • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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        5 months ago

        The homeless problem is way bigger than it’s talked about. The officials don’t want to acknowledge it, the people around them ignore it, the media I guess doesn’t get much from stories about it so they won’t cover it.

        You still seem surprised that people can pay a big bill but not the little daily ones. The problem with that approach is you’re assuming they can pay the first bill. Some of these people may still have a place, but are far behind in their payment or rent, maybe on the edge of being kicked out. They still have some money, they just can’t pay everything they owe to get caught up. And once you get in that hole, it’s very hard to get out without a major change or luck.

        Just be glad you never had to be in that situation, and hopefully it will always seem impossible to you. It doesn’t take much to find yourself there.

        I’m sure there are people here in the US that have the same disbelief as you, even with things around them. So for someone from another country that has better systems in place to take care of the public, it must seem baffling. If you’re shocked about the economics, you’ll really love the healthcare situation (which certainly you’ve seen talked about). They go hand in hand, especially since the US pinned health insurance onto employment, so if a job is lost healthcare costs are going to jump, which leads right back to not affording the big bills and starting the fall.