
Rich Guy ‘Proves’ Food Poverty Is Just Laziness, Gets Shut Down With Maths
In 2018, a UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights made some shocking findings in the UK, one of the richest and most developed economies in the world. Almost 14 million people, or a fifth of the population, live in poverty, leaving four million children without access to healthy and nutritious food.
According to the Food Ethics Council, many families in the UK are ‘food insecure,’ facing stark choices between buying food, paying the rent or heating their home. A combination of a lack of shops selling fresh food, fast food outlets near schools and vegetables that cost three times more than ultra-processed alternatives means that cheap food laden with salt, sugar and saturated fats are often their only option. This is known as food poverty.
Image credits: AndrewBooton
This tweet by the chairman of Cheltenham Civic Society, whose main aim is to maintain the special architectural qualities of Cheltenham and its environment, is a perfect example of victim-blaming by someone completely out of touch with the reality for many people in the UK.
Mr. Booten shared an image of the chicken stir-fry he prepared for his family for £3.89, or 97p each. “Don’t tell me we have food poverty in this country,” he captioned the image. “It’s just idleness.”
See, you’re only malnourished because you’re lazy, you silly poor person!
Image credits: dnstewart67
There are many reasons why the tweet was in poor taste, as well as being factually inaccurate. People were quick to point them out with nearly 5000 responses, most of them negative.
Mr. Booten has since deleted his tweet with an apology, saying that he was sorry for “having trivialized a serious issue.”
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Now, there is a lot of denial about these inconvenient facts about poverty in the UK, and a tendency for those who aren’t affected by it to blame the victim for their own shortcomings. Nevermind that many of the jobs in northern, industrial towns have been sold off for short term profit.
Image credits: DonWxm
Those people most affected by job losses and endless cuts to public services are, in turn, encouraged by rabid right-wing newspapers to blame foreign influences like immigration and the EU, whilst the gradual dismantling of the welfare state continues unabated.
Welcome to Brexitland, everybody!
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“British compassion for those who are suffering has been replaced by a punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous approach apparently designed to instill discipline where it is least useful, to impose a rigid order on the lives of those least capable of coping with today’s world, and elevating the goal of enforcing blind compliance over a genuine concern to improve the well-being of those at the lowest levels of British society,” the UN report states.
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“The experience of the United Kingdom, especially since 2010, underscores the conclusion that poverty is a political choice.”
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“Austerity could easily have spared the poor if the political will had existed to do so. Resources were available to the Treasury at the last budget that could have transformed the situation of millions of people living in poverty, but the political choice was made to fund tax cuts for the wealthy instead.”
Sound familiar, American readers?
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What we need in the face of this greedy, selfish politics is more empathy and compassion for those who are getting left behind, not less.
Resist the calls to blame foreigners for your society’s ills and look closer to home – it is our leaders and their big business buddies that are doing this!
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Here’s what people had to say about the tweet
157Kviews
Share on FacebookIt's fascinating how people who are not on benefits seem to have all the answers for the people who are.
I wonder if this guy has ever been poor or if any close member of his family has. I doubt it. He sounds like an economic bubble-boy.
Load More Replies...So I'm a single parent on benefits hoping to go back to work next year (although I only get 15 hours free child care) I'm entitled to two bed accommodation I had to move 30 minutes away from my support network to afford it (and still have to pay £200 extra on top of housing benefit) I'm down £35 a month as pay back to the government due to them over paying me by mistake. After all my house hold bills (my mother covers my internet and I don't have sky/cable) im left with about £200. The past two weeks I've lived off of soup so my son has decent meals due to unforeseen expenses. The main issue (my mother agrees and works in housing for the local council) is the fact housing benefit is not enough. I'm forever grateful for the help I get. And can just about get by, but there are weeks of soup and skipping meals.
My parents moved to a different country because of war when I was a child. They didn't had a lot but for me and my sister they gave everything. I will never forget that and so will your son. Good luck for your future!
Load More Replies...I help people out during the Christmas holidays if I can, the two main things asked for are food and gifts for kids. So many families are food insecure. Some say to "Get a job" many do have jobs, but the cost of living, especially with children, outweighs what most make with minimum wage jobs. What comes first? A roof over your head for you and your children, or food on the table?
I started a new Christmas tradition last year. I walk around the grocery store and follow around people who are visibly less fortunate (looking at prices, newly arrived, etc) and pay the bill once arriving at the cashier. I swear that their reaction is the best Christmas gift I ever got in my life. I am looking forward to doing this again this year.
Load More Replies...It's fascinating how people who are not on benefits seem to have all the answers for the people who are.
I wonder if this guy has ever been poor or if any close member of his family has. I doubt it. He sounds like an economic bubble-boy.
Load More Replies...So I'm a single parent on benefits hoping to go back to work next year (although I only get 15 hours free child care) I'm entitled to two bed accommodation I had to move 30 minutes away from my support network to afford it (and still have to pay £200 extra on top of housing benefit) I'm down £35 a month as pay back to the government due to them over paying me by mistake. After all my house hold bills (my mother covers my internet and I don't have sky/cable) im left with about £200. The past two weeks I've lived off of soup so my son has decent meals due to unforeseen expenses. The main issue (my mother agrees and works in housing for the local council) is the fact housing benefit is not enough. I'm forever grateful for the help I get. And can just about get by, but there are weeks of soup and skipping meals.
My parents moved to a different country because of war when I was a child. They didn't had a lot but for me and my sister they gave everything. I will never forget that and so will your son. Good luck for your future!
Load More Replies...I help people out during the Christmas holidays if I can, the two main things asked for are food and gifts for kids. So many families are food insecure. Some say to "Get a job" many do have jobs, but the cost of living, especially with children, outweighs what most make with minimum wage jobs. What comes first? A roof over your head for you and your children, or food on the table?
I started a new Christmas tradition last year. I walk around the grocery store and follow around people who are visibly less fortunate (looking at prices, newly arrived, etc) and pay the bill once arriving at the cashier. I swear that their reaction is the best Christmas gift I ever got in my life. I am looking forward to doing this again this year.
Load More Replies...
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