Food Budget

[aggythenostic]

I'm sure I'm not the only one to remember Kelly's saga of the Lone Chicken Breast. At some point, she posted a gloopy recipe consisting of pasta, margarine, cream cheese logs and a SINGLE chicken breast chopped into the pot to feed her family of ten [two adults and a teenager among them]. The hell? Children need considerably more protein than half a bite of chicken a piece.

And FYI - if your children are hungry enough to defy you in the cupboard, they are starving. This is one of the many things I hate about Fundie home schooling. They don't even get a decent hot lunch via school.

[bananacat]

No skin off my nose, but I raised an eyebrow and would have bristled if I had been the target of the assumption that the privilege was unexamined.

I have, in spite of some of my grousing about education unions being busted and my crappy new contract, very decent benefits. A lot of the people I know do too--my husband has finally gotten benefits for the first time since I met him (so almost 15 years), which is awesome. That's privilege--and I'm quite aware. Having privilege and saying that one has privilege doesn't mean it's unexamined.

I'm not generally offended by people pointing out my privileges--I'm aware of it, I'm grateful for what I've got and I'm working on trying to know more about the world and the people in it. I probably wouldn't take it as well to be told I have unexamined privilege because there's an element of "fuck you, you don't know what I do, what I know, or how much 'examining' I do" that would be my kneejerk reaction.

You do have unexamined privilege. We all do. Even me. It's not an assumption because it's correct. If you wold have bristled at becoming aware of your own imperfection, then that is on you and not on the messenger. How, exactly, would you suggest that I point out privilege without making the person bristle? Should it go something like this?:

*Strokes person's hair gently* "Listen, Very Good Progressive, I know that you're fantastic and you try very very hard. But I was just thinking that maybe you could consider that in this one case you could maybe learn something? It's not your fault and you are completely blameless, but maybe you could just think about it a little if you don't mind? Or not, it's your choice but I would really like you to consider it, please. Thanks in advance."

Honestly, it does hurt to become aware of your privilege. How you respond to it, whether you bristle or decide to learn from it, is completely up to you and not the messenger's fault.

[bananacat]

I have it. I have spent years examining it.

It exists and no matter what I say somebody will be offended. I also accept that. Because it is learning.

This though is about food. I do not think it should be about privilege, but it is. Tell a fundie quiver person about that. They are so wrapped up with their 'ideal' they do not care about our socialist ideals on privilege, never mind nutrition.

I may be well wrong..but I think they would have no idea or care what I mean about the term 'Privilege'

Everything is about privilege. In fact, it's quite the privilege you have if you think that you can just set aside the entire issue and pretend it doesn't matter while you talk about this one specific topic. It's everywhere and always exists and I don't think you understand it as well as you think you do. Privilege isn't some Good Progressive points-earning token. It is a pervasive part of every person's life and can't just be ignored or brushed aside. And you surely have thought about privilege more than fundies have, but that doesn't mean you get a free pass forever and it doesn't mean that you're perfect at dealing with it. Progressivism isn't something that you achieve; it is a constant work in progress.

[dawbs]

You do have unexamined privilege. We all do. Even me. It's not an assumption because it's correct. If you wold have bristled at becoming aware of your own imperfection, then that is on you and not on the messenger. How, exactly, would you suggest that I point out privilege without making the person bristle? Should it go something like this?:

*Strokes person's hair gently* "Listen, Very Good Progressive, I know that you're fantastic and you try very very hard. But I was just thinking that maybe you could consider that in this one case you could maybe learn something? It's not your fault and you are completely blameless, but maybe you could just think about it a little if you don't mind? Or not, it's your choice but I would really like you to consider it, please. Thanks in advance."

Honestly, it does hurt to become aware of your privilege. How you respond to it, whether you bristle or decide to learn from it, is completely up to you and not the messenger's fault.

I have unexamined privilege, yes.

But being told that *THAT* particular bit of privilege of mine is unexamined?

that gets a hearty dose of bullocks from me. Because that is you saying what is in my head and what I think, and that's bull.

I'm sure you can give me yet another reason why you know more of what is in my head than I do, but I"m not asking for asspats and hair-strokes. And I don't tend to shoot messengers who point out privilege.. I'm not closing my mind off to learning something. I'm saying the messenger won't happen to know what parts of my privileged I've examined and what parts remain unexamined--if the messenger does know, then then , then the messenger is a liar playing with pretending to be fundie-esque omnipotent authority figure..

I'm not deleting that because I hate deleting and I try to stand behind what I say.

But I'm probably not as irritable as the migraine and the screaming child w/ nightmares made me seem last night.

I still find telling other people their privilege is 'unexplained' is distastefully trying to analyze what's in their head--after all, *I* know what parts of my life are examined and what are not in a way that no one, no matter how well they know me, could possibly know, because I know my own thoughts.

I think I 'get' it but I still don't agree.

but it's hard to say "you sound sanctimonious" without sounding sanctimonious.

[CancerBomb]

Being raised on this kind of food budget, I would like to point out that also, males are given larger portions and better food choices than the females. For me, simple things like chocolate milk, yogurt, Ramen noodles (yes Ramen noodles!), and rice with cheese were considered treats, but when my brothers ask for them, they receive as much as they want. When I was going through my preteen growth spurts, I ate a lot of food because I was hungry from all the growing and activities I was doing, and my mom shamed me for it. She still does shame me (for example, the other night, I balanced out my plate with more fruits and vegetables than meat), and my mom went "Well great CancerBomb, there's not enough potatoes and peaches if anyone else wants some" (I left quite a bit still in the bowls and did not eat all of these resources.) I hastily scooped half of my food onto my sister's plate to insure she got adequate food, quickly ate, and left. The only time my brothers get shamed for  food is if they do something gluttonous, like eat a quart of ice cream in a sitting or an entire box of chocolates.