this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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I’ve been thinking a lot about this song. And it is a real feeling that people have.
But it is also just whining.
The way he goes from talking about people without anything to eat and then talks about how someone that poor and fat shouldn’t eat a fudge round just seems to be a confused message.
Is big government the problem? Or is it lack of corporate regulations that then allow big companies to pay people less than what they need to survive.
Washington can do things to fix what he is talking about, but I would be shocked if he is interested in any policy that helps poor people or people drowning in student or medical debt.
It's the worst of both worlds. They regulate away our right to unionize and strike.
What a great point. The regulations that are “acceptable “ are all about protecting the corporations.
And so is the corporate music machine that markets this excuse for a protest song, it's just another culture war debate masquerading as politics.
I think he's talking about people that have deliberately gotten themselves so fat that they get a disability check from the government for it. I definitely have a problem with where he's placing the blame, but he's talking about what he sees around him.
I'm from an area similar to him, and the number of people trying to line themselves up for government assistance as their career is substantial. I think it speaks to the hopelessness of the area we live in these days, on top of generational poverty. Things have always been bad around here, but they got a lot worse after mining, and its supporting industries fell apart.
I doubt there's more than five people who have deliberately gotten themselves into disability by getting themselves fat. It's incredibly hard to get onto disability and "I am fat" doesn't cut it, you have to be able to not move to have even a chance
My mother is clinically diagnosed with a psychological disorder that caused hallucinations, anxiety and delusion. She tried to get disability for 30 years. She never got it even though she was institutionalized multiple times
Yeah. My brother in law has severe physical and mental disabilities which makes him unable to work at all and he can't get on. Been trying for a decade and a half. It's like these people think you can send a letter to the government saying "I am fat and lazy" and you'll get money.
But...but....the Simpsons did it
You said it yourself-- the reason those people need to make weird choices like trying to find any way to qualify for more government assistance is because historically their income came from industries that don't and can't exist anymore. They don't have any other choice. The solution is actually more availability of assistance resources so people from those places can have enough stability to be able to make choices like learning new skills or moving to a new place. Why can't people like him-- who see this happening to the people around him, his neighbors, his family-- empathize?
No one has "deliberately" gotten morbidly obese.
I'm not absolving anyone of all personal responsibility for their body and what they put in it, but you should read about food deserts and similar. Many folks in this country ONLY have access to a McDonald's and a gas station snack aisle.