The problem rich people fail to understand is that the average minimum wage worker even if you add a buck or two to make the job worth while is still dirt poor.
Additionally they are expected to do the job of two or three people while charged with other duties while placating irate idiot customers.
They are expected to use as much energy as possible to get the job done while maintaining the expectations of a clean clothes, healthy appearance, keep their home clean, prepare food, pay bills, possibly a car and even raise a family. All the while working hard at finding something better. Just every day living can be a job in itself.
Add to this the fact that certain people have health problems, disabilities and mental issues they must deal with daily. They must push themselves just to get up, work hard to pull themselves together and try to keep their problems from effecting their work.
So it should be expected that if a poor person wants to splurge on a $2 coffee they have earned. (In the case of those with mental health issues this an important part of recovering from work.)
It is not their fault that they are expected to give up a part of their short life for minimum wage for maximum effort or that the wealthy feel they are underserving of a decent living wage because they failed to do better. So why should they not reward themselves occasionally?
The question I want to ask of the rich is: Do you expect the poor to live frugally so you don’t have to pay them fairly?
And majority of the rich who have tried to make a poor persons buget fails terribly so who are they to advise us how we spend our money.
Rather then wasting money on telling us how to spend our money they could raise the wages of their lowest paid employees.
But that won’t happen because their is a general belief that the poor are “undeserving” and the rich have be “blessed” with good fortune.
We’re talking about the folks behind that room service menu where oatmeal is like 8 dollars a bowl. Bitch I could buy a box with 8 dollars. Several flavors, maybe…
becoming vegan because factory farming is unethical is like deciding that since walmart and amazon mistreat their employees you are now going to get everything you need out of dumpsters
in a nutshell, instead of reforming the bad parts of your society, you
try to opt out of it in a way that has really no effect, and wouldn’t
work at all if the majority of people weren’t still part of the industry
you dislike.
there was, for a while, a real movement of people who tried to get everything out of dumpsters, as a way of opting out of capitalism. but the problem was that you couldn’t get what you need when you need it, leading to you being kind of a drain on your community, and someone had to buy that stuff in the first place for it to end up in that dumpster anyway. it was Fundamentally Silly.
going vegan to opt out of farming practices has similar problems. for instance: you (hypothetical vegan you) won’t buy honey, but the bees are being used to fertilize the vegetables and fruit you eat, they’re making the honey anyway, all you’ve done is – well, nothing, because you’re not a big enough demographic to make an impact, but even if you were, honey sales are a much smaller part of beekeepers’ income than crop pollination. and beekeeping is not a big faceless corporate interest. it’s not monsanto. it’s a bunch of single-family or partnership business with a truck or two and a couple hundred hives. the bees make honey after a pollinating run, and the beekeepers sell it for a little extra income. if you made a dent in that, you’d be achieving nothing but making joe beekeeper buy his kids’ t-shirts at k-mart instead of target.
animal farming and plant farming are deeply interconnected. plant farmers grow animal feed; animal farmers sell manure for fertilizer. most non-corporate farmers raise both plants and animals. it’s more economic and gives them more resilience.
if you were a big enough demographic to hit ‘the farming industry’ in its wallet. you would be making things MUCH harder for small farmers than for factory farms. you would be making it easier and easier for factory farms to crowd family farmers out of business. so that’s pretty much achieving the opposite of what you want, right there.
and then there’s the fact that plant farming is just as rife with gruesome factory farm conditions as animal farming, but it’s humans who are exploited in those. i’m not going to level accusations of racism here, but it really is unfortunate how little the vocal internet vegan contingent seems to know or care about the exploitation of the mostly nonwhite workers in the industry. it makes y’all look racist, whether you are or not.
look, i keep saying this, even though folks never seem to hear me: i don’t hate vegans, i’m not trying to stop you being vegan, i do not care what you eat.
my problem is with defensive internet vegans trying to promote their dietary restriction lifestyle as a solution to problems in the real world. it is not. it may create more problems than it solves, or maybe it breaks even, i don’t know. it certainly doesn’t solve anything that can’t be solved just as well without it. it can only look reasonable from a perspective of deep ignorance about where food comes from and how the farm economy works. you basically have to be young, urban, and somewhat privileged to embrace it. and it is, fundamentally, very silly.
Furthermore I’d like you to look at a sheep farm. Actually look at it.
You CANNOT grow crops there. That’s WHY there are sheep on it.
You refuse to use wool, well aside from.the fact that it’s a fantastic fiber and how polluting polyester and other plastic fibers are, it doesn’t harm the animal to remove and in fact is done for their benefit.
Above – a sheep farm (note steep and craggy hills), an uncompressed bale of freshly shorn wool and some sheep being shorn.
It’s not stressful for the sheep. Sheep are dumb. Be confident, dont hurt them and they’re good. Wool is a good fiber – strong, warm – even when wet – renewable and biodegradable.
My issue with Veganism-As-A-Cult is the lack of critical thinking. By all means eat what you want, wear what you want to wear but a blanket ban on all animal products because they’re HARMFUL is in itself an extremely harmful philosophy.
Do you refuse to eat plants that were pollinated by bees or fertilized by manure since they’re a product of animal labour?
Honey doesn’t hurt bees. Wool doesn’t hurt sheep.
What about animals that are going to die anyway? We are currently in the process of exterminating possums in our country as they are a pest and destroyer of our native species. We kill them humanely but they’re still going to die because its them (introduced pest) or our endemic endangered species. We use the meat for pet food and the fur for a lot of things now – in making yarns or fur items – because the alternative is to let it rot. Which is just bloody wasteful tbh.
What would (generic) you prefer we do here? Let sheep die of over heating or the weight of wet wool? Force bees into swarming (90% casualty rate) so we can avoid taking their honey? Leave pest animals to rot and encourage the use of set-and-forget traps since there’s no incentive to check them?
What’s the humane option?
see: why I hate militant veganism
Veganism, as I have encountered it, tends to be a thing that morally smug white people try to spring on others as a quick fix solution for the world, and I resent it more every day.
I don’t begrudge anyone their own dietary needs or choices.
But I once had a militant vegan unironically tell me that I could solve my iron deficiency by eating POUNDS AND POUNDS of spinach and mushrooms, so there was no reason for me to eat meat. Ever. And also that my niece’s apraxia was likely caused by her parents giving her animal milk to supplement her formula when her mother couldn’t produce enough to feed her. Cue blind rage.
I’ve also had a militant vegan insult me to my face for eating a burger when it was the first thing my ED had allowed me to be hungry for in close to two days.
I have no problem with people who choose to be vegans.
What I have a problem with is people who choose to be assholes.
Hey, militant vegans: if I don’t have animal protein, my hemoglobin (already on the low side of normal at 12.8) plummets, I can’t think properly, and my nail beds show anemic colors. Fuck you.
Anne Hathaway’s character in Devil Wears Prada literally just starts dressing better and taking an interest in her work and her friends act like she’s an awful person who has “changed”. Like bitch THIS IS NOT A LINDSAY LOHAN MEAN GIRLS MOMENT all she did was get the new Chanel boots.
Her boyfriend particularly had something against her new style of dress but was fine with the change of underwear choice…wonderrrr why? I especially dislike the part where they wrongfully played “keep away” when her boss called her phone, the same boss they knew was someone who was very demanding and stressful to deal with, and acted as if she was wrong to be upset with them for their rude and childish antics. Did they even apologize? She gets them free expensive gifts or shares her perks and they return the gesture by trying to make her quit or make fun of what she has to do to thrive in her job or in that scene get her fired.
👏🏾 👏🏾
In the book, they would have been right to be concerned (Miranda was an ABSOLUTE ASSHOLE), but in the movie? No way.
The Jews are not simply a religion, and perhaps least of all, a religion. We are a people — a small people, but a large family — that has a religion, and a culture, and a nation, and a land, and languages, and foods, and music, and …
(because there was a vocal contingent who saw the ‘who should you fight’ post and wished to make love not war)
Balin: Can you say nearly 200 years of experience? This dapper gentleman has the skills and patience to play your body like a violin. Do fuck.
Dwalin: Inside his rough exterior you will find a sweet cookie-crumb center. He will make the sweetest love to you, with tender caresses of his big rough hands and lots of eye contact. Of course, if you want a rough tumble he’s more than up for that too. Do fuck.
Oin: This guy fucks like a surgeon. He will break you down piece by piece into your component parts, lay you open absolutely defenseless, and put you back together again safe and sound. Do fuck.
Gloin: It’s going to be a workout, for both of you. He demands as high a level of athleticism and energy from his partners as he does from himself. Exhausting, but you’ll feel sky-high when you collapse together at the end. Do fuck.
Bifur: The communication barrier complicates things, but once you’ve got down ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘omg I would absolutely like to do the horizontal mambo with you’ you’re good to go. He’s very detail oriented, very focused, and very attentive to his lovers needs and moods. Do fuck.
Bofur: He’ll be laughing the whole way through. You’ll be laughing the whole way through. Great times will be had by all and he’ll probably take you out for a beer later ‘cause you’re still bros no matter what else you are. Do fuck.
Bombur: His shyness is a bit of a barrier, but once you’re through that he gives the best cuddles. Just the best. Sex with him is like cuddles 2.0, slow and gentle and lots of closeness and touching. There will be snacks afterward, and more cuddles. Do fuck.
Dori: The real question is whether he should fuck you. His standards are very high, but if you meet them you’re in for a lovely time. He enjoys being pampered, and pampering his lovers in return. Do fuck.
Nori: Be very cautious. This beautiful bastard might be scoping you/your home out for present or future theft. Do not carry with you any valuables, and it’s probably best if you keep things to neutral locations like briefly rented inn rooms. Still, with proper safety precautions, he’s a wild ride. He’s up for absolutely anything, and prides himself on always making sure his partners have a great time – whether or not he’s planning on stealing from them. Do fuck.
Ori: This little cinnamon roll might not have much practical experience, but he’s got a fertile imagination and access to a lot of books for ‘research’. He will blush pretty much constantly, but whether you’re an old hand showing him the ropes or are figuring how how things work along with him, it’ll be a fun time. Do fuck.
Fili: Look at his facial hair choices, beaded mustache to draw the attention and triangle beard pointing right up to those luscious lips. This is a guy who knows his mouth is his best feature and is not afraid to use it. Tumbling the golden princeling is a real treat, and not one soon forgotten. (not to mention that booty). Do fuck.
Kili: Like having sex with an excited puppy who is very very into the fact that he gets to have sex with you. Would like to try all the things, so be prepared for a barrage of ‘can we do x, can we do y, do you like z?’. A fun time, if a little tiring. Do fuck.
Thorin Oakenshield: If you can’t see the benefits of fucking Thorin “I am to beautiful and tragic for words” Oakenshield for yourself, I certainly can’t help you. Do fuck.
Bonus Round – Bilbo Baggins: We all know there’s a wild side under that proper exterior, and he makes you both first and second breakfast the next morning. Do it for the hobbit cooking, if for no other reason. Also his bed is super nice to sleep in. Do fuck.
TL:DR – *hands over condoms and lube* Yes. Fuck the Company of Thorin. Fuck every single one of them.
imagine jedediah saying "hey there, doll, what’s a pretty little thing like you doin’ out all on her own, huh? I ain’t seen you round these parts before”
– octy sending jed flowers without knowing that jed is 5000% allergic
– jed taking copious amounts of claritin b/c the flower guy’s cute
– octy sending messages in his flowers and jed 100% not understanding
– jed sending back a bouquet that means something like “leave me alone” or “im not interested” when actually he just really liked the colors
– octy not sending over any more bouquets
– jed, confused with this silence, walking over to the flower shop and being bombarded with pollen b/c oh shit he forgot to take his claritin shitshitshit
– “are you okay? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone have that strong of a reaction to”
– “no no no it’s fine I’m just…. allergic to flowers”
– “you… are?”
– “but I mean” snnnrrkkk “its fine I love em- specially those purple ones. what are they called? lilies? tulips? roses?”
– “…. you don’t know anything about flowers do you”
– three months later they have matching flower tattoos on the back of their wrists
– octy picked which flowers theyd have and why of course
– octy tries his best to convince jed that the flowers on his wrist mean “stupid dog” or “i am dumb”
Death By Catchphrase 