Fucking Welfare Queens

[knitter4democracy]

62. From the list, it sounds like they might not have a stove.

It's easy to judge when you don't know the situation. Many of our nation's poor live in old motels with only a fridge, a microwave, possibly a toaster or hot plate. It's really hard to eat healthy with a minifridge and no stove or oven without putting serious money into extras like a crockpot or a toaster oven, and then you have to be able to move quickly with few possessions--where do you put those?

"Perfectly capable" might mean all kinds of things. I have a former student who sure looks healthy and is on food stamps and disability because he has serious seizures.

That, and you'd be surprised how few kids grow up learning how to cook. I almost cried when, two years back at the alternative high school, I helped a class learn how to bake Christmas cookies. Most never had and had no idea how to make cookies at all. Their smiles lit up the room when they were done. So many kids don't have a Thanksgiving meal, have never learned how to do much more than boil water and follow directions on a box, and don't know how to sew or fix anything (but can't afford to throw anything away). The last few schools I've been in haven't had home ec--it's not tested, so it's gotten cut--or don't require kids to take it at all.