• jacaw@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    It’s wild that people are so mad about the fudge rounds line. Poor people are often forced into situations where they eat unhealthy foods. Why should food aid programs help fund American obesity rather than tackle it? Is that not the same as declaring tomatoes a vegetable so we can keep serving pizza to to schoolkids?

    • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      It doesn’t help fund obesity, it helps feed people.

      People who live in a food desert and can only access bad food.

      You don’t ask the “keep people from starvation” fund to also be the “fix systemic class based wage structures” fund

    • renrenPDX@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Oddly I’m not bothered by that line so much. I’m more disappointed with the title and the chorus. Richmond, being the capital of Virginia was a border state of the Civil War. Yes technically Washington DC is very much north of Richmond, but I think the song resonates more with a certain crowd due to the former reason vs the latter.

      The song could have been better IMO if it targeted LOCAL governments by state, instead of trying to blame Rich Men North of Richmond. As if Rich Men South of Richmond wasn’t a thing…

      • somethingsnappy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I don’t think Virginia was technically a border state in the civil war? MD. WV, and KY were southern states blanketing Virginia. When the government moved through Baltimore, didn’t they have to point federal hill and Fort McHenry cannons at Baltimore to stop the city from rioting against the government army?

      • Rev@ihax0r.com
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        1 year ago

        i’m not buying it. Sure he could be a confederate apologist but if you are writing a song about some rich old dudes in DC screwing the rest of us over its some hard rhymes. When I heard the song he pronounced the word “rich men” and “richmond” nearly identically. I was like what does “rich men north of rich men” mean, then later I heard “richmond north of richmond”

        Looking at the lyrics he was complaining that we have people in the streets with no food to eat while there are obese people getting fat on welfare. Sounds like he thinks government is incompetent.

        I saw a stat years ago that if we took all the money we spent each year on welfare and just gave the people those programs were trying to help straight cash we would have 5x the amount needed to push them all over the poverty line.

        • ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one
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          1 year ago

          I saw a stat years ago that if we took all the money we spent each year on welfare and just gave the people those programs were trying to help straight cash we would have 5x the amount needed to push them all over the poverty line.

          *Something, something can’t give money to poor people. Something, something, give money to rich people. *

          The bullshit argument that is all about hating and punishing poor people. With nice extra boot lick the rich.

    • Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      I’m bothered by it because he’s just repeating Raegan. At least try to convince me you’re a populist, come on.

    • neptune@dmv.social
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      1 year ago

      I think it’s just as much that it’s good stamps buying the junk food. The point is he’s mad poor people are making a poor choice. I don’t really see any sympathy for the fudge round eater.

      “Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds, taxes ought not to pay for our bags of fudge rounds.”

      The implication is that if to pay for your own food, be as fat as you can, but if you are poor you better act how other people think you should act.

      • jacaw@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        The point seems to be less that poor people are making a poor choice, and more that his money is being used to facilitate that poor choice.

        People often have the idea that “it’s my money being taxed, why shouldn’t I have a say?” And I can at least sympathize with that.