Jack Monroe #136 We lived in a house, it had a roof

[Harrybosch]

Wonderful man, great article. Warms my cynical heart.
A harsh contrast making that ZW/ JM look absolutely ridiculous. It was ridiculous anyway, but this just made it even clearer.

ZW has got a privileged background. She, like many other people can't be 'blamed' for not being able to relate to poverty and her bullshit detector was not switched on with JM. This is me keeping things as neutral as I can be. She is therefore not qualified to write about certain things. Most privileged people are absolutely blind to a variety of life situations. The combination of JM and her doing an article has produced the worst result. I sometimes wonder what Julie Burchill thinks about JM.

ZW is a journalist. It's her job to question things. I don't care if she has personal experience of being poor, she isn't qualified to write about anything if she doesn't fulfil the basic requirements of her job - research, question, fact check, etc.

The way media is financed is in part to blame, but honestly, the guardian has gone fully to shits over the last few years.

 

[discokebab]

Sent a complaint to the Grauniad for the use of feral too as per many Frau und Herren already. Given mine and Mr Kebab's line of work, its a heartbreaking way to speak about such vulnerable children. Very hard to not be like AND ANOTHER THING - SHES A GRIFTER but I managed to send and sit on my hands before I could.
I made the mistake of wandering over to the Facebook post comments on the article and being treated to feeling like she's Saint Jack of Sarfend (Patreon Saint of Sideboards, Snubs and Slop)

 

[Lanie]

I got a letter from the local council yesterday are council tax is going up by at least2% to pay for the shortfall caused by the pandemic. Why isn't she put rattling her tins to that tune that the pandemic is causing the economy to crash resulting in price hikes.

Clothes shops are literally giving clothes away too keep open but once bojo gives us the green light they will have to hike their prices way up so that they can stay afloat, there are many other businesses going the same way. There are bigger fish to fry than the price of smart price beans.

 

[Flash123]

She couldn't do that - she's got to be really careful about what she says in relation to it because she knows she can't just do her usual and lie her socks off without being challenged.

We should probably stop tipping her off about what looks bad!

 

[Nottonightbabe]

I got a letter from the local council yesterday are council tax is going up by at least2% to pay for the shortfall caused by the pandemic. Why isn't she put rattling her tins to that tune that the pandemic is causing the economy to crash resulting in price hikes.

Clothes shops are literally giving clothes away too keep open but once bojo gives us the green light they will have to hike their prices way up so that they can stay afloat, there are many other businesses going the same way. There are bigger fish to fry than the price of smart price beans.

This is Jack though, she's always at least 6 months behind everyone else. Give it till about July time and she'll be ranting about that as if it's hot off the press news.

 

[Boyo]

Oh she really does. I think it’s the hair that I can’t get over. It’s a cross between sideshow bob and something about Mary.

It’s all just a bit too ‘sulky teen’.

ETA: Nothing really changes, does it.

 

[Scotty1976]

..... and I wish she’d stop talking about being ‘financially secure’.

Not everyone who rents or had a mortgage has savings in the bank and financial security, there are plenty of us who aren’t financially secure , if we lose jobs we’re all up tit creek , not just Jack, call me poor, Monroe.

Surely this year should have taught everyone that for the majority of people no one can hand on heart say they will always be financially secure ? Any of us could be up tit creek if we have a accident , illness or death of a partner .

 

[Scarletfever]

RM has written an article for the Big Issue:

What it's like to accidentally start a movement

Louisa Britain, whose photo of frugal free school meals packages caused uproar online, details how her life was turned upsidedown.

www.bigissue.com

But according to JM's article "she wants to remain anonymous and goes by the name Lisa" (I'm paraphrasing).

Finger on the pulse as always

 

[bladiesla]

Was just reading a screenshot from her work in the previous thread where she has a 725/month flat. She states in that piece that at least she can pay/pays her rent on time. What a difference with 10 years later when she has five-figure deals, books for sale, paid for speaking engangement, Patreons and bouncing rent 6 months in a row (according to her own words).

 

[Boyo]

RM has written an article for the Big Issue:

What it's like to accidentally start a movement

Louisa Britain, whose photo of frugal free school meals packages caused uproar online, details how her life was turned upsidedown.

www.bigissue.com

But according to JM's article "she wants to remain anonymous and goes by the name Lisa" (I'm paraphrasing).

Finger on the pulse as always

Perhaps she had to change it to ‘Lisa’ cos she’s unable to type ‘Louisa’ without adding ‘SHE LEFT!!!!’

 

[HarderFaster]

Roadside Mum has tweeted today about receiving loads of presents. Combined with her tweets about how she should be given a consulting role off the back of this, I’m worried it’s all gone a bit Jack 2.0: This Time There May Be Some Experience of Poverty.

I can’t help but compare gobby Twitter sorts with the people I know from all walks of life who run various foodbanks, lunch clubs, temple kitchens, and they just quietly do it week in, week out, year after year, getting little to no recognition and often topping up supplies from their own pockets despite having little themselves.

Of course digital campaigning has a part in activism, but it’s much smaller than is made out to be. Way too many people, led by their Povvo Filler Queen Munro, have absolutely no material contribution to allaying any of the issues they wank on about to look liberal.

I can’t believe the Guardian have paid her AGAIN to write the same story they’ve paid her to write endless times. Just cannot with this bleep.

 

[appleskin]

So a wee search of jack monroe feral brought up an article before the lawsuit with KH

She might as well go full express writer now if she's gonna use similar language for people (foster kids in her case).

That guardian option piece - her story plus afew things that have been said much better in thousand of articles before this.

And what is she doing to slag the letter off other than rage tweet? the professionals included will be the ones that will help shape the changes - how sweet if one could just click their fingers and what they want to happen will happen but alas it doesn't work that way!

I don't recall her raising many other voices, sure she was never for mentioning RM, never tweets petitions or resources unless it's done in a way to gain praise for herself, retweeted where to get help once! (and managing to copy the way MR done with the pins)

And for the last 10 years what has she achieved for others? She might as well state she's jealous not to be included - it certainly the only takeaway from it many will have. And if the letter is nothing why white heart people that said she should be included?

 

[jenny2603]

It's rage inducing - the total lack of self-awareness, the hypocrisy, just the all-round 'it's great if it's my idea but tit if it isn't my idea' attitude. God, it's incessant..

Could she be any more bitter? Every one involved in that letter has something to offer an on ongoing campaign whether it's their own experience of previous campaigning work, professional knowledge of the food industry, personal experience of the issue at hand and an ability to talk about it without claiming that they're rolling about the floor emitting mournful howls 24/7. Should the campaign take a bizarre and unlikely turn where they feel it would benefit from a preposterous fantasist to wheel out the old histrionics, then I'm sure they'll gently and gingerly approach Jack.

In any case the idea that the letter is the beginning and end of the campaign is ludicrous. It's a first step in opening up an ongoing dialogue that will hopefully lead to change. I don't want to seem like I am being dismissive of peoples personal experiences because they are important in humanising issues but they won't move the government alone. Every day the front line of the DWP hear peoples personal stories, benefits are refused and peoples personal stories are looked at in more depth at review and appeal. Has any of that made the benefits system more humane? Jack claiming that she's collecting these stories for some greater good is just dressing up her own vampiric morbid curiosity as a moral duty.

I don't like to see anyone unhappy and I'm sorry Jack's life appears to be utterly consumed by resentment against her parents but that's her problem. I hope one day she'll realise that by not finding away to deal with it that she's sabotaged the incredible opportunity she was given. It's not nepotism or domination of the media by the affluent upper middles classes that has kept Jack away from the big gigs and her name off that letter. It's entirely down to her own behaviour and unresolved personal issues.

Rather than go to all the trouble of writing that article it would have been far easier just to send the Guardian a picture of her Mediterranean arse because we can all see it.

 

[Walkdengirl]

I don’t mean to imply they’re any less her siblings than her biological ones, but aren’t the two she wheels out for anecdotes: the younger brother she sees in the supermarket and the sister who wants to be a nurse both children her parents originally fostered? So she’s talking like that about at least two people who are still in contact with her and very likely to see it.

Yes they are, her parents adopted them.

 

[Hollaaa]

Hopefully there are a lot of public sector worker Guardian readers sitting at home having pennies drop about this absolute waste of space who adds nothing to the discourse or progess.

You don't get rid of structural inequalities by wailing and clawing across social media. It starts with who you vote for, where you spend your money, who you volunteer for in your spare time, how you connect with your local community, whether you sign up to keep learning via actual hard work, not honorary degrees, what you read and how you interpret that information. She has literally no idea of a) how the world works and b) how to adult, in the parlance of the yoof.

Is she completely ignorant of the concepts of public consultation, coproduction and equality law? I know it's been picked up here before, but why is she soliciting distressing and potentially re-traumatising messages from the public and doing the square root of duck all other than use them to talk herself up? It's unethical and in terms of managing data and privacy, dodgy as anything. Social media is eminently hackable, she's a walking chaos-magnet, it's amazing the contents have stayed out of the public domain this long. And that's before she prints them off and leaves them lying around in the background of a million pointless selfies for whatever spurious reason.

 

[ScamSandwich]

ZW is a journalist. It's her job to question things. I don't care if she has personal experience of being poor, she isn't qualified to write about anything if she doesn't fulfil the basic requirements of her job - research, question, fact check, etc.

The way media is financed is in part to blame, but honestly, the guardian has gone fully to shits over the last few years.

I was not very clear..it is of course her job to question things and the requirement is not to have walked in everybody's shoes in order to write about something (that would be a bit..hard..) but she is unable or unwilling to do this and the outcome is is problematic either way. I was not defending her or making excuses, it is just a common problem especially when poverty is concerned.

ETA: and we know that she is not the only one who doesn't fact check when JM is concerned. I think they feel they don't need to fact check, which is why we have these threads...

 

[KebabGirl]

Late to the party again, as I had an epic sleep then exercised.
Charlie Bighams is a really bad example if she forensically dove into the story. As a startup they were small scale thus the high price point. In this window, they've expanded production so can keep the same end price. The cost of ingredients has gone up, but manufacturing reduced.
This Frau is known to partake when they are found in the reduced items section!

Garlic granules. I always have them and add to many things. I think it was said before - the organic being closer / the same to standard range is surely a good thing for welfare and choices? It's the same on many products now, organic is an option for many where 10 years ago they were priced out.

I shall shut up now and get back to the fancy cake I bought from the coffee shop - I'm supporting independent businesses Jack!

 

[bladiesla]

I think it's also one thing to be like JM when your in your early 20s and another to be like that in your 30s. Her early work would be at least somewhat tollerable if she had grown over the years

I remember being at an international student conference for my undergraduate, making friends with students from Chile and Romania. They both had stories about their upbringing under respectively Pinochet and Ceausescu and I was a dick to say something along the lines how boring my background was compared to theirs. They were quick to rightfully correct me they would have loved not growing up under a dictatorship. I still cringe when I think of it , but learned my lesson.

Jack doesn't seem to learn. She cannot have others have their stories without being involved.

 

[Veronicaaa]

New, post-filler photo for Jack in the Observer.

 

[Droosie123]

Roadside Mum has tweeted today about receiving loads of presents. Combined with her tweets about how she should be given a consulting role off the back of this, I’m worried it’s all gone a bit Jack 2.0: This Time There May Be Some Experience of Poverty.

I can’t help but compare gobby Twitter sorts with the people I know from all walks of life who run various foodbanks, lunch clubs, temple kitchens, and they just quietly do it week in, week out, year after year, getting little to no recognition and often topping up supplies from their own pockets despite having little themselves.

Of course digital campaigning has a part in activism, but it’s much smaller than is made out to be. Way too many people, led by their Povvo Filler Queen Munro, have absolutely no material contribution to allaying any of the issues they wank on about to look liberal.

I can’t believe the Guardian have paid her AGAIN to write the same story they’ve paid her to write endless times. Just cannot with this bleep.

Agree with your first paragraph totally. ....will watch with interest.

Also locally I am Chair for a charity which supports families. Nobody except the Trustees know who I am. My name goes on letters when applying for funding but that's it.

There's a difference between those who DO and those who make a lot of noise. Most of us trying to make a difference just get on and do it. We don't feel the need to raise noise about it.

Not saying that those who make a noise in the media are worthless as they can raise really good issues
However Jack is just a noise maker and does bugger all else except sit on Twittee...she absolutely does NOT do any work.