Jack Monroe #42

[MancBee]

Just a quick message to reassure people that I'm ok. I was, and still am, amazed at the support shown on this forum for someone that you have never met. I am truly appreciative of your kind words.

JM antics had got to me little (well a lot if I am honest), something I shouldn't let happen. I have dealt with bigger issues than a ridiculous self absorbed narcissist. Why she triggers something in me I do not know. The flippant way she threw around her alleged abuse did trigger something in me though. She only ever talks about her abuse, her illness, her woes, it is always about her. She purports to be an activist, a champion for the poor, the abused, etc, etc etc. But she only ever highlights these problems by the way they affect her, she is never empathetic.

To this day the first time the man r***d me (it carried on for a couple of years) I recall every second, the clothes he wore, the colour of the wallpaper, the aftershave he used, the pattern of the carpet, the book that was on the floor, his hair, his breath. She brought all that back to my mind at a time I could least deal with it.

The way I used my experience to positive effect was to become a supporter and volunteer at a local charity that helps male abuse victims, an area that is sadly poorly catered for. This poor provision is undoubtedly a factor in why there are so many young male s******s. The way she uses her experiences is to wallow in self pity and make every controversial issue about her.

I have only skim read the past couple of threads, though have come to realise a few things about JM and life in general. Not all people get the comeuppance they deserve. Undeserving people often prosper in life, and getting upset about that fact harms me not them.

JM may well limp along in her sad little world braying to her pack of loyal hounds. What I comfort myself with is that what she is doing is not making her happy. Indeed it seems to be fuelling her unhappiness. It might seem cruel of me to revel in her unhappiness, but I will try to explain why later. I am still getting my thoughts together. I know what I want to say, but can't quite get my sentences together yet.

I will keep reading in the meantime, and will contribute when I have reflected a little more.

Thank you all again. You may be a cabal, canal, or a coven, but what you definitely are, is a group of amazing supportive people that understand how words affect others.

 

[moldwarp]

Hello everyone, first time posting here! Tell me if I'm not doing it right...and apologies for length. I have lots of observations about this chick!
I'm so glad to see these threads about JM as I thought I was the only one who saw through her BS. I used to think she was ok although her culinary ability was always clearly completely exaggerated - an early recipe of hers in the Guard was, IIRC, 'cheesy peas pasta' which was pasta, mushy peas and cheese all heated up together. That was it. That was the recipe. The only way that could be seen as a serious recipe would be if it was on a blog for hardcore stoners who can barely find their kitchen let alone cook in it. But still - I just thought it was the usual Guardian fetishization of the 'deserving poor' especially since she was pretty and LGBT - usual stuff from the Graun.
But as the years went on I could see more and more how fake she is. The first red flags were the constant new health / identity dramas - trans / anorexia / alcoholism / autism etc etc. It was always something. And when I began following her on Twitter I realised that her 'working class single mum' shtick was as fake as they come. Her tone, phraseology and vocabulary are all very middle class and very privately educated posh girl middle class at that. Other working class people on this thread will know exactly what I mean. I grew up WC but got into the MC through going to uni and getting into a MC profession so I've been well placed to see the fundamental differences in the way people communicate. That humorously self-deprecating tone, the arch irony, the quirks like ironically using capitals for A Very Important Thing, subtle word choices (e.g. "your support means the ABSOLUTE WORLD") - WC people just do not talk like this. They are more direct and very, very rarely use self deprecating exaggeration at all. She's faking her background. Of course, Jack's fans wouldn't recognise this as they are all MC themselves.
As for the period of poverty. I believe it's totally exaggerated: not necessarily the depth of it but certainly the time period. Reading between the lines of various interviews I reckon what happened was that she lost her job at the fire station and then had to wait the customary 6 weeks for her benefits to come through. And yeah, if you don't have savings, that 6 weeks is hell. If you have maybe £150 of savings or can get a loan or overdraft then you can eke it out on food but without housing benefit you are truly stuffed when it comes to rent. And yeah it is depressing and terrifying, I fully get that. The thing is it's not uncommon. The things she's talked about (unscrewing lightbulbs, going to bed with clothes on cos cold, not having second helpings) are things that I and many on this thread and MILLIONS of others in this country have experienced, many for much longer than 6 weeks. It's horrible, but usually you manage to get out of it. And it's far from uncommon. But she's made it her entire personality and uses it to fish for constant attention and to bully and dogpile others. I mean, how did she get her big break in the Guardian anyway? I know loads of single mums and none of them have got fawning Guardian articles because they cooked a basic meal. Believe me the girl has media connections. No way did the Guardian just 'find' her. And the thing is her followers believe her tale of woe because they're all MC and the idea of having to ration your heating to them sounds like the equivalent of living in Raqqa under ISIS because they have no idea that this is normal and sometimes what less well-off people just have to do.

As for the dirty hands. I'm ethnically similar to Jack - but a bit further east and both parents. I'm much darker skinned than she is. So I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that that's not melanin, it's DIRT.

FFS, this girl is fake and she's poison. I have some observations about her shitty, damaging use of AA and alcoholism claims too and also the possible psychological effects of her upbringing which could explain her current behaviour but will stop now as don't want to thread hog on my first outing lol

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I am really on one rage level with her today because I can’t abide liars or lazies tbh. I’ve always worked in media & tech, now fashion. These are dominated by upper middle classes and on occasions, legit upper classes, because they tend to recruit exclusively from unpaid internships, although that is changing somewhat and a handful more of normal people are getting in per year.

I can’t explain how shit and isolating being WC in these environments can be and I wish JM could experience a sprinkle of the sadness and upset I have before she feels the need to talk on it.

From being 21 and clocking you’re one of the only ones in the room paying your own rent, who needs their salary to you know - eat, to visiting your mate’s ridiculously nice warehouse conversion and realising which side of the divide they really sit on & they can’t come back to your shithole in non gentrified zone 5 now you know how they live. Talking of gentrification, the way they discuss their property purchases and which areas are “safe” or “up and coming” is loaded with classism and racism and they have no considerations that you may very well come from those shitholes. Having to hear classist shit jokes and just sit there and take it. Brexit oh lord and everyone’s opinions on how the white working class in this country vote, as if we’re all EDL aligned morons who can’t read. Being told during salary negotiations you earn a lot and should be grateful, when you know their kids are getting paid more for assistant roles where they’re literally compiling press cuttings into a scrap book as if that’s hard. Having to go to the kitchen to do breathing exercises cos someone’s doing mockney impressions of their workmen and people have joined in, as if it’s unfathomable they may be sat near an electrician’s daughter heaven forbid! Jokes on not drinking with an Irish name. Code switching and having an entirely different work voice & vocab, when you go out for lunch with a trusted confidant (of which you’ll have one or two in an office of 500+) or real life friend coming back full of joy and genuinely happy you got to be yourself for a few hours before returning to the facade, and feeling like shit about it. Wondering if you’re paid less than X because you’re a woman, or is it because they think they can take you for a mug because you’re not posh? People acting really overly surprised when they find out your uni, degree, and classification like yeah hun they let us in now too x When people go OTT woweeee when they find out you’re the first in your family to go to uni. When people act really shocked your parents are dead so young, yeah tends to happen to us poors babe! Even shitty questions like what do your parents / siblings do at ice breaker activities cos theirs are doctors or nurses. Even small talk with the posh agency account managers/directors feels like that matrix scene dodging bullets of emotional labour and cringe as you wait for some dumb shit to be said eurgh.

Equally it’s being one of a handful of allies for your black colleagues who are upset that someone’s done something yet again and you’ve got to sit there and there’s literally nothing you can fucking say to excuse or explain it, you just have to listen to yet another racist encounter in the office, which is obviously no where near as bad as their experience itself. Which I’m sure JM has also experienced having such pronounced black skin!

This is an essay and it’s literally just skimming the top of the surface. I’m lucky because I have a relatively softened south London accent, am white, and tbh now have the privilege of being married to someone who can cover me so I don’t need to be scared to sack shit off anymore so can defend myself (I raise formal grievances now, I never used to). I’ve heard so much worse for my northern colleagues and people seem to think different types of “jokes” are appropriate for them too. Same with immigrant colleagues & jokes about their voice and country. Or those weirdos that verge on jovial racism with Asian colleagues... what is that about?!

It’s so shit but JM being neither WC or properly employed would not get it. Again it’s the liberal trap she’s fallen into, yes I care about WC representation and no I don’t think I’d like my baby reading DW’s book, but I feel like there are other spots on fire in our lives that I’d tackle before him? Like I’d rather talk about the attainment gap covid 19 is leaving between poor & WC (two separate definitive groups - not all WC people are skint Jack!) children and their middle class peers. Rather than discussing the ins and outs of ONE children’s author.

Sorry for rant will leave it there x

 

[MarmiteExtract]

This post in response to JM’s tweet to Tom Watson has a fair point

 

[Silver Linings]

The tide is definitely turning.

 

[Silver Linings]

I’ve never heard of this guy personally but he has a tick. People are peeping over the parapet.

 

[PennyLoafer]

Ok now admittedly I have had a glass of wine but I think I've cracked her unwholesome obsession with David Walliams!

He has small features in a big face. I mean, he has at least twice as much face as your average person.

Jack has big features in a really small face. And as - judging by recent photos - her eyes her getting bigger, her lips are getting bigger and her nose is definitely getting bigger, she must be looking to secure more facial territory.

And who better to claim it from than a privileged male millionaire who already has more than his fair share of everything? Look out Walliams, Citizen Monroe is coming for your boat race!

(Btw this probably won't seem so funny to me in the morning)

 

[Pocahontas]

Recap of thread 41:

Her Twitter tirade against David Walliams continued. She is not backing down, despite it being made evident that she assumed that a book character was black, when in fact said character was white.

It is unclear as to whether or not she has taken the kitten to the vet.

She has given herself a Lol from This is England type fringe (or ‘bangs’) with wallpaper scissors.

Anyone else please feel free to add to the previous thread recap!! It all moves so fast!

thread names should not contain tattle users names as it can make it to “clicky” for new readers!

And onwards we go. Thread 42 already. A great number 42 - the ultimate answer to life, universe and everything. Let’s hope it delivers!
Thanks to @Harrybosch for the title.
Also Tin Can Cunt was popular, honourable mention to @Alansbigplate for coining that wonderful phrase!

 

[Keegan]

Fuck, Jack pissed me off.

I'm from a poor/WC background. My dad has been an exterminator (when he met my mum) and has worked in a factory since I was little. He starts work at 4am.

My mum worked selling farming supplies until her traumatic brain injury (from childhood) meant she couldn't work anymore. She now watches a lot of game shows.

My brothers also have very WC jobs. I'm the only uni educated one.

My mum wasn't dropping me off to school in a land rover. She was leaving me with my 10 year younger brother at 14 so she could go to work as she couldn't afford childcare after my grandparents died. She was calling me in to school "sick" so she wouldn't get fired.

My dad was dropping me off at the doctors with my brother so I could take him in because then he would lose an hour less of work because my brother was sick/needed vaccines.

I was going to my brothers parent teacher conferences.

My parents were not able to afford extras at school. I literally counted pennies for school lunches sometimes. Or went to friends homes so their parents would feed me.

Fuck Jack

 

[Droosie123]

I’m not keen on mama either, it sounds fancy / old fashioned to me. I accept it as she isn’t very verbal, but I do keep referring to myself as ‘mum’ or ‘mummy’ hoping she’ll eventually get the hint!

That is sweet, I do think it’s interesting how different regions and families can have such different ideas about words

I know this is a couple of pages back but my lovely autistic son refers to me as his "Mumbles" and I bloody love it.

I am Mumbles....not Mummy, Mamma, Mam or Mum. He can maintain that forever.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I dont understand why she says she failed grammar school. She passed the exams to get there and left with 4 GCSES. She used to go on about it being 4 and a half because she did a module in something.

There would have been zero to stop her doing A levels as a mature student. I know someone who grew up in difficult circumstances, left school with no qualifications and graduated last year with a first class honours degree in law.

Loads of people don’t do that well in school and get qualifications later on.

Of course that would be too simple and would mean she would have to remove one of the many chips from her shoulder.

She’s lazy though. It’s why she has the begging tin out online, it’s why she can’t save for a deposit despite having an alright income, it’s why she’s so scruffy and dirty, why she can’t put an outfit together, it’s why no one receives their books, it’s why her recipes are shit, why she can’t present a 30 minute slot on her “expertise” as if it’s hard (how many of us could do an insta live about our job with our eyes closed, no prep no cards?).

She’s actually lazy. She does the bare minimum to float on by, heavily motivated by huge advance payments and and when and the rest is just being the laziest bitch going. She doesn’t even read to form opinions, she has no insightful political analysis to provide us with. Her book - again she’s so lazy she’s making black women write the fucking thing - is going to have no citations because she can’t be bothered to research for it.

 

[Not Now Bernard]

But the thing is, in the chef world,she is the privileged one:
A. She can’t cook
B. Had numerous “recipe“ books published. Most chefs would give their right hand for that
C. Several gigs on tv although she’s shit at it
D. Pretty much instant fame from her blog.

she’s strolled into being a celebrity chef due to luck, pretty and middle class and yet she has the damned cheek to sneer at other chefs who have worked damned hard to get where they are.

 

[Raker]

Screaming at ‘Jackie’ - was it a typo or a phase?!

I keep reading “Jackie” and seeing this in my head:

 

[LavaFlake]

View attachment 176003She’s ‘liked’ this even though the person had basically changed the recipe and then declared it delicious.

This reminds me of every single comment on the BBC Good Food website.

"Didn't have garlic, chorizo or chicken, swapped the mushrooms for courgettes, added some leftover orange peel and left out the cheese because we don't like it. Overall 4 stars"

 

[Jelly Bean]

I am still HOOTING over the fact she will not hold her hands up and say “I got it wrong over Mrs Tutelage”

She’s doing herself absolutely no favours by carrying this on. She’d be better off admitting she made a mistake there, pressing that she doesn’t like certain aspects of the stories and that she’d implore parents to check they are happy with the literature their children and reading.

She then needs to get a friend (maybe the one who reads here, hello ) to change her social media passwords for her so she can have a real break of a few weeks, not just a few hours.

If she does both of those, she might just about save her career. (For now at least)

Also, someone is about to get blocked...

That reminds me of a comment I read yesterday somewhere I thought was funny. Someone said 'well I've got a Jack Monroe book and some of the recipes are lovely' to which another person replied 'well you obviously haven't been following them correctly'.

 

[chocolate choux]

Well in thay case i’ll impart my latest nerd fact that she’s back on the iphone!

That bloody docking station must be like the Hokey Cokey. She puts the iPhone in, takes the Android out, in, out, in, out...

 

[choccydigestive]

Slightly OT and apologies - I can sort of connect it on the sweary teens subplot -

I've recently found evidence that my son is being bullied. He has a "close" friend who's been bullying him about being so-called fat for some time now on and off but who thinks it's "jokes" and no big deal. Anyway, now a couple of other friends have been pulled in and they over the last few days have been messaging my son telling him over and over he's fat, nobody really likes him, he's a cry baby, can't spell, stupid, etc. My son is no angel and has said some stuff in return to all this that is way less than ideal, but I also figure that when you continually poke a dragon with a stick and then get others to do it too then at some point it's going to lash out. Idon't know what to do. It's out of school so I don't know whether to contact them (they have excellent pastoral support). I am raging but I'm also shit at confrontation.

 

[Alansbigplate]

View attachment 175508Jack, it’s 1am.

What? She’s the one who chose not to write a nuanced and reasoned article and instead bang away on her keyboard like an experimental ape. It’s only blue tickers who warrant a proper discussion seemingly

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

Sorry to repeat this but I stand by my prior point, she is actually demonic. There is something so very tapped about her.

Instead of bringing in BAME and other minority groups to speak on issues she just cosplays as them? Her political understanding is so weak because she doesn’t have any “skin in the game” and never fucking will.

Honestly I think I’m just not in the mood for this stupid scammer and her shit cook books well intentioned middle class people buy as presents/donations. It’s like she’s set up some sort of poverty porn ponzi scheme and good on her, what a legacy to have alongside the beggy Patreon jar.

 

[Harrybosch]

Unpronounceable name: check
frizzy hair: check

According to Jack, this woman is black.