I was just musing earlier - with Andy Burnham's cost-of-living parade, I think this is genuinely something that Jack would have been asked to participate in in her heyday. Not latched onto, asked to specifically participate in as the Palatable Pov.
The Guardian would have been there, gob in hand as they edit her piece about her own experience and how luxuries like fresh lemons and butter weren't an option anymore. There'd have been, at the very least, a very purple blog and some fist-shaking tweets and embarrassing amounts of self-insertion, but now? Crickets. Couldn't have happened to a better person.
Secondly, I'd be squeezing my cheeks if I were her with all of this Jason Arday discourse. I mean, that operates on the basis of her having shame and a conscience, but you know what I mean. Very near the bone.
It also reminded me that all grifters have a bleeping playbook - lobbing protected characteristics and/or illnesses into the air as a pissy little shield. I was reading about an ASMR artist who had conned people for years via her Patreon, and the similarities were glaring:
- Claimed they were hacked and lost a load of money
- Claiming death threats and harassment
- A revolving door of chronic illnesses
- Offering deals and specials that never materialised
- Tip jar
- Baiting
- Talks of destitution with a face full of filler
- And on, and on...
