What's the most privileged/off the mark post/response you've read?

[waywardways]

I've name changed for this, just in case anyone does an AS and accuses me of getting DM fodder.

Me and the DC had to flee our home several years ago and we were moved into a tiny 2 bed flat temporarily. I made a thread at the time, saying me and 3dc had had a traumatic move and were very overcrowded and asked for advice on how to store our daily stuff in an efficient way.
Several posters replied helpfully, linking shelving units/freestanding storage, but one poster replied along the lines of:

"Your DH must be high up in the army and you have to rough it in officers housing until your 5 bed detached home is ready".

Another poster quoted the above with "This was my immediate thought too! It's so hard OP, but we've all been there".

I found this both amusing and perplexing because a) I would never have assumed the above and b) it was so far off the mark.

There was another thread very recently about food guidelines where the lack of awareness and privilege was quite frightening!

I think it’s just all relative really. One person’s privilege is another’s every day life.

Not exactly privileged, but I was once asking about the socially acceptable-ness of doing a supermarket shop after parkrun, and amongst the helpful replies I had some basically wonder why I was asking, as it's only a 5k and therefore surely there wouldn't be anyone who could end up a hot sweaty mess from such an easy run 🤨 No consideration that maybe I was a new (and fat!) runner who was only just managing 5k at full effort and was indeed a hot sweaty mess!

Well yes, of course it is, Mumsnet consists of millions? of people. I should have known to include 'lighthearted' in the title.

Just reading a thread about the OP visiting her adult son a full days train ride away and needing to stay in a hotel and eat out as he's in a shared house. One response was "well, £1000 is hardly a fortune". It most certainly is to many people.

My sister has been known to say things about parents who aren't providing what she considers sufficient for children like, "it's just £30 - surely she can find £30".

"Send him to sleep in the spare room" - Like everyone has one??

"Stick it in the garage" - Again, like everyone has one??

Someone asked for an affordable family car options and a poster recommended Tesla X

I remember a Mum posting on here that she had £8 left to feed her and her child for the week and asked for ideas on what to get.

I suggested a bag of pasta, some tinned tomatoes, a loaf of bread, some potatoes, tins of beans and the cheap 15 pack of eggs that you get.

One poster absolutely berated me for suggesting eggs from caged hens. Not ideal, granted, but they were there, they were cheap, and op was in a horrible position. Morals are great when you can afford them.

I also posted on here when my daughter was dying, and I was told by multiple people "I would never be able to agree to taking my child off life support", see also "I wouldn't be able to carry on if my child died" and one lovely thread about how bereaved parents were stupid for leaving things on our dcs graves and how op wouldn't do it because it's pointless and tacky.

I've also seen many "it's only £20/£50/£100, surely you can put it on a credit card/borrow from someone"

More recently there was a thread about a horrific accident where one boy died and another was in a coma and the police, very sadly, got them mixed up, queue many posters declaring they could tell their teen, who had been in a horrific accident by their eyelashes or smell.

In fact any traagedy that happens attracts people jumping in to say it would simply never happen to them because.....

Some posters live in a different world.

Not on here, but I was talking to a colleague about my plans for a trip to London and she said “get the taxi to drop you at ……”

She had no idea that most people use the tube. She’s lovely, but definitely privileged.

I am so very sorry you had to deal with that. I honestly don’t have the words to express how sorry, but I wanted to at least say something.

Thank you 💐 it was a long time ago now, and I've become a lot more hardened to the shitty behaviour of those who fantasise about what they think they would do in the position of a bereaved parent.

I name change all the time on here, but you'll always see me staunchly defending those in the position I was/am when threads pop up, and, in more recent years I've seen a massive amount of people stepping up in the same way thankfully. Still plenty of idiots around though unfortunately.

Took the words out of my mouth! I was gobsmacked by that. You get so many responses here on the lines of 'Can't see the issue here, OP. Just throw money at it!' Emm...

The one where an OP posted a genuine question about the health of their child and the 3rd reply was criticising her piercing the child’s ears.

The amount of people who get angry because someone doesn’t drive!

Driving a car is a privilege and very expensive.

At work- a colleague made me feel bad because I hadn’t booked a holiday this year or last year. - “you can get a cheap break for £500 then a few hundred quid spending money” Reminded her i’m a single parent and don’t have a partner to split bills with like she does.

On a recent thread I read

"Why do you live in East London if you went to Cambridge?"

I remember reading a thread that was titled "to think a 100k salary is not very high " Umm...the vast majority of the country do not earn anywhere near that amount. Whenever someone disagreed posters would attack them saying well you should work harder and you should have got a better education.

The threads about food often annoy me. Posters just can not understand that a bowl.of Weetabix with milk and a piece of fruit is a healthy, filling breakfast that can be bought cheaply. Someone always responds with I never let my child leave the house without eating avocado on sourdough toast

Beat me to it! I was just going to post this exact thing.

A few posters on that thread are acting like everyone can just fork out £1000 for a 4-5 day trip to see their son who lives 500-600 miles away. Just to visit him. Not a holiday, just a visit to a place they probably wouldn't consider going to if he wasn't there. The 'a £1000 is hardly a fortune' comments are tone deaf and arrogant.

Many people barely have a pot to piss in, and can't spare a thousand pennies, let alone a thousand pounds, and certainly not to just visit a family member who has swanned off to the other side of the country from them. Many people can't just bloody drop everything to feck off to the other side of the country for 4-5 days either! Many people have commitments, pets, family to look after, and JOBS.

Utter breathtaking privilege. Some people are clueless! I'm actually embarrassed for them!

Posts where they want more help with childcare from grandparents.
Private schools thread moaning about tax.

One where a single mother of 4 was distressed because she’d been reported to social services by her neighbour after her bins were not emptied one week.

Lots of delighted posters responded along the lines of ‘Well my goodness I really can’t think what on earth you’re putting in your nasty peasanty bins, my husband and I live by ourselves and only put in one small tissue a fortnight, so it takes us 2 years to fill our fragrant non-peasanty bin, have you not tried recycling?’🤢

bahaha some of these 😂

I must say, a lot of the time I doom scroll on MN because it’s like a parallel universe and a live version of ‘overheard in waitrose’

The presumption that everyone can work from home

The presumption everyone works Mon to Fri

The presumption everyone has a garden.

All that said I hate when people try to shut down discussions because of their own financial circumstances. Asking for advice on whether to ski in French or Austrian Alps is a valid discussion, as is whether to buy a new Audi or a Mercedes. Only people who have something to add should post. The difference is when the reply is tone deaf to the nature of the post.

Omg there was a thread once about new private schools rules and increased fees or losing charitable status or something (this is not my world at all) and one poster whose ds went to Eton lamented "it's the poor that are going to be punished!" Having £30k per year for school fees is certainly not my definition of poor, but we're all different I suppose.

Loving all of these, and yes to the £100k is an average salary 🤔.
@WhoDecidedImAnAdultImNotQualified I'm so sorry about the loss of your daughter and the appalling behaviour you've had to endure on top of that 💐

Another one - poster says she's had a really bad few years and wants budget holiday recommendations. Needs somewhere that has easyJet flights flying from Inverness. She's thinking of Portugal as Faro is fairly cheap. One poster:

"I'd go to Cape Verde instead, it's much nicer than Portugal and I'd never fly with easyJet anyway".

Very helpful, thanks

Yes the posters who come onto the holiday board to tell others that they'd never go on holiday because it's so bad for the environment are very irritating.