Marus Rushford - AIBU?

[Pr1mr0se]

it's admirable that he feels he can raise the topic of school meals and poverty and the campaign seems to be growing wings with the food alliance HOWEVER AIBU to think that given that he is an extremely wealthy footballer with many footballer contacts in similar positions that they should be putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak too?

Oh dear, epic fail.

Pick on a young footballer that has attempted to raise the profile of poverty and free school meals. Maybe direct annoyance etc at the government responsible for poverty levels in this country rather than a young man from poverty who has trained hard and now earns more than most but hasn't forgotten that others struggle.

MR IS donating his time which is immensely valuable -- he could be out earning extra personal income from sponsors instead with that time, for instance.

YABU

Exactly what other posters have said who knows what he has or hasn't donated? Personally I don't care if he has or hasn't. I think he's done enough just by doing what he's done and getting the government to do a U turn. Most footballers of his age are only bothered by one thing and usually are more famous for their scandals. I think he's an admirable young man that's helped many struggling families out this summer.

Presumably he could use the time he puts into this campaigning work to take on lucrative advertising sportswear, alcohol, games, JD sports.....?
I don't see this criticism raised at wealthy actors/authors/celebrity nonentities that support causes YABU

Disagree that it’s the Governments job to feed children. Ultimately it’s the job of the parents. Obviously in some situations it’s necessary for government bodies to step in, but for someone upthread to suggest the blanket response of ‘government’s responsibility’ is wrong.

I completely agree with frazzled I loathe shit like comic relief and children in need where a load of tax avoiding millionaires boost their public profile whilst trying to get people earning a lot less than them to part with their money.

Marcus Rashford could've easily got some good PR by writing a cheque then tweeting about it. Instead he held the government accountable for its citizens. In a country this rich, no child should be too poor to eat.

And I don't care in the slightest whether he did it out if genuine concern or just because his PR told him to. Real people benefitted as a result of his actions and that is what counts.

Incidentally I work with children who are living below the poverty line. They are by and large the children of parents who are working in minimum wage and zero hours contracts - usually for fairly well known companies. I very rarely see the infamous trope of the lazy benefit scrounger relying on the government to feed their 9 kids regardless of what the media like to tell us.

It would help if you actually spelt his name right. Why is it the responsibility of footballers? Food poverty in this country is rife. Why isn't it the responsibility of the government to ensure that children are not going to bed hungry or going to school not having had breakfast. I don't care how much money Marcus Rashford has. He did an admirable thing that will ensure hungry children will be fed. That's what should matter, not picking holes in what he has achieved. YABVVVVVU.

YABVVU - the lad's risen from the grind of near-absolute poverty to where he is now. He's forced the most pompous government we've had in decades into a U-turn that will specifically help kids who are struggling the way he struggled.

And you reckon he hasn't done enough.

He may well have accumulated a few million in earnings so far, but he is still 3 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE poorer than, say, the guys who own his club. Where's your complaint about their lack of action for poor people?

To me it seems very odd when people like OP berate someone who has come from a working class background, has made good money, but doesn't freely hand it back out, at the same time they ignore those who've had money all their lives, but also don't, y'know, freely hand it back out....

Rashford has also been learning sign language for over a year and prior to the pandemic visiting schools and children's centres and fronts childhood literacy campaigns.

He is just one of life's good eggs and I am glad that he is using his considerable wealth and acquired status to not just raise awareness but to change and drive policy making.

He is a boy wonder. He is also a huge role model to young people and so much more positive than the endless SM influencers and reality stars.

Why , when young people do some genuine good, do people try to tear them down? And , just because someone is a professional footballer (which required huge amounts of talent, drive and determination in the first place) does not make them greedy, selfish or egotistical.

Rashford has also been learning sign language for over a year and prior to the pandemic visiting schools and children's centres and fronts childhood literacy campaigns

I did not know this. How utterly refreshing and lovely.

TBH is really not that hard to find out that he HAS donated money . Plus his time,name and voice,which brought in big supermarket donations and eventually made the government to do something about it.

That is massive,and a (good )change that helped children country wide instead of the small initiative he started for the kids in Manchester.

So why exactly is OP ignoring easily found facts? Because he's a footballer? Because he grew up poor? Or because of the colour of his skin?

Whilst there is no such thing as a selfless good deed, Marcus Rashford is still a good man for doing this. Hopefully it will inspire all the dodgy sport stars/celebs/companies to stop using tax dodge loopholes so there is more tax revenue to pay for it!

And he isn't as irritating as gurning Jamie Oliver, pushing healthy eating while being paid for promoting a supermarket that makes a fair bit selling junk food.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/51747432

Here he is promoting a poetry competition for World Book Day whilst learning to sign.

What a bastard.

He has made substantial donations. How much have you donated, OP?

He seems like the sort of man I'd like my sons to grow up to be, to be honest. It does seem unfair to single him out for criticism.

Also, even if wealthy people donated enough money to (temporarily) solve the problem, it would just be papering over the cracks. The system is broken, and disguising that fact would do precisely nothing to solve the problem in the longer term.

How can you even post this? Rather than taking aim at a government which shows utter contempt for poverty you have a pop at someone actually, measurably making things better for hungry children. You are probably full of admiration for the old Etonians, the class system is so endemic in this country they get off scot free from so much of the voting public. But working class footballers are fair game. His story about the mother soaking bread in water to keep her children full for longer makes me hurt inside. So yes, you are massively unreasonable and a total dickhead. Don’t underestimate what a glorious role model he is to other kids growing up in poverty. He has taken something which causes so much shame to kids and made it a proud part of his history.

He is an amazing young man, his mother must be so proud of him. I don't know how much he has given but I know he has stated that he initally gave £50 or £60k to kick off the charity. He gives loads of time, probably gives more money, how much have you done?

Is it because he is young, or because he is black or because you think footballers are working class lads who get too much money? Or are you just jealous?

Marcus has said his own family relied on free school meals at some point, there is reference to him saying he had to do something or he would be letting down his 10 year old self.

It makes sense though doesn't it? You qualify for a free lunch whilst in school and yet somehow for the other 13 weeks you are not in school you are supposed to be able to afford it.

The summer holidays in particular are difficult for many parents who qualify for FSM just because of the sheer number of weeks they have to get through. Do you actually work in a school and see those children first hand?

@Livelovebehappy

Disagree that it’s the Governments job to feed children. Ultimately it’s the job of the parents. Obviously in some situations it’s necessary for government bodies to step in, but for someone upthread to suggest the blanket response of ‘government’s responsibility’ is wrong.

It's the government's responsibility to put the structures in place that allow parents to feed their own children. They can do that by encouraging employers to employ people, and by making sure that workers get paid a fair wage and aren't exploited. If they can't do that, or refuse to do that, then damn right it's the government's response to make sure those children are fed.

It is not the responsibility of wealthy individuals to pay for food programmes for children, it is the responsibility of the government.

Only in extremis - first it is the responsibility of the parents, then their families then the government.

HOWEVER AIBU to think that given that he is an extremely wealthy footballer with many footballer contacts in similar positions that they should be putting their money where their mouth is

OP This is Right Wing populist frothing meets hardline socialism.

The idea that individuals should be compelled to pay additional funds because they feel the political status quo is not meeting their view of a fair world is a dangerous one. Presumably the wealthy who agree with the incumbent ruling party won't have to pay anything additional, which will be comforting for the super rich who have been advantaged for generations or helped by the current lax regulatory tax regime.

Alternatively we could always ask all wealthy individuals to pay more to make a fairer society ……

Rashford has through hard work become a high paid footballer - he has a skill that is saleable. Why should he not benefit from that. I think he is admirable that he is using his public profile to highlight the plight of those children who do not have access to the media focus. It makes a change from celebrities fronting Charity Events yet squirrelling away their earnings in off shore accounts / tax minimisation schemes.

@JamieLeeCurtains

It's Marcus. Rashford. Marcus Rashford.

You've got a lot of opinions about a man whose name you can't even get right.

Just what I was thinking.

Many footballers put considerable amounts of their own money into charitable enterprises. Try doing some research before criticising and starting ill informed threads.

You are being V V unreasonable

I'm not a Man Utd fan, but Marcus Rashford and what he has done with food poverty has been the most positive thing over the last 6 months

YABU.