Kathleen Stock article about Jack Monroe

[AnonWeeMouse]

Kathleen Stock writes:

unherd.com/2023/01/jack-monroe-the-acceptable-face-of-poverty/

Monroe responds by blaming these critical points on Kathleen Stocks GC views.

I don't think that's fair. I think Monroe is using that as an excuse to try and avoid criticism.

Her publisher has had to release a statement about the dangerous tips in Monroe's New Book and Trussel Trust are refusing to hand it out over safety fears.

I don't think it's right or fair for Monroe to try and hide behind being Non binary or trans etc. She hasn't claimed those identities for ages has she?

Are we allowed to mention other sites? Tattle has endless JM threads.

All very enlightening, as well as hilarious.
The woman is unhinged as well as a compulsive liar.

Circa 2010 JM 1.0 was a (self admittedly) middle class woman who had experienced a short period of extreme poverty due to a benefit fuckup. I work in welfare rights and JM backstory 1.0 was completely explicable to me. These fuck ups do happen and people can get very skint, very quickly when they do.

JM 1.0 wrote helpful recipes and was mildly useful to the Trussell Trust by speaking about what it's like to have a short period of poverty in an otherwise middle class life.

I liked JM 1.0

JM 2.0 is a hot mess with a changing and inexplicable backstory that wildly exaggerates her
experience of poverty and falsely represents it as representative of poverty in general.

What I think happened is:

JM met a lot of people in the media who are that bit posher than she is. Those people liked her because they don't feel comfortable with working class people. JM was culturally closer to themselves. They could relate to her and they didn't have enough experience of poor people to see how wildly unrepresentative she actually is. They promoted her and this encouraged JM to forge a career as a sort of professional poor person.

Unfortunately you can't be "successful" at being poor. By definition. All subsequent shenanigans stem from this basic contradiction.

JM should have moved on from her brief period of poverty and just been a recipe book writer, without constantly referencing it ALL. THE. TIME.

I agree with @unlimiteddilutingjuice about JM's progression to middle class emblem of The Poor.

KS's article is funny and true. JM claims victimhood when it's just mild criticism.

Tattle has a summary of the Jack Monroe controversies, if you fancy a summary - they have a Jack Wiki on their site somewhere

Thanks for sharing OP - that’s hilarious. I love KS’ poised savaging. I didn’t want it to be over.

What I can't understand is nobody said 'Jack, isn't sandpaper actually more expensive than an egg ring, or a mallet more expensive than a tin opener? And aren't most tins now ring pulls?' What happened to the editor of this new book? Where were they?

Or is it the case now that anyone 'queer/non binary' cannot be questioned about anything?

Very good, measured article from KS there. JM is one of the many on social media who has lost the ability to talk in a nuanced way. It's all 'hate' and 'trolls' in response to even the mildest criticism. As I've said many times before, criticism and genuine questions are not hate.

I read the article as far as the egg ring. Honestly, who bothers with an egg ring?
Something else to wash up, etc.
To be fair, I did once try those funny little cup things, but the egg stuck to them, and I could not get it out....
Instead, jus put them in water; it works every time.
I think this is actually the point of the article. If cash strapped, then perfectly round eggs are not a priority.

I use silicon egg poaching things - but they cost about £10 several years ago and are still going strong

Unfortunately you can't be "successful" at being poor. By definition. All subsequent shenanigans stem from this basic contradiction.

This is very true. Hence the wild oscillation between "poor me, look how little money I have and how terrible my life is" and "look at how incredibly successful I am with my books and tv shows."

Monroe has responded to Stock on Twitter, which I imagine will have the effect of sending more people to read the article.

I love my silicon egg poaching things. Gone is the disappointment of hoping for a brilliant poached egg and instead getting a messy and very unappetising egg/water mush.

For me, all the stifling #bekind, ‘my mental health’, ‘be your true self’, bs that has been choking all the art, culture and innovation out of everything for the last 5 years or so, is really due a kick in the backside.

I love the fact that KS is openly taking the piss out of things that deserve to have the piss taken out of them.

JM is obviously an easy target, she does come across as a bit muddled and lacking in self-awareness, but, I think the time for everyone pretending they don’t see things is over.

I really hope we are going to bring back that British (and Irish) tradition of piss-taking.

I buy a lot of budget tins. They don’t always come with ring pulls. But, a can opener can be obtained for as little as 50p. If I found my can opener gone or broken and the shops shut, I’d be so much more likely to eat toast or porridge for an evening and get a new one the next day then I would be to attempt to open the tin with a knife! Because I like having fingers!

@EndlessTea and @unlimiteddilutingjuice I agree with your posts, and... what apposite names!

The latter. It's definitely the latter.
^
Or 'something, something, transphobia, something'

Y'know? The usual twaddle.^

“if you don't have a rolling pin, use an empty glass bottle”

A roll of cling film makes a brilliant stand in for a rolling pin - then peel off and dispose of a couple of inches and it’s good as new.

Micky Flanagan says that 'taking the piss is our national sport'.

He's right!

Haven't got a tin opener? Use a sharp knife and a mallet.

Stock mentions some outlandish tips there! As for the above quote, I'm living proof that this is an extremely stupid idea and have the scar to prove it, though I was at least a teenager when I tried to open a tin with a sharp knife and missed the tin. Adults shouldn't even be thinking about such a thing.

So true Ameanstreakamilewide!

I think if you can't afford a tin opener then, in big letters, on the cover it should say

You can't afford this book!

I also think although well intentioned, and possibly useful, stuff like this feeds the notion that people can live well on benefits, minimum wage, etc. At least it does to people inclined to think that way anyway. But that's not JM's or Jamie Oliver's fault.

KS's article is, as ever, excellent.

It was absolutely begging someone to write about it.

It's not the first time I've personally thought that JM could be deliberately attention seeking to milk the backlash.

I am honestly sick of these poverty tourists. I have been poor and I'm not that much better of at the moment.

I have a can opener because sometimes canned things are cheap. What I never had and still don't have is a mallet or knives I can afford to mess up or lose.

I would have never washed off tomato juice of canned pasta because if I was eating that crap it meant i didn't have anything else and washing off tomatoes would lessen the food i would be able to eat.

Good for Katleen Stock for make a mockery out of this woman's book. It's ridiculous and infuriating.

JM's lack of self awareness is a bit like Prince Harry's.

Given the wait times in A&E using a knife is really not a good idea.