This is the type of crap we have to deal with... and it's a powerful persuader

[Goodheart]

among the poorly educated, that is.

Here is what my sister posted on Facebook... not her own words, but the fact that she reposted it to my attention told me she agrees with it:

"Lady walks up to the cashier with her 5 snot nose kids and buys $20 in groceries with food stamps then pulls out $100 bill and buys 50 lotto tickets.
If you can afford to pay $100 in lotto tickets then you don't need to be on the food stamps that myself and every other hard working person provides you with"

But you know what?

I've taken the gloves off, even with my own family members.

Here was my response:

"It must really suck to be so miserable in life that you're jealous of poor people. Why would you even say 'snot-nosed kids'? It's very disrespectful of small people who are innocent of anything their parents might have done, right or wrong. Furthermore, the frequency of that sort of activity is exaggerated.

And why aren't you angry instead at the TRILLIONS given to RICH people? You only notice people buying lottery tickets because they operate inside your own world, but the BIG thievery happens in places you're not rich enough to attend. That's how Republicans get away with it... they keep you angry at POOR people when poor people are mostly powerless. STOP VOTING AGAINST YOURSELF, and stop being angry at poor people."

Sorry, Michelle.... when they go low I'm not going high any more.

[CatMor]

1. That's just the same garbage the republicans ...

have been spewing for years, just another version. I've heard the buying lobster and steak with cookies and cake over the years. There are also more versions out there.
Just more lying propaganda.

[brush]

19. And what's sad is these dummies believe those made up stories of poor people with $100 bills

[cannabis_flower]

57. There's all sorts of reasons poor people

could have $100 bills. I remember when I worked retail and restaurants and quite often I either got tips or the company cashed our paychecks for us. And even if they do, people shouldn't be so judgmental about people's choices. I once was watching Donahue and they were talking about this. A woman stood up and said someone had called her out about some name brand shoes she had on when she was paying with food stamps. They had been a gift. Yes, people who are on food stamps have friends and family who aren't.

I remember when I got food stamps and I used coupons and sales to stretch what I got - but I also bought Diet Coke. I bought 2 liter bottles because they were cheaper - but some people would say I shouldn't be allowed to buy soft drinks with it. People should mind their own damn business.

[csziggy]

58. Those shoes - thrift shops sell used top brand shoes all the time

The best ones to buy are those that were very expensive and well made when new. Same for clothes - some very high end brands show up in thrift shops and are the better ones to buy because of the quality.

At the best thrift shops you can get very good quality clothes and shoes for far less than the crap sold for several times more in Walmart.

I grew up wearing clothes purchased from Goodwill. My sister saved thousands on clothes during her career by buying nearly all her clothes (and other stuff) at thrift shops. She was such a regular at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop they'd save things they thought she'd like. Even now she keeps her thrift shop habit and loves to drag me to her favorites when I visit her.

[2naSalit]

69. Same here.

The most "high end" portions of my wardrobe of late came from thrift stores at $2-4 each. I'm wearing silk blends and nice boiled wool and even my "nice car" came from Craig's List at way under BlueBook. Sooo... And so what if someone has a C-note? What business is it for anyone else? Or whether the person was buying with SNAP card or VISA?

It's pretty much propaganda and the wild imaginings of busy-bodies.

[brush]

61. Come on. Most often stories of poor people flaunting $100 bills are made-up, repug talking points.

Don't believe the hype.

[niyad]

71. and lots of us shop at thrift shops, where, amazingly, designer labels are fairly common.

[The Genealogist]

79. When I worked at a doctor's office...

A woman with a child on Medicaid came in to have the child seen. After the woman left, my jealous co-workers trashed the woman. Apparently she had some kind of expensive purse, and they expressed their jealousy by slamming the woman for having a kid on Medicaid yet still carrying this purse. I told them it could be a gift or a thrift store find, they had no idea and it was none of their business anyway. That shut them up.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

42. Ronald Reagan pushed the rhetoric

of the "Welfare Queen" for years. It was BS then and it's BS now.

Next time you hear something like that nonsense, do yourself a favor and fact check it for yourself.

[GetRidOfThem]

68. Exactly

Agreed 100%. Stupid old Republican Ronald Reagan rhetoric. Willie Horton is next...

[demigoddess]

2. Good shot!!!

[wasupaloopa]

3. I would say, if she wins we don't have to pay welfare

to her anymore.

A woman I worked with was poor, her husband was a gardener’s helper.

She answered phones taking orders.

She and her husband and another couple played the same lotto number over and over, and they won. They were to split $33 million with the other couple.

Camera footage showed the other couple paid for lotto tickets with food stamps and were denied any winnings.

The woman I worked with and her husband got $33 million. She was one of the most honest and sincere persons I have ever known. I was very happy for her.

[catbyte]

8. I hope the store got their lotto machines yanked because EBT cards are for food only.

[ghostsinthemachine]

27. No theyre not

Both cash and CalFresh (food stamps) are loaded onto EBT cards. Not really sure the story is factual. EBTs have been used for a long time. The only way you could pay for non authorized purchases is at the vendor. Something aint right.

[Lindsay]

4. These days I'd be tempted

to reply, "Pictures or it didn't happen."

(Because there's a very, very good chance that it didn't.)

[WhiteTara]

5. That was the high road

You stated your case without calling names and people need to wake up. you are allowed to stand in your own space.

[Separation]

36. Thats what so twisted

I got into an argument with a person on Twitter (my 1st mistake) who referenced that Hillarys Foundation took money from the Saudis in regards to Trump's business, and Jared's involvement with the Saudi's.

I replied' "that she isn't the fucking president!"

Of course, I was lambasted by faux emotions of, "Oh the angry liberal", pearl-clutching and then immediately had to bring in fainting couches for these assholes. They are able to take the basic emotion of human decency and twist it into something else.

[ThoughtCriminal]

6. More "Welfare Cadillac" nonsense

Last edited Sun Oct 21, 2018, 04:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Guarantee you - this did not really happen... But she's heard that is "Happens all the time". But if the story reinforces her prejudices, then "It must be true".

I can't remember the last time I actually saw somebody use "Food stamps". Not sure about other states, but it's all EBT cards where I live.

[albacore]

9. She got it third-hand...

... from a viral email from somebody who shipped it off to a list of people as long as your arm.
I'd bet the farm it never happened.

[BigmanPigman]

10. Yep, sounds like bots and trolls. The thing is, you never know if the source is Russia or the GOP.

[albacore]

12. And the difference between the two would be........? nt

[BigmanPigman]

15. I think they are the same...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11301552
Read this.

[True Blue American]

17. Food stamps

Have not been used for years.

[The Polack MSgt]

73. Right? If all the purchased items were within the rules, she would pay eveerything with a snap card

- looks like a debit card works like a debit card.

If she had to use cash or a second card for smokes snacks or diapers and whatnot - Then you could guess that she is on assistance.

If she bought groceries with a card and lottery ticks with cash, maybe she lives in one of the "lottery is cash only" states.

maybe other peoples lives are not a spectator sport that you get to judge?

Maybe keep your nose closer to your own business and away from other peoples?

Or maybe - even though the OP said it in a much nicer way than I would the - OP's sister should STFU?

[paleotn]

29. My stock response for years has been...prove it.

I tell them unless they've got proof or seen it themselves, it's more than likely bullshit. I can make up all kinds of stories about Reagan, W, Trump or whoever. I can say they eat aborted fetuses for breakfast every morning and aren't really pro-life. The number of stories we can make up is endless, but they have only one thing in common. They're all bullshit. I tell them prove it or shut the fuck up.

[catbyte]

7. Great response, Goodheart. I always counteract such misplaced anger with one of these to try to

enlighten them as to who the "takers" really are. I don't know if it does any good, but at least I put the truth out there.

[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

[Demovictory9]

14. I love those

[smirkymonkey]

31. +1000

[BlancheSplanchnik]

70. 👏🏾

[MariaCSR]

11. What response did you get?

[Demovictory9]

13. American "food stamps","welfare" budget is miniscule compared to US budget

I bet she's not angry about rich farmers getting all that farmer's welfare

[bigbrother05]

74. Food stamps (SNAP) is farmer welfare

It's the modern version of the old commodities for the poor. To help prop up farm prices, the government used to buy directly from the farmers and hand it out to the poor.

Because that cut out the middle man, Congress developed food stamps to eliminate government workers handling the food and let the wholesale and retail distribution chain in on the process. Now everyone gets propped up by those moms and their "snot nosed" kids.

[llmart]

16. Your answer was terrific.

Maybe it won't wake your sister up, but it may wake up some of her Facebook friends. Maybe they wanted to say something similar but didn't have the guts.

I grew up poor and as an adult went on to have a very comfortable life. I never forgot what it felt like to be a little kid and want something so small but not being able to have it and how sad it made my parents. Back when there were actual food stamps (I don't think they even use them any longer, do they?) I remember one time when I was behind a woman in the grocery store and her little boy wanted a candy bar from the rack, and she said, "We can't afford to get that today." I almost started crying because I knew how the little boy probably felt and how the mother probably felt too. Of course I paid for the candy bar. I wanted to pay for the groceries, but I also remembered how my parents were too proud to take anything from others. It was like them admitting they couldn't provide for their children. So instead I volunteered at a food bank and brought food with me to donate.

If you've never been poor, sometimes it's difficult for people to understand how the only pleasure a poor person or kid may have is a treat once in awhile. Buying a lottery ticket or tickets is probably the only way they can see out of their situation.

[FakeNoose]

38. +++++

It takes a village!

[Mr.Bill]

18. Food stamps is a government subsidy

not for poor people but for the grocery industry. In that way, we all benefit from it.

[mopinko]

34. mostly for farmers.

[Mr.Bill]

35. As part of the supply chain, that is also true.

Also helps distributors and anyone whose job touches retail food.

[joshcryer]

51. For every $1 of food stamps there's about $1.75 of economic activity.

So it is a subsidy to everyone, by keeping the economy going and to ease suffering.

50 years from now when a basic income is a right people will look back on these times as the dark ages.

[IronLionZion]

20. When they go low, we go vote

The same people claiming that ladies with 5 snot nosed kids are taking advantage of food stamps are the ones claiming that brown US citizens like me are stealing their white jobs.

[Rorey]

65. +1,000,000 nt

[zentrum]

21. You went high. Thanks.

[mountain grammy]

22. I loved your response, but the meme is an outrageous lie.

My sister in law posted a meme over a picture of abortion rights demonstrators that said;

so sad to see woman fighting for the right to murder their children..

I held my tongue and said nothing, but next time I will respond.

[tavernier]

23. I'm a nurse who worked with nurses aides

at an agency. They were often given money to pick up lotto tix for their patients who were homebound. I’m not saying this was the case, but the aides often were on food stamps due to their paltry income.

I myself have collected a “kitty” of cash from fellow workers and been the purchaser, in hopes of hitting our big win. I think once we split 52 bucks!!

[Blue_true]

24. They keep recycling a version of that Reagan era bs.

The woman with a string of kids that pays for steak, lobster and liquor with Foodstamps. It is all bullshit. For the first time EVER I happened to have been inline behind a woman that used an EB Card. When I saw that I looked at the register summary. I noticed that there was an EBT eligible category and one for items that were not. She owed $0.38. Now, I was behind the woman before I noticed that she was using an EB Card, I came close to joking to her about how every single one of her items was a food item, mostly because I had some junk food in my hands. SHE SPENT EVERY LAST CENT ON FOOD, I WITNESSED THAT AND WILL TELL ANY RIGHTWING ASSHOLE THAT TO THEIR FACE. I had not seen anyone before use EBT, but she used it exactly as it is designed to be used, and my guess is most other people do to.

BTW, when was the last time you saw lottery tickets being sold in the grocery checkout line at a grocery store? I don't remember seeing that in any grocery stores that I go into. The lies that people come up with are clownish, all done to make people that need help look bad.

[joshcryer]

50. Yep, I have only ever noticed staple foods.

Canned goods, even, no steaks, or cold stuff. Sure there would be some sodas or bags of chips, but those are gone in the first week or so. The big box of popcorn will last awhile, maybe. But they're not going to be eating like kings, they're eating mashed potatoes, and canned vegetables, a lot of beans, rice.

But they only notice the 6 two liters that will be gone in a few days (total cost like $4 for the off brand), and not the couple of boxes of tea bags ($4) and 10 lb bag of sugar ($5) that they will use to make tea for the rest of the month. They only notice the pot roast that is likely the only good meat they eat for the entire month. They won't notice the 6 packs of hot dogs that are dinner for a week. They won't notice the 4 packs of bologna. All off brand stuff, btw.

It's all about dehumanizing other people.

[Blue_true]

54. Yep. nt

[OilemFirchen]

25. I know about this woman whose father-in-law started the world's largest Ponzi scheme.

Her husband ran it, while she stole money from the government and gave it to "education" scams.

They bought ten yachts and have never served a day in jail.

And, unlike your sister's story, this one actually happened.

[not fooled]

63. And would that be

ditzy devoid?

Sure sounds like it.

[oberliner]

26. Is this an argument in favor of getting rid of the lottery?

[Sunlei]

28. I hate facebook, it's such a waste of time. Although it is a good free place to store photos.

& stuff.

[JDC]

30. I'm sure the $100 was crisp as well.

This sort of story is a canard. Here's one for facebook:

A rich republican was walking down the street screaming and spitting at anyone that wasn't white.

'Cause ya know, all rich republicans are racist.

The problem is, my story is closer to reality than the other.

[Honeycombe8]

32. Better response would be: It's just made up, if there's no reputable news org. reporting it.

And there never is a reputable news org. reporting things like that. These really ARE totally fictitious, meant to inspire passion to get people to the polls.

When you believe something is so, you don't require it legitimized by news organizations or journalists.

[rusty fender]

33. Excellent response!

[treestar]

37. Very good and not that "low"

I might start with “cool story bro” and then explain about corporate welfare.

[ck4829]

39. This shows how class is a social construct

We all get it, when poor people find exploits, game the system; they're lazy or they don't have "skin in the game"

But when rich people game the system, they're "smart"

Time to start calling it out.

[pansypoo53219]

40. PROVE they are poor. never know. lots of well off people work the system.

sounds more like a GOP fairy tale from fux.

[ck4829]

53. And when the well off work the system...

The same exact people who moan about the poor will just say the well off are just being "smart" and "innovative".

[unitedwethrive]

41. In any human endeavor, there is always going to be those that take advantage of the system.

Look at retail stores...they build in a certain amount of their budget for losses due to shoplifting. It is just a given in doing business with the general public. Sure, they take precautions to try and minimize theft, but they are still able to be successful in turning a profit.

This is just like government programs. There is always going to be those that take advantage of any situation. The way to hedge against too much loss is to instate regulations. (Yes, regulations are always needed to keep things running well.) But overall, people use the system fairly and benefit accordingly. I would gladly accept 10% cheaters to see the other 90% of people in need being housed and fed. And realistically, the 'cheaters' are far less than that.

These stories of 'poor people' taking advantage of welfare are quite rare, and as mentioned, just spread by the right to try and turn people against each other. I am much more angered at the super wealthy who don't pay taxes than any poor person who gets away with the occasional $50 from the government.

[RhodeIslandOne]

43. Fake news

But the idiots and the naive eat this shit up.

[lancelyons]

44. Good stuff

It doesn't have to be called going low. It's called pushing back and making them pay for damaging choices.

[JI7]

45. it's not really about being poorly educated but about people's Prejudice and Bigotry .

it's one of those things that people WANT to believe . it plays to all the bullshit they want to believe about other people. and how they are better than them .

[KY_EnviroGuy]

46. Goodheart, here's a suggestion.

Since it's highly unlikely you can change these people's thinking, why not pile onto and have some fun with the existing lie?

Tell your sister that a fact checker with Fox News determined that the woman at checkout was actually buying the lotto tickets for her wealthy employer and that he was gleefully using the money from his Trump tax cut to both refurbish his yacht and to buy lots of lottery tickets.

The food purchase however, was indeed for her and for her children.......

[kchamberlin25]

47. I used to work for a convenience store.

You can't use any type of electronic transfer for lottery tickets.

They are cash only.

[Hav]

48. Good reply

Others pointed out that this is probably made up or not possible which certainly may be useful to mention. What I like about your response is that you didn't get lost in a fight about it being true or not but by asking the crucial question why she would be so miserable to get wound up how poor people spend their money, even if it's provided by the government.

[joshcryer]

49. It's a fake story they made up in their heads.

They are liars through and through.

[whathehell]

52. Bravo.."You only notice people buying lottery tickets because

they operate in your own world, but the BIG thievery happens in places you're not rich enough to attend"...or, it would seem, educated or informed enough to know about.

[Locrian]

55. here's how this works....

The story is likely completely made up fiction - created by some right wing troll.
It gets posted far and wide
People they know post it - and it becomes more "real"
They believe the shit because, well, you know it's about *those* people
They see someone maybe buy a twinkie on food stamps and equate (extrapolate) that with the true story
It because hard fact and they repeat among their friends

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

56. Good post. I so agree. n/t

[kairos12]

59. Unfortunately, ignorant folks will never criticize the 1% for their corporate welfare as they

(the ignorant) believe, in a short time, somehow, they will belong to that class.

[Nitram]

60. Conservatives believe poor people should suffer. They believe people are poor because they are lazy

morally deficient. They believe god rewards good people by making them wealthy, and punishes bad people by making them poor.

[PatSeg]

62. That sounds like a totally bogus story anyway

I know what is like to be poor and on food stamps. No one I've known in that situation would have bought $100 in lottery tickets after buying groceries with food stamps, even if the had $100. Using food stamps was embarrassing enough, people using them prefer to keep a low profile whenever they can.

This sounds like the Reagan era "welfare queen" stories, pure bullshit.

[niyad]

64. my first question would be, "did you actually SEE this YOURSELF? or are you parrotting bs?"

[markpkessinger]

66. Family

I am the youngest of five siblings. The eldest (a sister) and I are both staunchly progressive Demiocrats. The other two sisters, along with my brother, are Trump supporters. I find I am constantly torn between countering some of their nonsense on social media and keeping peace in the family. I am certainly not looking to cause conflict within our family, but sometimes, I find I just have to speak out, particularly when they spread nonsense like the story your sister shared here. But it's really difficult . . . and painful.

As for the particular story your sister shared, I have heard more I-was-in-line-at-the-supermarket-the-other-day stories than I can even count. People spread this shit because other people are, for the most part, unwilling to call them out for lying. The stories are always unfalsifiable -- those who spread them know they can respond to any charges that they are mking it up by saying, "you weren't there, so how do you know?" And if you look at their story in isolation from every other one of these ridiculous stories, they're right. They count on people not seeing that there is a brtoader pattern of such stories, and that it is their participation in that pattern, not the specifics of the story itself, that markes it as a lie.

[CrispyQ]

67. That was fab!

And done in such a way as to show your good heart.

[lunatica]

72. She didn't say she ever saw this happen herself

Maybe you can point that out next time.

It’s good to see people putting up their dukes. Bring it on!

[louis c]

75. Her's my line...

..."you know what, you've convinced me. The problem with this country is that the poor people have too much money."

[BigGermanGuy]

76. $10 bucks says

she didn't even pay for all the roads she drove to the store on.

[C_U_L8R]

77. More rightwing claptrap.

Entirely manufactured bullshit designed to infuriate stupid people.

[disillusioned73]

78. Great response..

they've been spreading this bullshit for years via email chains.. now with social media on the uptick with FB/Twitter & others they have a fertile base to keep spreading this nonsense.. whomever even believes a story like this is already too far gone.. IMO

[Turin_C3PO]

80. She'd probably be ready to hang me.

I’m on EBT and bought a single lottery ticket. Stupid purchase? Sure. But it lets me dream that one day I won’t have to rely on EBT and Medicaid to survive. Does she think I enjoy being at the absolute mercy of Trump and the Republicans? But sure, go ahead, judge me because I bought a $2 lottery ticket. Damn.

But your response was great! Thank you for standing up to these people.

[BeckyDem]

81. Love this. Thank you.