this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2024
325 points (94.3% liked)

Today I Learned

17901 readers
50 users here now

What did you learn today? Share it with us!

We learn something new every day. This is a community dedicated to informing each other and helping to spread knowledge.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must begin with TIL. Linking to a source of info is optional, but highly recommended as it helps to spark discussion.

** Posts must be about an actual fact that you have learned, but it doesn't matter if you learned it today. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.**



Rule 2- Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your post subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Posts and comments which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding non-TIL posts.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-TIL posts using the [META] tag on your post title.



Rule 7- You can't harass or disturb other members.

If you vocally harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.

For further explanation, clarification and feedback about this rule, you may follow this link.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.

Unless included in our Whitelist for Bots, your bot will not be allowed to participate in this community. To have your bot whitelisted, please contact the moderators for a short review.



Partnered Communities

You can view our partnered communities list by following this link. To partner with our community and be included, you are free to message the moderators or comment on a pinned post.

Community Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, you may comment on the pinned post of the time, or simply shoot a message to the current moderators.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 160 points 2 months ago (5 children)

And it's entirely preventable. We can afford to feed every single student every single day. It doesn't have to be a brown bag, sad little whitebread and cheese slice sandwich. It can be the same food everyone else eats. In fact, we spend more administering a for-profit food service payment system than we spend on the food. It would be cheaper to just give it away to everyone.

We know this because we did it during COVID. All of the schools closed, and the for-profit food providers were going to lose a lot of money. Sysco and Aramark and US Foods and Sodexo are all big donors to both parties, so we had to bail them out by buying the food. There wasn't a debate in congress, there wasn't any tax increase or funding shortfall. The money was just there because they wanted it.

Schools had more food than they knew what to do with. Food banks and public pantries were fully stocked, and school districts were begging parents to come take home some breakfasts and lunches.

It could really just be like that. No registers, no accounting, no shaming poor kids, no threatening demand letters, no lunch cards, no websites. Just feed children, because hungry children don't learn.

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 69 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

There wasn’t a debate in congress, there wasn’t any tax increase or funding shortfall. The money was just there because they wanted it.

And then states like Missouri refused the money because Republicans hate children.

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 42 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's so much worse than that.

During Covid, the money just went straight to the corporations, and the food went to the schools. With schools back in session, the Conservatives in the federal government put restrictions on the funding, requiring documentstion and forms for all of the students participating in the program. They wanted to make it as onerous and invasive as possible. This administrative red tape disproportionately affected the more densely populated regions, and also gave the conservative states a reason to decline participation. Because if Republicans are going to be forced to help children, by God they're going to use the statistics against their enemies.

[–] whostosay@lemmy.world 20 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This alone should be enough for a revolt

[–] Xanis@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Sure. Except those on the Left won't. Couple reasons:

  1. Can't agree on a reason.

  2. Won't agree on a where and when.

  3. Will disagree whether it's worth it right now.

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

1 exploitation of capital.

2 right now, wherever you are.

3 yes it is.

the ones who disagree with it are probably the majority of liberals who perpetually think they can fix it in the next election. liberalism is not leftism though.

[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online 24 points 2 months ago

I mean I hate children, but I still want them to have free food like eveyone else

[–] dumples@midwest.social 31 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Minnesota has free school lunch for all students. Thanks Walz....

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I haven't heard anything about Tim Walz that I didn't like.

[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online -2 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online -3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, that says he's a Zionist

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Really? Ok. I don't have a problem with what he said there. Palestinians have a right to live, the attacks in Gaza are unacceptable and should cease immediately, regardless of the horrible attacks on October 7th. I would go further and call it a genocide, but I can understand why a politician would avoid incendiary language during an election cycle.

Does that make me a Zionist, too?

[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online -4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Do you know what is the definition of a Zionist?

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I thought I did, but you seem to be using it differently. Tell me yours.

[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online 0 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

From Wikipedia:

Zionism is an ethno-cultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century and aimed for the establishment of a Jewish state through the colonization of a land outside of Europe

Zionists are people who think there should be a Jewish Ethno-State

Anti-Zionists are people who oppose the existence of a Jewish Ethno-state. There have been anti-zionist Jews since as long as there have been Zionist Jews.

The article you linked-to said that he wanted a 2-State solution. That, by definition, makes him a Zionist.

Edit: why is this being down voted? I'm not stating an opinion..

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago

But how are you going to maintain an exploitable underclass, if you actually help poor people? Bet you didn't think of that, huh? Checkmate leftists!

[–] morgan_423@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'm going to be exceedingly gracious and assume that the one person who downvoted your comment (as of the time I'm typing this) accidentally hit the wrong button and didn't realize it.

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I have definitely done that. But I also think I might have a stalker who follows me around and downvotes comments. Especially when I post something stupid, they all come out of the woodwork.

But yes, I agree, I wouldn't expect "feed children" to be a contentious suggestion.

[–] OpenStars@discuss.online 7 points 2 months ago

Please discard your "logic", in favor of some vitriolic spew from an angry white man (or woman) that I heard on the radio / saw on the TV. /s

Just bc we can, doesn't mean we should.

We should (no /s), but that doesn't mean that we will.

Democracy requires the good faith of its voting citizenry, e.g. to edumacate themselves.