Sometimes I read “stuff” and I realize I need a soundtrack to go with it. You know, a piece of music that illustrates my feelings better than mere prose would. As it often happens, the pop music of my choice for these educational moments is usually not quite literal. Instead, in my mind, I take a pop tune and modify the lyrics which I mumble while reading. Today’s moment of “Pop music butchering for political purposes” came courtesy of this post at Your Nutritionista.
I found myself singing the chorus to Olivia Newton John’s song, only slightly modified:
I’m saying all the things that I know you’ll like
Making good conversation
I gotta handle you just right
You know what I mean
I took you to well stocked supermarket
Then to a gourmet food store
There’s nothing left to talk about
Unless it’s entitlementLet’s get privileged, privileged
I wanna be privileged
Let’s get into privilege
Let me hear your body talk, your body talk
Let me hear your body talk
Because you see, as Your (not mine) Nutritionista says:
I wanted to share this article from Mark’s Daily Apple because I think it’s crucial for anyone who’s ever believed they couldn’t eat healthy because it’s too expensive.In reality, Americans a smaller percentage of their income on groceries than ANY OTHER COUNTRY. Why isn’t buying quality food a bigger financial priority for us?
And then, of course, she quotes from this excellent, culturally aware article:
As many experts and commentators have noted over the years, Americans as a whole actually spend less on food than any other country when it comes to percentage of income. In the U.S., our average food expenses constitute about 9-12% of our income. In 1949, it was 22%.
By contrast, much of Western Europe today devotes 14-17%+ of their total household budget to food. In Pakistan, families spend an average of 46% of their income on food.
YES! Because Pakistan is the unit of measure! Because their income per capita and their purchasing power is totally the same as anywhere else in the Western World. And because, obviously, their standard of living is also equal. It couldn’t be that they earn so little that they can only buy food and disposable income (or any resemblance of it) is just a distant second to basic necessities.
Also, absolutely no analysis of any other factors in American urban spaces, food politics, etc. None of that. Just that Pakistanis spend a lot more on food and that probably means… something?
Come on, sing it with me!
Let’s get privileged, privileged
I wanna be privileged
Let’s get into privilege
Let me hear your body talk, your body talk
Let me hear your body talk
For the past decade and a half I have been making all my content available for free (and never behind a paywall) as an ongoing practice of ephemeral publishing. This site is no exception. If you wish to help offset my labor costs, you can donate on Paypal or you can subscribe to Patreon where I will not be putting my posts behind a lock but you'd be helping me continue making this work available for everyone. Thank you. Follow me on Twitter for new post updates.