Fox 'News' wants to make damn sure that there's no question about what they stand for. One of the vile things GOP-TV advocates is poor-shaming, as you probably already knew. How dare anyone complain that they are struggling to survive when they have the privilege of living in Amurka! To cement this notion, they brought on a 'fellow Millennial' who railroaded Talia Jane, the Yelp employee fired for writing about her dire financial situation. Karoli covered Jane's story here.
Poor-shaming writer and guest, Stefanie Williams, took to Fox and Friends to promote herself after gaining notoriety from her insensitive letter, a response that just titillates the 'news' network. Fox's morning nausea-inducing program has a segment called 'The Wussification of America.' By wussification, they mean those who dare to address injustices in our society. The GOP's broadcasting mouthpiece discourages people from speaking out against our Plutocracy with their message: if you're poor and you're not dead, stop complaining, because freedumb. Obviously, the Second Amendment is far more important to these people than the First Amendment.
To make matters more repulsive, The Daily Mail, aka The Daily Fail, who obviously sides with Williams, published a number of tweets posted by Talia Jane of food she cooked, so these tweets automatically disprove her claim that her income is insufficient to buy groceries. Both Fox 'News' and The Mail don't address the exorbitant expenses of living in the San Francisco Bay area versus her income when they level this harsh criticism upon her. The Mail article also includes a large glamour shot of Williams, because no one deserves propitious praise like a woman who wants to kick someone when they're down.
Williams' letter also displayed her White privilege, as evidenced by this statement:
But you are a young, white, English speaking woman with a degree and a family who I would assume is helping you out at the moment, and you are asking for handouts from strangers while you sit on your ass looking for cushy jobs you are not entitled to while you complain about the establishment, probably from a nice laptop.
I'm not sure what her skin color has to do with struggling to survive on a pittance, but it was important enough for the mendacious Millennial to mention. Williams audaciously assumes quite a bit about Talia Jane's family and has no idea what she's endured.
Fortunately, the Internet brings us a much-needed voice that puts this sort of fascist based insensitivity to rest. Sara Lynn Michener penned a beautifully-written response to the Williams' reply to the fired Yelp employee. Michener asserts that Williams' scathing rebuke of Jane is laden with 'masturbatorily smug responses.' She writes,
Spoiler: kicking a younger sister when she’s down in self-congratulatory snark is neither gracious nor humble.
Because the more important question; the thing Talia’s piece is actually ABOUT, is that it should be criminal for billion dollar companies to pay minimum wage at the current rate; especially if they deign to set up their office in a place where the cost of living is high. It’s good that Yelp is moving those jobs somewhere rent is cheap.
The average Fox 'News' viewer, who is much older than the Millennials they so deeply loathe and mistrust, will have less sympathy for those struggling to survive, thanks to this segment. As a result of their precious Saint Ronnie and subsequent GOP Presidencies (and a few bad trade deals, I'll admit), the American middle class is a thing of the past. Now, college graduates, saddled with debt, should just be thankful to be part of the working poor.
