Some People Thinks Those On Food Stamps Are Like Animals

By Nathan Young on July 30, 2015

So this post will probably make some of you not happy, especially the ones who believe that the ones who are struggling should be forced to starve and beg. A few weeks ago, a Facebook post went viral and made a lot of people angry! The Oklahoma Republican Party Facebook page put out a post comparing those on food stamps to those who feeds the animals in a national park. The post reads:

The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing this year the greatest amount of free meals and Food Stamps ever, to 46 million people.

Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us “Please Do Not Feed The Animals.” Their stated reason for the policy is because “The animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves.”

Thus ends today’s lesson in irony.

Yep, they said that! Soon that post was deleted and an apology was posted on their Facebook page. But it was too little too late. So I wanted to talk about why people like me are stuck on food stamps. And there are a couple of reasons. For starters, the economy in some areas is still in a recession or depression state. For some people, there are no jobs to go too! Sure, you could say these people should just move, but you have to deal with finding a new place to live, changing addresses, getting new licenses if you move to another state, and all of this costs a lot of money, that most new employers will not pay!

Second, for people who might have a job? Some people are stuck in a part time job, or others might have a full time job, but the pay is low. Please quit saying these people should “improve their skills” or “should get a second job.” Heck, some people with four year degrees or more are still unemployed! And in some areas, second jobs are unavailable. So there have to be safety nets like food stamps, so people do not have to choose between food or paying the bills! Some people are stuck in patterns like this because no one will give them a chance to show what they can do. And don’t blame this on Obamacare, that argument is futile!

And third, some people with disabilities have an extremely hard time proving to others that they can be valuable in the work world. For me, I have Asperger’s Syndrome, and I have been unemployed for over four years and have been turned down from nearly 1,700 job applications. So what do I do if you think I should not be on food stamps and just starve, just because some people out there thinks I am a lazy idiot? Sure, I might be attempting to get on SS Disability, it’s because no one there is willing to give me a chance. So I have to stay on food stamps and hope I can get an income from the government, that sucks!

I am glad the food stamp or SNAP program is around! If we never had a food safety net, people would be starving, and churches and food banks could not handle the massive amount of people starving after the great recession. I know some out there would love to take away all programs that helps the poor. But thankfully there are also people who care about the poor, and will fight to make sure the poor does not suffer! I support the ones who care about the poor!