Sunday, April 23, 2017

The Troubling Trendiness Of Poverty Appropriation – The Establishment

The Troubling Trendiness Of Poverty Appropriation – The Establishment
"It’s become trendy for those with money to appropriate the poverty lifestyle — and it troubles me for one simple reason. 
Choice.
I grew up in the far-flung wiles of Blythe, California.
Never heard of it?
You’re not alone.
...It wasn’t what anyone would call a glamorous experience.
This background, this essential part of who I am, makes it particularly difficult to stomach the latest trend in “simple” living — people moving into tiny homes and trailers.
How many folks, I wonder, who have engaged in the Tiny House Movement have ever actually lived in a tiny, mobile place?
Because what those who can afford homes call “living light,” poor folks call “gratitude for what we’ve got.”
And it’s not just the Tiny House Movement that incites my discontent. 
From dumpster diving to trailer-themed bars to haute cuisine in the form of poor-household staples, it’s become trendy for those with money to appropriate the poverty lifestyle — and it troubles me for one simple reason.
Choice.
The Tiny House Movement began in the ’90s, but has only been rising in popularity since the recession..."
Read on!

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