![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
golden_d1 in 8 people struggle with hunger.
You may have seen the commercials or the billboards or the bus stop ads. They show up around this time of year to promote feedamerica.org. I don't doubt their statistics - but I do take issue with their wording.
struggle with hunger
I wonder why they didn't say struggle with poverty or with having enough to eat or with being able to feed their family. I guess it's not as catchy. It doesn't fit on a poster as well. But to say you struggle with something implies that the thing you're struggling with is bad, is wrong, is something to be overcome or defeated. People struggle with depression, with anger, with alcoholism, with an injury, with illness.
Those are things to overcome. But hunger is, in itself, natural. Hunger is not the problem in this situation. Hunger is a symptom.
There are people who struggle with hunger, situations in which hunger is something to overcome. I can't let myself be hungry; I've just eaten lunch. I can't give into the hunger; if I do, I won't stop eating. I can't let hunger win; I've already had 500 calories today.
But that's not what they're talking about.
Being in poverty is not, to me, the same as struggling with hunger. I think most people who see the ads will jump to the desire conclusion of hunger = poverty. Most probably won't react the way I did; most people probably don't think the way I do. But it's something worth considering.
You may have seen the commercials or the billboards or the bus stop ads. They show up around this time of year to promote feedamerica.org. I don't doubt their statistics - but I do take issue with their wording.
struggle with hunger
I wonder why they didn't say struggle with poverty or with having enough to eat or with being able to feed their family. I guess it's not as catchy. It doesn't fit on a poster as well. But to say you struggle with something implies that the thing you're struggling with is bad, is wrong, is something to be overcome or defeated. People struggle with depression, with anger, with alcoholism, with an injury, with illness.
Those are things to overcome. But hunger is, in itself, natural. Hunger is not the problem in this situation. Hunger is a symptom.
There are people who struggle with hunger, situations in which hunger is something to overcome. I can't let myself be hungry; I've just eaten lunch. I can't give into the hunger; if I do, I won't stop eating. I can't let hunger win; I've already had 500 calories today.
But that's not what they're talking about.
Being in poverty is not, to me, the same as struggling with hunger. I think most people who see the ads will jump to the desire conclusion of hunger = poverty. Most probably won't react the way I did; most people probably don't think the way I do. But it's something worth considering.
