Yesterday although I had food at home I wanted to go out to the supermarket to get some more supplies for dinner and for the week, I did not know if my credit card would be accepted as I think I have reached some limit but I wanted to try nevertheless. Now, I am not poor, I work and have a steady income, but so happens that I am waiting for my income that will come in this week and momentarely have run out of money, for a few short days. So I was at the supermaket queue and I told the supermarket employee I did not know if my credit card was going to be accepted and that I had no cash on me, so we tried, I had about 20 euros worth of groceries and when we tried, the credit card was declined. I thought to myself I would not be ashamed if the card wouldnt go through - so I simply asked the employee to try to remove a few items and try again, again the credit card was declined. This time I simply told the employee if he wanted me to help them put some stuff back on place, like the frozen items and refrigerated ones - and he said yes, so I put back the refrigerated food, said thank you to the guy and went home.
Now, let's analize what happens when you are poor: Nobody gives a fuck, nobody said anything or offered to help nor was a government help immediately ready to jump in when my credit card was declined - no - nothing happened, nobody gave a fuck, it was more a nuisance because food stuffs had to be put back to their place in the shelves, which I did it fast enough as there weren't many items.
Now, yesterday I was not a head of family, with kids and so on, wanting to do the weekly or monthly shopping for food because my refrigerator was empty, I simply wanted some more food as I didn't have exactly what I wanted at home although I had food. So when I came home I was able to prepare dinner for myself. But I imagine the same happening to a family with children when they have no food left and it breaks my heart. Capitalism is brutal, it does not care, it does not give a break to those that happen to not have money it simply won't give a break, the so called 'game' goes on wether you are doing fine - with money - or not - without money - and without money you are virtually screwed.
Although I said to myself I wasnt going to be ashamed, it is not pleasant to have to go through the 'I am not able to pay for my food I have to put it back' thing. As I left the store I forgot to get my shopping trolley that I had brought to put my groceries in, so I was not entirely 'calm' about the whole situation. When I got home I had to tell my brother what had happened, it is not cool, it is way better to when you go out to get food, come home with food.
Why are there security guards at the supermarket, sometimes you see them there doing nothing, well it is to descourage the desperate from getting the food that they need. So capitalism is so stupid that we give jobs such as security guards at supermarkets. It shouldn't be that way, food is a right.
When I was coming home from the supermaket I was thinking about all those that go through what I went through - so what happens when you know you can't afford to go to the supermarket? You suffer in silence at home? When you can't get food you understand what it means the word necessity. And also then why some might consider crime in order to get money. Because the system doesn't give a fuck if you don't have money, some can say 'ok you don't give a fuck about me, so I will take money from others I don't give a fuck about them either'. But the crime started in the first place from the way the system is designed. It is a crime not to have access to food. And from here, from necessity, many forms of crime stem. And if it is not crime it is compromising jobs, where one has to get low-paying jobs that are a form of modern slavery in order to get the money to get food and pay for your basic necessities.
All in all - the system is screwed, we are all screwed, we put ourselves thorugh a cruel game called capitalism in hopes that we will we the winner but when we start to lose then we realise its fundamental flaws, starting from having to pay for food - and not having food if you don't have money - think about it, if you don't have money you don't get to eat what you want.
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