On Welfare, Overweight and Daring to Eat Fudge Rounds
I’m doubling down on Oliver Anthony’s Right Wing Anthem
Let’s dispense with the idea Oliver Anthony did not know what he was writing when he blamed poor people eating Fudge Rounds on welfare for high taxes, or that he did not mean it as harshly as his lyrics indicate. I plan to outline why I believe this.
In 1972 Welfare activist, Johnnie Tillmon wrote an article for Ms. Magazine titled, “Welfare is a woman’s Issue.” The opening paragraph of her article clearly explains why Oliver Anthony knew what he was writing, why he was writing it and who he was writing to.
“I’m a woman. I’m a Black woman. I’m a poor woman. I’m a fat woman. I’m a middle-aged woman. And I’m on welfare. In this country, if you’re any one of those things you count less as a human being. If you’re all those things, you don’t count at all. Except as a statistic.”
-Johnnie Tillmon Welfare is a Woman’s Issue (Spring 1972 Ms. Magazine)
There it is, spelled out for you, during a time that was less than a decade after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A time when women’s rights, black American rights, and welfare were still controversial to white America. I continue to be surprised at some black Americans or other people of color on social media applauding…
