Why We Love, and Hate, 'Honey Boo Boo'
Perusing magazines in the grocery checkout line recently, screaming headlines promised all the gritty details about:
- The Secretary of State "dirty dancing" with another woman;
- (2) Reality show Teen Moms "star" admits to drug abuse in a "tell all" interview; and
- (More) of the "inside story" of the affair between the young star of those vampire movies and her (married) director.
As my gaze wanders over the tabloid covers, I become aware of a real-life drama mounting ahead of me. The woman in front of me in line is tossing—you might say flinging—the items she's just unloaded from her cart back into it.
Froot Loops. Diet Sprite. A bag of Red Delicious apples.
She sighs loudly, and when our eyes meet, she nods toward the person in front of her and rolls her eyes with practiced contempt.
The object of her scorn speaks to the cashier with the careful grammar of a person who knows the rules of English well but was not born into a family that speaks it.
"I am sorry," she says. "What is the matter?"
"You can't get this," the clerk answers curtly, holding up a box of cereal.
"Pardon me, please," the customer says. "I do not understand."
"Look here!" the clerk answers, holding the box up higher. "The second ingredient in here is sugar! It's sugar cereal. You can't do that with WIC."
My outraged line-mate maneuvers around me, mumbling under her breath, "For the love of God."
Customers in adjacent checkout lines stare at the woman who's had the audacity to buy sweetened cereal with her welfare coupon. Raised eyebrows and tutts of disapproval erupt on all sides One man stage-whispers a disparaging comment to the customer behind him.
I glance at the Honey Nut Cheerios sticking out of the end of my cart. Somewhere, buried underneath, is a bag of Special Dark Hershey Kisses. But no one will judge me for having chosen sugary treats. I speak the native language, have a credit card to swipe, and follow the unspoken rule that says you can do what you want as long as you don't make anyone else uncomfortable in the process.
If you have an accent, well, that's your problem. Just nod, and don't expect us to try to decipher it. If you are using WIC funds to purchase your groceries, put only the appropriate items in your cart. And for the love of God, don't hold up the line.
We Americans are weary.
We're bone-tired from shouldering the weight that years of an ongoing recession, divisive culture wars, and obfuscating military campaigns in the Middle East.
We can barely stand to hear yet another story about high-tech child predators, rising gas prices, and the falling value of our homes.
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Comments
Sandy
Bread and circuses... I think that is a huge metaphor for most of what we find on TV these days. Hardly anything is morally or intellectually engaging and if it is, it's promptly canceled because only about 5 of us are watching.
Lynne
While I understand the point of the article, I kept waiting to read about how the author was able to show some love and understanding to the woman trying to buy cereal. It was obvious that she was not a native English speaker. It's not inconceivable that she might have misunderstood the WIC rules. She was probably embarrassed. And while it's not the author's job to help this woman with her grocery shopping, it is our job as Christians to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Anon 24
Excellent article, I think you hit the nail on the head! We ARE bone-weary with the ways of the world and yet perversely we turn to it for comfort! It's like bending over and asking "Please sir, may I have another?" The author is right to steer us towards the only point of true comfort, God. And maybe, just maybe, if enough of us did so, we could have the strength to be polite to one another, even in the check out line at the grocers! And maybe, just maybe, if enough of us had that strength we could stop watching exploitive trash like "Honey Boo Boo" (the show, not the child!) and producers would be forced to look elsewhere for definitions of "entertainment" - it's like the Roman coliseum out there in TV-land now, the bigger, bloodier, and more shocking the spectacle the better. Case in point, the recent BBC America cable TV show "Copper" - what I thought started out as an intriguing premise (Irish police force in 1890's New York City) quickly degraded into child prostitution, child murder, and child necrophilia - all in the name of "entertainment." It's like visiting the city of Sodom and we all know what happened to them!
sarah gillert
Rahab, you're onto something there.
Rahab
"I speak the native language, have a credit card to swipe, and follow the unspoken rule that says you can do what you want as long as you dont make anyone else uncomfortable in the process." Sounds remarkably like our churches.
Tim
Sarah, good points about the legal requirements regarding government assistance. The point of this article, though, is not about whether this woman handled her government assistance appropriately; that was just the scenario for then talking about how we respond to those around us who do not conform to our comfort levels. You could just as easily substitute in a person ahead of you in line who brings a basket full of groceries into the checkout stand reserved for shoppers with no more than 10 items. Inconvenience is, well, inconvenient and some people let it affect how they treat the person causing the inconvenience. I know I need to do better in that area of my life. Jennifer did a good job getting me to think on this. Tim
sarah
WIC sets the rules for what can and cannot be bought with WIC vouchers, and they are very specific. My daughter worked her way through college as a grocery checker and could lose her job if she accepted WIC vouchers for that not on the list. The list was posted throughout the store, as was it given to those receiving the vouchers. It is designed to provide the optimal nutrition for mothers and infants, hence no sugar cereals or many other products. It isn't weariness. It is obeying the law.
Jaclyn
Thank you, Jennifer. While my child doesn't go hungry at night and my husband and I are both employed (at the moment!), we feel the precise discouragement to which you allude. I have noticed of late the impatience, the selfishness so rampant in our culture. At the grocery store, on the road, in the workplace. Everyone is searching for something to fill the void - cheap entertainment has won our attention. And I thank you for the reminder that we are looking in the wrong places for solace. May we all turn our eyes, ears, and hearts to the One and Only Lifter of our souls. May we, as His children, experience His rain of refreshment so that we can have cups running over on a lost and broken world.
Tim
Jennifer, you've hit on something that has been with us for ages: bread and circuses the Romans called it. You've also hit squarely on the proper response from God's people by pointing to Paul's advice in Philippians 4:8, to which I'd add the advice in Hebrews 12:1-2. Eyes on God leads to proper care for those he puts in our lives. Nicely done, Jennifer, nicely done. Tim
rsdees
I may be wrong, but I assumed the title 'honey boo boo' was referring to the show's title & not alana herself.
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