• How did this get normalized? Why is this even something that is even considered debatable? As a society, feeding our children should be the first priority.

    I’m flubbered.

        • But that is the whole point of this. These people making and advocating for this kind of stuff are abusers. The GOP is a pro-abuse party. We need to stop pretending otherwise. The goal is to enable abusers. When these people talk about “parental rights” that is what they mean. They believe they have a right to abuse their kids including starving them. They also believe that anyone who tries to assist their children—even so much as feeding them—is interfering with their right as a parent.

          I know this because my step-dad was exactly of this type of mindset when I was a kid. They don’t see children as having rights or dignity. They are just property of their parents with zero personage to them. Food insecurity even when the parents have the ability to feed their children is used as a form of control. “If you won’t do as we say you won’t eat” was very much a thing in my household and a lot of others I knew growing up.

          Allowing free breakfast and lunch at school usurps their ability to use hunger and starvation as a punishment. I know it’s dark but it’s worth noting.

    • Literally everyone in this comment section is missing “regardless of the individual eligibility of each student”. Everyone is getting hysterical over something that isn’t even in the cards.

      Of course a lot of kids rely on free school lunches and they aren’t trying to take that away. They’re trying to restrict free lunches to kids with parents who are actually incapable of feeding them. If parents can afford food for their kids, feed your fucking kids.

      • I’m admittedly not familiar with how the program works but I suspect that “totally bulletproof and unbiased eligibility criteria that can’t / won’t be weaponized against specific people groups” isn’t something that it guarantees

        • Of course. I don’t think it’s a good idea. I think the people making this decision either don’t consider how many kids fall through the cracks, or simply cover their ass with the refrain I made myself- meaning that if their parents don’t feed them they simply don’t care. I just find it seriously frustrating how political discourse is at the point where everyone’s immediate reaction is “Oh they want kids to starve”, which is almost certainly not how they think of it. It’s so much better to just point out that some will, and why. Value judgements rarely change anyone’s mind unless they’re positive.