View Full Version : Tiny House equals Appropriation
https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2017/04/20/sjw-turns-against-tiny-house-movement-as-poverty-appropriation/
This is specifically posted for my friend Ultralite Angler - who suffers through social work classes where these ideas are discussed. 😄
This is the era of the snowflake.
We live in an age of hypersensitivity, manufactured outrage and trivialized moral panic. We think we're just a few executive orders away from The Handmaid's Tale. We react to honest disagreement as a personal attack. We concoct identities for ourselves from a sort of personal mythology, and think of them as our personal property.
Ultimately, there is nothing new under the sun and every idea and cultural artifact can be traced back to somewhere else. The best response to foolish concepts like "cultural appropriation" is to treat them as the pathetic consequence of an unexamined life.
oh dear, that is annoying. I rent a small space because it is better for me to not spend all my time cleaning, I use fewer resources so it is better for the planet, and I really can't afford much more. I hate the idea that I look like I could afford more, race, education level, etc. I really can't if I want to stay out of the American debt trap. I hate that people think I am just waiting for something bigger/better.
And yes, I would live in a traditional trailer park if I could get a garden area and a little bit of space.
iris lilies
4-27-17, 11:12am
oh dear, that is annoying. I rent a small space because it is better for me to not spend all my time cleaning, I use fewer resources so it is better for the planet, and I really can't afford much more. I hate the idea that I look like I could afford more, race, education level, etc. I really can't if I want to stay out of the American debt trap. I hate that people think I am just waiting for something bigger/better.
And yes, I would live in a traditional trailer park if I could get a garden area and a little bit of space.
Hunh? I dont understand your logic leap highlightng your poor financial situation and how you look like you can afford more, but whatever.
Dont you have a 2br modern apartment with a fireplace and balcony and swimming pool? That seems fairly luxe to me.
I hate the idea that I look like I could afford more, race, education level, etc.
Do you have a degree tattooed on your white forehead and drive a Bentley? Otherwise I don't understand.
This is the era of the snowflake.
There's always been snowflakes - the only difference these days are that they are labeled snowflakes.
There's always been snowflakes - the only difference these days are that they are labeled snowflakes.
But so many and so touchy? I've heard people taking offense at hair styles, jewelry, yoga, even tater tots in ways that would have got them laughed at ten or twenty years ago.
Maybe that is just my assumption that other people have an assumption of me. And in my family I am definitely at the bottom of the income and housing range by far. In my circle of friends and colleagues I am pretty average to doing well, in my extended family not so much.
But so many and so touchy? I've heard people taking offense at hair styles, jewelry, yoga, even tater tots in ways that would have got them laughed at ten or twenty years ago.
1980's
https://archvillain.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/offensensitivity.jpg
ApatheticNoMore
4-27-17, 5:46pm
no tiny houses may be a lot of things including unrealistic as a shelter solution (they aren't even legal for zoning many places) but that's about all ... well and beyond a certain point also claustrophobic to me but ymmv.
Also overhyped, a studio apartment might not be much bigger and quite possibly every bit as energy efficient (shared walls would tend to make it more so in some ways) but it's not considered trendy for whatever reason (maybe because it's nothing new under the sun).
And yes, I would live in a traditional trailer park if I could get a garden area and a little bit of space.
of course if the neighbors were ok, but you are getting into some unknowns there, but of course.
I agree with the studio apartment thought. I lived in one for 12 years in NYC that was only 250 square feet. Heat was provided so I have no idea the carbon footprint although it couldn't have been much. My only outside facing wall was 10 feet wide by 9 feet tall with two double pane standard issue double hung windows. In the summer I had a window unit a/c and using it as much as I wanted added roughly $20-$25 per month to my electric bill back in the mid/late 90's. Maybe 200 kw/hours per month. And cleaning was quick and easy. The only outdoor space I had was 9 blocks away in central park, but most of NYC doesn't have private outdoor space either. No one was going to do a tv show about my lifestyle (I mean really, who's going to do a tv show called "Typical NYC Apartment Living") but I really liked living there.
I had a great studio apartment in Chicago when I was young--I was on the 7th floor, amazing view, pool on the roof, walkable to everything, including work if I really hoofed it--it was about two miles. I could go running on the lake, heat was included, and there was airconditioning.
A commentator on one of my local TV stations did not use the term poverty appropriation but was mocking new pre-muddied jeans for sale. Designed to look like the wearer has been doing manual labor outdoors they cost over $400.00. He said just buy a $24.00 pair of jeans and go roll in the mud and you will come across as more authentic.
A commentator on one of my local TV stations did not use the term poverty appropriation but was mocking new pre-muddied jeans for sale. Designed to look like the wearer has been doing manual labor outdoors they cost over $400.00. He said just buy a $24.00 pair of jeans and go roll in the mud and you will come across as more authentic.
Dave Ramsey just had a podcast on that. Of course you can imagine what he thinks of $425 "dirty" jeans, but his main comment was also a societal one: People want to spend $425 for "dirty" jeans but don't want to do the work to earn the real dirt. I guess you could call it "manual labor appropriation" and all the landscapers and construction workers should be offended and stage a walk-out.
Re the tiny house appropriation: I don't get it. If tiny houses were built for poor communities or by poor people as an affordable housing situation I could understand. But they were created and built for the "elite simple liver" who could afford $50k for 82 highly-designed square feet. The IDEA was then appropriated by some as a potential solution to homelessness and natural disasters (i.e. Katrina) etc. No appropriation in my book.
Living in a small space can be a very sensible thing to do. Status-seekers may take the idea a bit far, and give the simple trailer the extreme pretentious treatment Starbucks gives coffee. But I can think of many more stupid or destructive things one could do with one's money. I don't think these people are somehow appropriating or disrespecting the experience of the poor.
I've been living in a 450 sq. ft. studio apartment for the past 11 years--it's actually smaller than it sounds, since some of that space is only good for storage due to an odd configuration. I too had a studio in Chicago that I loved--less than 400 sq. ft. in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city, and literally a stone's throw from work.
So, I've long favored small spaces, although lately I've started feeling a bit constrained. As I look toward retirement, I'm starting to think that a small (not tiny) house might be the best way to go. I'd like to have a bit of land, and a garage.
I still like tiny houses, though. Though they may not present big advantages in practical terms, I think they have a nice aesthetic. A lot of the ones I've seen pictures of are very appealing. Plus, unlike an apartment, you can actually own one for a comparatively small investment.
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