fishinwrench Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 8 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said: I was dropping off food at the food pantry one time and I came away with your attitude about it. How can you pick up free food driving a new truck and smoking a cig? Exactly. And now that the bars are closed I hope to see them using that saved "income" to clean up their garbage and feed and buy clothes for their kids.
snagged in outlet 3 Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 It's hard to be charitable, no doubt about that.
Terrierman Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 1 hour ago, fishinwrench said: Exactly. And now that the bars are closed I hope to see them using that saved "income" to clean up their garbage and feed and buy clothes for their kids. Post before and after photos please.
ness Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 I'm 100% in favor of taking care of yourself and those who depend on you. But, I've had a bit of an epiphany in the the last few years. My wife teaches at an elementary school that has 75% free and reduced lunches (Independence, MO). That includes daily lunches, sometimes breakfast and 'back snack' packages that go home with them over the weekend. In more cases than you might expect these are the only real meals those kids will get. Is that right? Could the parents shift things around and focus more on providing? In many, maybe most, cases the answer is undoubtedly yes. But they don't, and if the handouts dry up the kids go hungry. It *is not* a 5 to 12 year olds responsibility to feed themselves. So, I don't like it but I do understand it. It's the byproduct of our national policy of providing. Her principal told her he ran into a kid one spring and asked if they were looking forward to summer. The kid said no...it just means I'll be hungry. Think about that... Kathy's take -- which permanently changed my viewpoint -- is this: There are parents that simply don't know how to parent. They weren't parented, and they don't know how to parent. Their parents got handouts, they get handouts, they expect handouts. They have no need to provide because it's always provided. They've been trained. I believe the longer the distance between the need and the provider the less personal and less responsible we become. If the federal government is going to give *me* something I'm going to take it every time, even if I don't need it. But, if I'm in need and it is coming from my neighbor, I'm going to think twice before I look them in the eye and take from them. Push this down to the local level and it will improve. Until we fix the national provider mentality I'm afraid we are stuck with this. Mitch f, Gavin, fishinwrench and 2 others 3 2 John
Terrierman Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 1 hour ago, snagged in outlet 3 said: It's hard to be charitable, no doubt about that. For me at least, charity requires a degree or two of separation. I volunteered for a few weeks at our local food pantry. My job was to cut the bar codes off of canned food so people who got it couldn't take it back to the store for cash. Some folks really are desperate and need/deserve our help. Some other folks are capable but don't want to act the part. I can't handle being in the front lines. snagged in outlet 3 1
rps Posted March 18, 2020 Author Posted March 18, 2020 I cannot count the number of times I felt the best solution for the child was to help the parent disappear. In 17 years I filed three reports of child sex abuse by the parent. I learned to disassociate the parent behavior from that of the child. If you had that child's life, you would be a SOB too. I focused solely upon what I felt was best for the child, even if they lived with trash. Sadly, I was not always successful. One of my students had two babies by two men before she was 17. Another overdosed before she was 20. On the other hand, some have gone to Dartmouth and MIT from poverty. You win when you can. I repeat, feed them all. They are not the reason their parents aren't worth a bullet, and the only way out is you and me. Well monkey dodo. I have disclosed the fact I am a bleeding heart liberal. I guess I will need to wear a bag over my head from now on. Johnsfolly, nomolites, MOstreamer and 5 others 5 2 1
ness Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 12 minutes ago, rps said: Well monkey dodo. I have disclosed the fact I am a bleeding heart liberal. I guess I will need to wear a bag over my head from now on. Nope, you’ve shown you have a heart. fishinwrench, nomolites, Daryk Campbell Sr and 1 other 4 John
Mitch f Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 Well, we need to take care of people that can’t take care of themselves. The Bible says there will always be poor among us. snagged in outlet 3 1 "Honor is a man's gift to himself" Rob Roy McGregor
ness Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 2 minutes ago, Mitch f said: Well, we need to take care of people that can’t take care of themselves. The Bible says there will always be poor among us. Blessed are the cheese makers!😄 Mitch f 1 John
Johnsfolly Posted March 19, 2020 Posted March 19, 2020 3 minutes ago, ness said: Blessed are the cheese makers!😄 Blessed are the big noses!
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