Americans Are Truly Suffering

[tony404]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

Wonder how many of them have cable tv....

why do you resent them? they came up on hard times and they are mocked. i dont get it.

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by tony404

why do you resent them? they came up on hard times and they are mocked. i dont get it.

I dont.

Dont get me wrong here. I feel for anyone without a job in this economy.

And until right now, I've never talked about my own views toward charity. To me if you brag about what you give, you cheapen it. I dont give anything for the glory of doing so. But I do participate in a lot of charities, I always have. When I didn't have money, I gave time. Now I have little time, so I give money or goods. And I'm very selective about where it goes. Although I give some to the big charities, my favorite is small local stuff where you can actually have a direct influence on people's lives.

Anyone who really knows me, knows this. My favorite every year is Christmas. I typically "adopt" 3-5 kids who wouldn't otherwise have anything from Santa. I take great pleasure in looking at their lists and buying carts full of goodies to make sure they have a memorable Christmas morning.

I also do the food drives. Not only do I buy a trunk full myself, you'll find my fat ass at Perimeter Mall one afternoon during the holidays helping sort and load all of it onto the truck. It's exercise that makes you feel good in more ways than one.

So dont for an instant think I'm a total cold blooded bastard....

[MRock]

... was the part "She and her 6-year-old daughter moved into a smaller home" missed by the OP? Taking from the context of the full article this sounds like a single mother that has made a drastic move in housing AND cut lawn service and gym for her daughter.

I read this post a while back and it rubbed me the wrong way. After seeing more comments, I thought I might point out the above observation because it is a big one no one else mentioned ...

[RawAlex]

Originally Posted by MRock

... was the part "She and her 6-year-old daughter moved into a smaller home" missed by the OP? Taking from the context of the full article this sounds like a single mother that has made a drastic move in housing AND cut lawn service and gym for her daughter.

I read this post a while back and it rubbed me the wrong way. After seeing more comments, I thought I might point out the above observation because it is a big one no one else mentioned ...

Nope, didn't miss it. But that would be normal, par for the course things that people would normally do when they realize they are living beyond their means. It isn't even like they went from living in a big house to a carboard box, they still have (and are still clearly affording) decent shelter for both of them, witness that they apparently would still have used a lawn service at the new place, if they weren't cutting back because of how bad things are.

A house to street or house to crack whore monthly rate hotel might be news. A house to house move is just one of those things, certainly she isn't suffering, otherwise I can list you tens of millions of people who would love to suffer her way.

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by tony404

why do you resent them? they came up on hard times and they are mocked. i dont get it.

But now for the other side...

Why am I critical of some charity cases?

The ones I have no sympathy for are the ones looking for a hand out instead of a hand up. Again, it's that pesky southern upbringing and sense of responsibility.

If you dont have a job, you should be looking for a job if you need the money. I've always said I would go work at any menial job before I'd go hungry or even ask my parents for a handout. And I mean it.

Some people are victims of their own bad decision making.

Things like cable tv, cellphones, cigarettes, booze, etc, these are not necessities of life, and all are fairly expensive. You can feed a small family off of what a lot of people spend on this. I have very little sympathy for someone asking for a food handout while watching HBO on a plasma smoking a ciggie and having a beer.

Likewise, you have two kids you cant feed or clothe. Not a lot of sympathy when you continue to get knocked up and now have 6 of them.

For these people, being hungry is a byproduct of bad decision making.

Now, jury is still out for me on the mortgage portion of this equation. I have not yet made up my mind where the blame belongs for people who bought more house than they can afford. There's the question of how big of a role predatory lending and government encouragement played. Like it or not, many people are too stupid to understand even simple amortization.