I'm somewhat conflicted about poverty. Growing up and watching my parents work their asses of to succeed despite all sorts of challenges has had made me believe in the American Dream. But, the softie in me feels terrible seeing homeless people on the street in the artic temps of Chicago. I rarely give money to panhandlers. However, if I'm anywhere near a food place, I will give them food. When I work late, I'll usually buy an extra thing of soup and a hot sandwich for the guys who hang out around downtown at night. Prior to yesterday, I can't say I've ever had an extended conversation with adults in poverty. I've had plenty with kids through various volunteer events. But on Saturday morning, I went to a volunteer tax program. It's designed to encourage poor people to file their taxes, as they often get big refunds. Though it slowed me down, me and my friend had conversations with most of the people we worked with. We left feeling a little weird. I HATE the fact that I pay more in taxes than almost all of these people did combined. At the same time, I was really happy every time they got a fat refund, b/c so many of them seemed like decent people. Point being, don't be so quick to judge people you know nothing about.
lol...what do you want to assist them with? they don't want to work. i'm just telling you. there is a difference between being poor and being a homeless vagrant (sp?). i am friends with a lot of people who have trouble making ends meet but they are hard workers. these homeless guys on the drag are bums. i don't like bums.
Robbie 380,thanks for the lesson on the psychdynamics of a so called compassionate conservative. I also spent some teenage years in a poor third world country. I think Jeff and Deckard are on to something when it comes to puncturing the fairy tale world view of middle class contented conservatism.
What a joke. These people have serious health and possibly mental health problems. Let's pretend for a minute that they really did want to work. They wanted a job more than anything else. If you were hiring for your company, which of them would you hire?
man i'm not even talking about a poor 3rd world country. i'm talking about austin texas. this isn't mexico where people don't have anything in some places. you know i don't care about giving money to people begging for it in a poor country but america is different...any immigrant will tell you that. this isn't about compassionate conservatism...i could give a damn about that. i say what i feel and what i see. i have no clue what this middle class fairy tale world view you are talking about is. i know how bad it is for other people around the world. i know how tough it can be for the working poor in america. i know how tough it is if you are an illegal immigrant here in america. but you know what? they are still busting their asses even if things aren't that great financially. they may not have a great education but that doesn't matter. they are good people and they are trying. i want to help people like that...when i get money i plan on helping people like that. man, don't act like you know what i am talking about when you don't even know where i'm coming from and who i have lived my life with.
serious health and mental problems??? have you seen the people i am talking about? i am talking about college age kids that you can sit down and have a normal conversation with if you want. my best friend during high school, his mom had mental health problems. she was schizophrenic (sp), manic-depressive, and the 3rd one that goes along with those 2 that i can't remember right now. she had problems...i think i know who a person with mental health problems is. these kids aren't starving and begging for food. they are either druggies or just lazy. i'm sorry if you refuse to believe that but it simply a fact. yes i am sure they have had sob stories that go along with their road to the streets, but i have been thru those sob stories before. my first girlfriend and first love was one of those sob stories. i went thru it with her for 5 years before i finally realized i had to give up. she is in jail again on drug related charges, again. i will always love her to death, but its hard to help someone if they aren't willing to change themselves which means giving up their drug life. i know they may not know how to do it, but at the same time you can't help them unless they are willing to help themselves. you know i've lived enough of my life around people like her to know about stuff like this. jesus christ they have done enough stories on kids like these on the drag for you to know that they are either druggies or lazy. some of the older homeless people do have mental problems and those people are pretty obvious. would i be willing to hire them? nope. would i be willing to hire some of these kids on the drag? nope. would i be willing to hire someone who wanted to work and would come in on time if they were given the opportunity to work? hell yes. those are the people i worked with before. those are some of my old friends. yall act as if i am being some jackass by saying the truth...but its simply the truth. you do know that the truth can be kind of crappy sometimes right?
