Indulge me for a second and consider this scenario: let's say you're given the opportunity to donate some money to a desperate family who would use it to feed their children, but were only able to do so if you donated the same amount of money to someone you knew would use it to buy crack. Would you do it?
Readers posted over a thousand replies, because she's one of the big bloggers, and scrolling through their replies was fascinating, like a Rorschach test of political rhetoric of the white middle class. Everyone had thought about it, many had a kind of personal policy ("I always give food" or "I never give to beggars"). Some people changed the question to fit their worldview, then answered the question as they had reframed it. Some thought the question was really about the bailout, others pronounced judgments, many shared stories.
She has since posted the backstory for the question, a story about her brother's example of generosity to strangers. Once again, hundreds posted comments and shared stories. Some of them had been homeless, knew someone who was, or had worked with people in hard times. Others told stories about their stories.
Phil Ochs (whose manic-depression contributed to his suicide) wrote the song, and I learned it from Joan Baez:
"There but for fortune, go you or I."
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1 comment:
There's a Dostoevsky story about this
- about how if beggars buy wine with the money you give them, it might be that that is what they need.
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