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I'd to moan about people who spread reactionary myths about how beggars are really not that hard up (the local paper said it! well that's good isn't it, local papers are famously impartial...) and isn't it a bit naughty of them to manipulate our emotions like that? I'd like to moan about how surprisingly often Barbelith is home to people complaining about beggars themselves, rather than, say, the real causes of poverty.
1) Please go back and re-read my posts. Upon re-reading them, you will see that I was wondering/questioning if some beggars are indeed as bad off as their appearances would lead one to believe. This arises from the simple fact that I know a person who has in fact had extended conversations with beggars and knows some of their personal and financial details (my aquaintance that worked at the hospital as an admin clerk).
2) Rein in your use of hyperpole and blanket statements. Never did I "spread reactionary myths about how beggars are really not that hard up." I cited a specific example in which a woman confessed to not being as hard up as she led people to believe. She had a job, a home, could feed her family and pay her bills. However, she wanted extra income to purchase an expensive luxury item for her son for Christmas. The paper reporting the story was focusing on how she, as an individual (and not all beggars) mislead the public and literally cashed in on the good-will of others whilst other people really in need of aid, and who could have used the additional monies that she received from the public, lost out.
3) My inital complaint was couched within a very specific context - how some of beggars use animals to garner more and/or additional sympathy of the public. I dislike this practice. I love animals, and I believe using animals in such a way is wrong. From my own personal experiences, in some instances when I do see a beggar with an animal, it is sometimes sick from dehydration and hunger whereas the beggar seems to be physically fine and even smells of booze. I think it's not unreasonable in such circumstances to say that the animal is being abused and the beggar is focusing on his/her needs and addictions, and is using the animal as a means to an end.
Having said all that, I must admit that I am bit baffled by how my posts seem to have been misconstrued by certain people. Have I been misread that badly? Or is this some strange form of 'lith initiation thing, in which the newbie gets razzed a bit by the ol' timers? Or are you guys just taking the piss?
Will my gripes "disappear" now?
'Course not, this isn't the GEK thread in Temple, y'know. |
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