Could be an angel

by Marcos 13 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Marcos

  Mexico, Monday the 23rd.

  As I sit here spending time scanning this website I am interrupted by yet another beggar at my front gate.

  Sad story. He's from Columbia. Has an open wound on his leg and just wants some work so he can go to the hospital and avoid infection. He's also drunk (or drugged). He asks for money, I give him something to eat.

  I think, if there is money for booze or drugs, there must be enough for food or medicine. But, I know too that when one is in a hopeless situation, rational thinking can be one of the first casualties.

  People here are very generous. They almost always give to a beggar. However, like me, they have very little to share and families to take care of.

  This happens here every day. How would you deal with it?

  Marcos
• 

  Xander

  Umm....well....you don't really want to know how beggars are generally treated up here.

  It may well go back to the 'protestant work ethic' mentioned in another thread pretty much tied to US philosophy. If you are wealthy, god must be blessing you. Conversely, a sure sign god does not favor you is if you are poor.

  Hence, beggars are easily treated as subhuman in most of the US. Most Americans wouldn't even give them the time of day, would look the other way when they see them, etc. If anybody here had a beggar show up at their front gate, that's a police matter.

  Course, that could also be due to the HUGE chunk the gov't takes out of our checks for medicare. We have decent shelters pretty much everywhere, some health coverage for such cases, etc. The general feeling among the working classes is they a large part of their pay goes to bums who never work a day in their life - living 'off the system', as it were. Which, I'm sure, contributes to the tension.

  Dunno - things just work different up here.
• 

  IslandWoman

  Hi Marcos,

  People here are very generous. They almost always give to a beggar.

  My experience here in the U.S. is that we practice distance giving and distance begging. While I have come across a few who on city streets asked passersby for money, most of the asking and giving here is done through third parties. I have never, ever experienced someone coming to my front door begging. That is not to say there are no hungry or needy here it's just the culture favors charitable gifts through churches and organizations rather than the personal giving you describe.

  Both practices are good, both are needed. My mother is hispanic and when she was a child her mother always put a little extra in the pot (even when they had very little themselves) just in case someone came by during dinner. Growing up with this personal type of giving is a blessing.

  Enjoyed your post, thank you.

  IW
• 

  Marcos

  Thanks Xander.

  I'm fairly familiar with the view on beggars in the first-world countries.

  Here, we not only have citizens who are destitute but we have a major problem with people from (mostly) Central America crossing the border in the jungle and in the mountains on their way to live with you. We are probably talking about thousands every month. The national government under pressure from the US treats them very badly. The people here really don't treat them badly.

  But, it does bother me when I have to interact with them. It is difficult to tell them "go and be in good health" when you see how bad off they are. Thing is, charity seems to have its limit. I have run off some guys who come thru our neighborhood regularly. They can be rude and demanding. Threatened to show one my gun once before he would leave. (Don't have one but the threat worked).

  A lot of people are really in need but when it comes to paying the rent and feeding my family I have to opt for taking care of my family. Even giving people one Peso is sometimes impossible. Makes me feel pretty badly.

  I mentioned this (lack of much money) once on the chat just in passing. One of the people mentioned that it was interesting that I had access to the Internet. My job revolves around the Internet. Having access is a necessity. But it doesn't guarantee that one is flush with cash either.

  Social services are sorely lacking here. Even the locals can't get help. So you can imagine that the govt. is not in the least interested in adding foreigners to list of people to help.

  There is really not much point to this post except to wonder what you guys might do in a similar situation. I try to be charitable (contrary to what I was taught by the WT) but, it keeps getting worse. And the scary thing is that encouraging people to just stay where they are is not an option. They CAN'T stay where they are. It is quite literally "leave of die". It creates a true moral dilemma.

  Anyway, thanks for the input.

  Marcos
• 

  meadow77

  I have a much more charitable heart than my husband. I don't say that to mean that he is a miser, but with him there is always a suspicion of what the person is using the money and if they truly need it. I completely understand this frame of mind, especially since so many have been taken advantage of. I see it a little differently though. We have been extremly blessed, and seldom do without. I try to be responsible with our finances and do not exceed what we can afford to give, but I rarely worry about the money I donate because I feel that what goes around comes around. We are blessed by the blessings we give others. I try to think of all money I give away as money I give to God, and I trust that he will make sure that it gets used appropriatly, and more importantly he knows the intentions of my heart. I do agree also, that sometimes it is better to give items such as clothing or food, if perhaps you suspect they may be spending the money on drugs or alcohol. IMO it's good to give whether it's time, money, prayers, or food.
• 

  rem

  I live in San Francisco and there are many bums on the street. The only reason they are there is because there is a market for bums here. It is fairly easy for them to get cash from naive, yet warm-hearted tourists.

  There is really no reason for there to be bums in the United States. We have so many social services that are available. The only reason that there are bums is that it is easier for them to make their drug/booze money this way than to do honest work. If people would wise up and stop giving these people tax-free cash, they would have no choice but to get off their asses and become (somewhat) productive members of society.

  It's not like these people would die if we didn't give them money. People survive the best way they know. Bums know they can get money easy this way. If the market suddenly dried up, they would survive just like any other person does. Many people take the path of least resistance. It's easier for me to keep my salary at my job than to go back to college and start another career. If I lost my job, that's exactly what I'd do though. Likewise, it's easy for bums to live that way because it provides them with what they want. As long as we continue to accept that behavior, they will always take the path of least resistance and stay bums.

  rem
• 

  Carmel

  I was tapped last night by a lad feining interest in my religion to try to get a freebee , enough money for a ticke t to Kokiak, Alaska! I put him in touch with the local Salvation Army as I would not extend a loan of $700 to a total stranger with a sob story. He called back insulting me on the phone call ing me an "uncompassionate christian hypocrite". I told him he was wrong on two counts, a) I'm gnerous and compassionate, and b) not a christian, by his standrds. It was a scam from the very start. too bad! carmel
• 

  Marcos

  I also have had a lot of the experiences you all have mentioned:

  I live in San Francisco and there are many bums on the street.

  I was tapped last night by a lad feining interest in my religion to try to get a freebee.

  I think that we can all more or less spot a con. But there are many people who are actually in need. My time dealing with people trying to scam did a lot to harden my attitude toward beggars. The thing is, not everyone is a con-artist. I have seen people who are really in need.

  I am far from being a liberal. I am very conservative in my life and not easily fooled. I have no interest in preaching about the "poor, downtrodden masses". But, please understand that the context is different. This is the third world on the border with the fourth world. The majority of the beggars that I see are really in need.

  I mean no personal criticism when I say you should take a look outside the US and Canada sometime to see what a lot of people go through. For example, visit Mexico. Not Acapulco or Cancun. But, Mexico. More of the world is like what we see here everyday than what it is like in first world countries.

  Hell, visit Cuba. See what being shunned for more than 40 years has done to people there. Instead of spending a vacation on the Varadero (the tourist-oriented peninsula northeast of Havana) visit some of the small towns. Walk around (you can do that in Cuba day or night) and see how the people live. Truth is, people actually live better in Cuba than in most of Latin America. Moreover, they are more neighbor-oriented than in most of the first world.

  The examples I give are not intended to show how selfish and insensitive you all are and how sensitive and caring we are. It is more to do with a real sense of frustration at seeing a lot of suffering and only being able to offer a piece of bread or a couple of pesos at most. It has more to do with seeing people who have been "running on empty" for decades, real nice people, and wishing there was more I could do.

  Some of the Scriptures that really hit home deal with "giving to he that asks" and "clothing one who is naked" (I have experienced this) and "giving water to someone who is thirsty". Taking care of widows and fatherless boys.

  These things are on my mind right now not just because of the season. It is more out of a sense of frustration. The look that I get when someone asks me for "just a couple or tortillas" when all you have in the house is your last pot of rice and you have to feed your own kid.

  I think it is wise to not be taken in by scammers. But, it is also good to do good where we can. I just feel badly for the ones I have to turn away...

  Marcos

  P.S. I don't need money! Things always work out one way or another. Just felt the need to share some of the hard realities of life on the other side of the barbwire fence.

  Edited by - marcos on 23 December 2002 23:8:22
• 

  Xander

  On the other side of the coin...the solution to the problem is much harder than simply giving support.

  No nation I'm aware of is so barren it cannot support a single human. The problem comes from their being more than 1 human living in them. MUCH more.

  Yes, the world does have enough food and goods such that everyone's average standard of living COULD be much higher. But that's not the way things work - some countries will have more than others. The trick, of course, is for the people in the poorer countries to STOP REPRODUCING BEYOND THEIR MEANS TO SUPPORT.

  For instance,

  the United States, with 2.03 children per woman, has the highest fertility rate in the developed world. The average fertility rate for European countries is 1.4. In Japan, it's also 1.4......In 40 African nations, women still average six children. Niger leads the world with 7.5 children per woman. And Latin America is still growing, albeit more slowly.

  The problem, of course, is education. It's hard to beat back so many generations of eveyr manner of religion teaching the locals that having as many kids as possible - especially males - is a good thing.

  It's not. It never has been. Having JUST more than the replacement rate IS, at least, until your population levels out at a comfortable dispersal. 7.5 kids per couple? That's just ridiculous!
• 

  WildHorses

  Marcos,

  I know what you're talking about. I had a friend once. Her name is Martha.(she is now a JW thanks to me) She is from Quatamala(sp) She had to come here in order to send money home to feed her children. Her husband passed away and there were no jobs for her where she lived. I would do the same thing if I had to. I don't fault any of the Mexicans here either. I've been to Mexico twice and I've seen for myself just how hard it is over there. I think we here in the good old USA are a bit spoiled.

  As far as helping someone in need. I've done it before, even though I hardly have enough for me and my kids. I will give food to someone who is drunk but like you, I would not give them money. I will not support someones habits.

  By the way. Would you happen to have an authentic mole pablano recipe? The one I have came from an old cook book. I miss the foo in Mexico. hmm hmm good

  Shari