I thought it starts at home

Ok, just a little rant.
I just saw a story on the news of a U.S. Army officer that saw a badly burned boy on his tour of the middle east. He felt sorry for him, brought him home to MI and had his face all prettied up. Now the boy is going back home. While he was here he saw a Tiger game and had a gool old time.
Oh it just warms my heart...........NOT!
When I see stories like this or other celebs that are spending gazillions of bucks to help some little kids in war-torn country X or impoverished country Y I think, what about the kids here! Look at Appalachia, those folks are destitute to the extreme, it's our own little third world country. Help them out. How many kids here in the U.S. are born with birth defects and don't have health care? Why not help them out?? It just pisses me off to no end! You (the celebs in question) were born here, made your money off of us here and you live here. Why not help out some kids that are in dire straits right in your own freaking back yard!!!!! Even if their parents are dead-beat crack heads it's not the kids fault they are in such a state, maybe if you give them a little boost they will have a better run at making things better for their kids.

[/rant off]

I can kinda answer this from what I learned volunteering and trying to adopt. When you adopt from overseas it's done. The kid had no parents ot the parents want them to live better in the US. Here if the kids have parents they and you have money, the parents will try to get some. One of my supervisors gets threats that the birth father is going to kidnap the kid if he doesn't get money almost yearly. I imagine that if he had Brad pit money it would be far worse.

The same happens when you try to help. As a kid I used to help my dad and some of the other men in his church that would by toys at christmas and hand them out. Some of these crack head parents see that you have a little money and then you're getting robbed on the way out of work, or the follow you home looking to get some money to go away. Unfortunately in America when you try to help a kid they generally have some worthless relative that feels they should get something outy of it too instead of being happy someone is helping their kid.

Maybe it is the guys way of dealing with what he has been through. Really it's not your place.

Not to mention what a ridiculous failure of logic it is to claim that one person is more worthy of kindness than another based solely on geography. Anyone who feels moved to do a good thing for another person should be commended and thanked, period. Not have their (presumably heartfelt) efforts belittled by some shiny happy person on the internet.

Im kinda in the good doctors boat...kinda. I agree we send a bazillion dollars in aid to some dirtpile in the middle of nowhere thats torn up by corrupted political tardholes and warlords who steal half of the aid we send anyway. I think we do owe our fellow countrymen the first crack at our aid.

That said, theres also a lot of impoverished people in the world without the benefits of a functioning infrastructure, law system and public education like we do here...I think theres a HUGE grey area regarding this. Some hilljack stays on the side of a mountain because he damns the liberal hippies who instituted insert random disagreeable social policy here , he doesnt necessarilly deserve help out of his self enforced destitution. His kids have a right to public education which can set them on the path to success if they choose to embrace it. Im trying hard not to shine my happy-ass light al over, but I think a lot of lazy as&#oles out there dont deserve my help, a little kid whose face was blown off by osama binladen does

My dad travels to Appalachia all the time to do volunteer work. The stories break your heart.

I think that we should help all of them.

Well, I'm not a shiny happy person, heck I'm not even a happy person most of the time. I do understand the points put forth, but I still feel that charity starts at home. I don't think we should help that hill-jack on the side of a mountain who is there so he can hide from the law but most of those folks are just caught in a cycle. And the kids, of not given the way out, will perpetuate that cycle for generations to come. If we can provide them with schooling (some walk MILES to school, with no shoes or books) just to sit in an overcrowded classroom and try to learn. Then they will get a job in the coal mine and swill Mountain Dew till they die at 35 years old. Seriously, read some info about this, or better yet watch a documentary and you'll be blown away. If we dump all our money into some crap hole how is that helping us? Maybe if we keep helping today's Afghan kids then a few generations down the line our jobs will be going there as well?

I do not begrudge they guy by any means, helping your fellow man is something that we could always use more of. On the other hand I do find it interesting that we send mountains of money overseas when we do have many people living in third world conditions right here, Appalachia and the American Indians as an example.

In the US adults, for the most part, can turn their lives around if they work hard enough at it but what really breaks my heart is seeing the children in bad situations. They are just along for the ride and really don't have much id any control over what is going on.

Here is another angle for you:

My ex-girlfriend has a daughter that is turning 20 years old. She was adopted when she was 2 years old and raised by a woman who made a lot of money and while an absolute terrible spouse an awesome mother. She has quit school, ran away, gotten arrested for drugs and prostitution. 9 weeks ago she had a child that was fathered by a man she met in Colorado while she was there visiting her birth mother in prison. Her recent boyfriend kicked her and the newborn out once he realized the baby was not his (obvious melanin difference). Two weeks ago Leann and I were considering offering to take care of the baby while she got on her feet up until we found out that she was pregnant for baby number two, stole my tools from the shed and pawned them (nothing of value but there was a bond broken) and Leanns prepaid credit card was stolen and attempted to be used at the restaurant her cousin works at (a reason we like prepaid credit cards is there is no credit, phew).

We work hard to extend a hand only to have it bitten off. I would rather feed an Etheropian than help her at this point.

Humanity comes before country, but I understand your feelings. (Did just say that out loud?)

what about the kids here! Look at Appalachia

Hot damn I love you so much. I've been saying this for a long, long, long time. We donate as much as we can here locally. While times have been tough, we're still able (and HAPPY) to donate inventory for charity auctions, and no, we don't get some sort of magical tax break.

The best one to date was for a woman who my Dad worked with. 50-something. No (or little) insurance. Raised not only her own kids, but her drug-addicted niece's kids, who were still in grade school when she diagnosed with cancer. She didn't 'petition' for help, but her friends organized a couple fundraisers to help her out. We helped them raise a LOT of money, and it was awesome to be directly involved in it (loading, delivering, setting up bins full of art work for sale @ 90% of retail OBO.)

I like keeping it local. A big chunk of the gazillions of dollars we send in foreign aid goes to buying the sheikh new chandeliers for the palace. I like seeing my donations having an immediate and direct impact on our community.

Think the guy on the corner with the bucket has it rough? Is he wearing shoes? You haven't seen American poverty if you've never been to West Virginia.

DrBoost wrote: what about the kids here! Look at Detroit, those folks are destitute to the extreme, it's our own little third world country. Help them out. [/rant off]

FYP.

backyard is a lot closer than you think.

E

This:

poopshovel wrote: I like keeping it local. A big chunk of the gazillions of dollars we send in foreign aid goes to buying the sheikh new chandeliers for the palace. I like seeing my donations having an immediate and direct impact on our community.

Plus this:

alfadriver wrote:

DrBoost wrote: what about the kids here! Look at Detroit, those folks are destitute to the extreme, it's our own little third world country. Help them out. [/rant off]

FYP. backyard is a lot closer than you think. E

eekwulz wynn

alfadriver wrote:

DrBoost wrote: what about the kids here! Look at Detroit, those folks are destitute to the extreme, it's our own little third world country. Help them out. [/rant off]

FYP. backyard is a lot closer than you think. E

I almost brought that up, but decided to avoid mentioning Detroit yet again since the city is always getting so much bad press. At least the people there have shoes, usually nice ones.

In some ways, it is like a different country though. I guarantee there are people there who have a completely different view of America than I do and I only live minutes away north up I-75.

I believe charity starts with you. Which means that you should always be working in your daily life to help those less fortunate--and this guy's daily life happened to take him overseas. As a practical matter, he helped where he saw a need, and it was there.

I grew up in eastern Kentucky and am well familiar with the poverty there. I've seen the same kind of conditions in Florida—there are plenty of kids in Daytona Beach who have never seen the ocean—although the multitudes of people suffering here are not used as often as poster children for American poverty. I'll let you figure out why.

I think it's easy to get caught up in politics and geography, and discouraged by the stories we hear of greed and mismanagement of aid--and we probably allow ourselves to be steered by these distractions because that's easier than acknowledging the need we see right in front of us. Because that's hard to live with.

Sorry for the rantishness. This has been on my mind, because I watched "Idol Gives Back" last night and thought about all the things that could have been done with the money we used to buy that street stock car. (Yeah, I'm an easily influenced tool of the media.)

I decided to make a little deal with myself, and every time I buy something really disposable, I'll send a portion of the purchase amount to a charity I believe in. If that means I spend a little less on stupid stuff I don't need, so much the better.

I don't mean to lecture, just wanted to share an idea I had to help me budget some funds for charity.

Margie

WilD wrote: I almost brought that up, but decided to avoid mentioning Detroit yet again since the city is always getting so much bad press. At least the people there have shoes, usually nice ones. In some ways, it is like a different country though. I guarantee there are people there who have a completely different view of America than I do and I only live minutes away north up I-75.

Couple things about Detroit.

IMHO, the people who are suffering due to lack of jobs and general neglect- it's not their fault that the people who run for office are shisters in general.

For the people who are currently running the city- they seem to be doing all they can to avoid a state take over, so I'm willing to give them a chance.

But all in all, a kid in the projects that has little food, clothing, and a tough time geting to school is little different than the same kid in the hills. Both need help.

Sorry for the rantishness. This has been on my mind, because I watched "Idol Gives Back" last night

Couldn't handle it. I understand if your financial situation forces you to live in a trailer that's falling apart. I do not understand garbage lying all over the place inside said trailer. Even if your stuff is E36 M3, you can show a little self-respect and dignity and clean that E36 M3 up...especially when you have kids...and at LEAST when you know there's going to be a camera crew in your house.

Ever see that documentary about the homeless dude who was given ($100k?) and pissed it away in a year? Or how about the sob stories on the news where they're interviewing someone who claims they "can't afford heat" and there's a computer, a TV, and a leather sofa in the shot? Yeah. I can't watch that stuff.

I agree with you Eric, the kids are the victims (doesn't matter if it's Appalachia or Detroit). But I will say this about the folks in Detroit. They voted Kwame in, then RE-ELECTED him so yes, some of this is their fault. Same goes for Young, he was as corrupt as the day is long and he was there for decades.
Now, don't get me wrong. Detroit needs help (lived there for the first quarter century of my life) for sure but I don't excuse them 100%, just the kids. And when I brought up Appalachia I did it because it's something I think most folks don't realize that there is a place like that in the U.S. and is VERY comparable to most third world countries except that you can drive there in a day from much of this country.

In reply to poopshovel: RIGHT ON!

It doesn't cost a dime to take out the trash, organize your stuff, and take a shower. OK, there are cases of folks without trash pick up or running water, but those are really rare here in the states.

I keep my giving local too. It bugs me to drive through downtown Chuck past multimillion dollar trophy mansions and see people sleeping in the streets. I'm keeping my own little corner of the world clean and neat, doing my best to raise a kid who won't be another damn Paris Hilton and doing what I can to help those in the local area. It's where I figure my donations can do the most good.

But I also don't see anything wrong with what the Army officer did; that kid needed help no matter where he was from. The local teaching hospital (MUSC) helps kids from other countries for free including the ones injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, those with cleft palates, those needing transplants, I could go on for a while. The docs and nurses donate their time. That's a helluva good thing to do. I put that Army officer in that category.

poopshovel wrote:

Sorry for the rantishness. This has been on my mind, because I watched "Idol Gives Back" last night

Couldn't handle it. I understand if your financial situation forces you to live in a trailer that's falling apart. I do not understand garbage lying all over the place inside said trailer. Even if your stuff is E36 M3, you can show a little self-respect and dignity and clean that E36 M3 up...especially when you have kids...and at LEAST when you know there's going to be a camera crew in your house. Ever see that documentary about the homeless dude who was given ($100k?) and pissed it away in a year? Or how about the sob stories on the news where they're interviewing someone who claims they "can't afford heat" and there's a computer, a TV, and a leather sofa in the shot? Yeah. I can't watch that stuff.

"No one is so poor they can't pick up their yard." P.J.O'Rourkes Grandmother.

Jensenman wrote: But I also don't see anything wrong with what the Army officer did; that kid needed help no matter where he was from. The local teaching hospital (MUSC) helps kids from other countries for free including the ones injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, those with cleft palates, those needing transplants, I could go on for a while. The docs and nurses donate their time. That's a helluva good thing to do. I put that Army officer in that category.

Yes, those are good deeds, but do they do the same thing for folks in their own backyard? Now THOSE stories are few and very far between. Yes, the army sergeant did good but I tend to think most folks would right on by the same boy if he were here. My question is why does something bad have to be in another country for a celeb (or army officer) to take notice?

Why do good deeds require a press release?

They don't, but the celebs always seem to let word leak out