That's why you offer to buy them a hot meal first, haha. As I said, half of the homeless I've dealt with have turned down a free meal.
XD It's not always because they're greedy for money, though. When it was Mom's birthday I bicycled a few kilometers to discretely find a neat present, and found a shop that sells brilliant Bengali sweets (note: these sweets are heavenly; get addicted and you get fat). While I purchased some a poor family that looked like travelers from a village spoke in an alien language (resembling Rajhastani) which I couldn't understand. I thought they wanted cash, but because I was in a good mood I thought I'd give them something even better and spent 20 bucks to buy em samosas (parceled). When I handed them the parcel and warmly wished them well, hoping they'd enjoy the delicious treat with their kids, they simply looked at me confused and went away, staring at the bag.
A friend of mine saw that and laughed at me. I thought he was going to compliment me, but the said, "You doofus. They were asking for
money or directions so they can get back home!" I regretted my happy-go-lucky actions, but he patted my back saying that at least I provided them some Anna (aka,
food, but in a broader sense; anything provided for life's welfare by nature is considered sacred; nature's gift), which was a blissful thing to do.
So, tush... are they insistent on remaining in their poverty or do they not know which end is up?
Both; think of it this way. Despite curiosity being a natural thing, the majority of folks in the world wouldn't dabble with the unknown if they think it
could be bad for them. You fear shadows because you can't see beyond it; you always fear the unknown, especially since you don't know from which way they will come and devour you.
To us who've dabbled with Chemistry on a regular basis we know it's for the better of the society. To them, who don't know what "Sodium" is, it's nothing more than
witchcraft.
(First of all, it may be helpful to separate "the poor" from "the destitute" or homeless. Obviously, poor people can have high standards for productivity.)
Ah, forgive me... It's ironic
I'd forget that difference. But then again, till now, I never knew what
destitute meant, let alone differentiate between them.
I also tend to agree that poor people are not aware of all the opportunities available to them. Their lack of resources is usually not just material -- it's informational as well. They don't have the social and cultural network that can inform them of opportunities. So of course they want money; education is intangible, and their priorities are probably closer to survival than ours are -- closer than we can understand. They also may not understand the significance of education in the long term, or, just as likely, are not sure whether education will actually improve their station or not. Given the time and expense involved, and the fact that doing well in education often has as much to do with cultural factors as intelligence, they would have reason to be wary.
Hah,
that's something I can't argue with. I just wish agriculture became a dignified occupation / career of choice so the world wouldn't be so poor and hungry. Agricultural education isn't
quite as intangible as general education, but that's the only solution I have in mind (an easy solution wouldn't be worth it). Institutions can also be formed where volunteers could inspire the destitute about the miracles of education and provide them with it with the help of charity.
There's also another problem, though. At mom's childhood, grandpa could barely pull his family through poverty though he managed in the end. But if they were US citizens (according to this website),
chances our I would have been a bloody panhandler today. If this article is write, there's a phenomenon in the USA that's called "poverty tax", a circle that's impossible to break through. Charity is easy, but what about helping the poor fellas stand on their own feet? It only gets increasingly difficult for a person to wish everyone reaches the finish line together.
But generally my bias is that I think people should be aiming for a well-lived, fulfilling life, not chasing after some illusory standard of endless productivity (which I honestly think is problematic because it is a value attached to a system of unlimited growth).
*smiles* Since you point it that way, I have a story for you. Despite my youth, I believe I've already lived a life of great happiness, and I found happiness beneath my very feet long ago (and you need neither money, nor intelligence, nor productivity for that). But the reason I still live and strive because, this time,
I want to be the bowl that feeds humanity; I want to show my family worlds beyond their vision, and better the world towards thoughts they could never grasp. I want to see smile bloom even in the most hopeless worlds, where villains and heroes put down their arms and sing along with the melody of life; this I will most certainly help achieve. Happiness is easy to find even in the most tragic times, but if you want to live a fulfilled life then set your aim higher than the apex of your imagination and race towards it like there's no tomorrow.
Thus way I like to call myself a Jack Of All Trades (and unfortunately, master of none).
