1. People who give some money to beggars....always. But they are really few.(me included)
2. People who dont give them money, but are willing to buy them some food.
3. People who'll do nothing for beggars and say that beggars exploit us.
The first time I noticed this was when I saw an old lady asking for some money in Lajpat Nagar. I fished out a 5 rupee coin from my pocket and gave it to her. The teacher who happened to be with me called me and said this to me - "See, you are a mature girl. You should be careful of these people. You cannot give your money to these people. They loot you. They exploit you. Understood?" I was flabbergasted. All I could do was to murmur a 'Yes Ma'm'.
What she said sent my brain into a tizzy. These apparent 'words of wisdom' had defied all what my parents had taught me about helping people and all sense of logic which I had in me. How could a weak old woman who probably hasn't eaten anything for days 'exploit' me?
When I posed this question to some of friends, the most common answers I got were "Beggars aren't really poor. They have so much money with them. They beg because they are cheaters" or "Beggars should not be given money as they are lazy and do not want to work and earn money."
Yeah right. Beggars are so rich that they could even beat the Ambanis in the Fortune 500 list(sarcasm intented). Think sense people. Haven't you heard of unemployment in this country? Its not that they don't want to work. They dont have any work. Even if they are feigning a handicap or making up stories about dead mother, we must realize that it is their ccircumstances which force them to do this.
The entire point of this post is to tell all people who fall in the third category that don't camouflage your stinginess with overdone morals or philosophy. Change your attitude. Help people. If you don't want to help, then don't stop others from doing it. And remember, It is only because of attitudes like yours that we still have people in this world dying of poverty.
Indu<3
2 comments:
Have you read my post on beggars ? I don't remember the title but I think it's delusion or something. If not, read and do tell me your views.
Yes I did read it.
The one on the station right?
I like people like you. In fact, giving them food is probably even better. But I haven't been able to convince myself out of not giving them money.
That kid came across to me as an intriguing character. But somehow I think that he was hungry and probably didn't want to ask you again....
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