Redstorm said:

It's my belief that you are responsible for no one but yourself and your actions.

This doesn't mean that you should go around treating people like shit, because that would not be taking responsibility for yourself.

Likewise, it doesn't mean you should never show acts of compassion for those in need either. It just means it is not your responsibility to take care of every underprivileged person you see. If you feel like you want to help and can afford it, do so. If you don't or can't I won't judge you as any less.

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Cameron said:

Making other people feel good makes me happy.
As far as homeless people go, I refuse to give them change because I'm afraid it will fuel their drug addictions. I do offer them food or a drink on occasion if I'm in a good move or under the influence.
I try to be genuinely compassionate, but I'm still pretty selfish most of the time.

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Boots said:

I am responsible for nobody and nobody should be made to feel responsible for me. Do not the homeless man make you feel guilty. Be proud of your hard-earned money and do not let him state 'need' as his claim to your profit. When you feel needless guilt for his state of poverty, you are giving him your sanction; in essence rewarding the weak and punishing those who deserve their money.

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Quote:

circularvortex said:I loved it before when somebody I don't know would see me smoking and walk up and ask to bum one.  I'd look 'em dead in the eyes, take a drag, blow it out, and then say, "I don't smoke.")

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You, sir, are EVIL.

Cameron said:

Boots said:

I am responsible for nobody and nobody should be made to feel responsible for me. Do not the homeless man make you feel guilty. Be proud of your hard-earned money and do not let him state 'need' as his claim to your profit. When you feel needless guilt for his state of poverty, you are giving him your sanction; in essence rewarding the weak and punishing those who deserve their money.

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If you haven't heard their life story, what right do you have to call them weak? If you think everyone is privileged to a sunny childhood, you are wrong.

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Cameron said:

Boots said:

I am responsible for nobody and nobody should be made to feel responsible for me. Do not the homeless man make you feel guilty. Be proud of your hard-earned money and do not let him state 'need' as his claim to your profit. When you feel needless guilt for his state of poverty, you are giving him your sanction; in essence rewarding the weak and punishing those who deserve their money.

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If you haven't heard their life story, what right do you have to call them weak? If you think everyone is privileged to a sunny childhood, you are wrong.

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WhiskeyClone said:

Nobody will hire the homeless.  Many of them are mentally ill or otherwise unemployable.  Once you're on the street, you're on the street.  There's nowhere an employer can call you back, no place to take a shower and get ready for work, no fixed address to give them.  To break the pattern is not something of which most people are capable.  If people treat you like shit day in and day out, you probably don't have a lot of pride to work with.  Fucking McDonald's won't even let you in the door, let alone hire you.

It is easy and callous to say "Be like me... make something of yourself."  I think those of us who are employed and financially 'self-reliant' underestimate the role of luck on where we are in our lives.  Nobody is entirely self-made; most of us are born into supportive systems of education, housing and family.  We grow up as accepted members of society.  Wherever you are in life, you didn't do it all yourself.  People that have no such help face the impossible task of meeting our capitalist standards of living entirely on their own.

Yes, there are those beloved, heartwarming rags-to-riches stories, but the cold truth is that this kind of turnaround is well beyond the vast majority of people, and those who do succeed undoubtedly get a healthy dose of help from people who don't look at them like they're eyesores.

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