I recently read a comment by some random that really made me stop and think.

That comment reads as follows:

Charity is an accepted evil that plagues the world, no one should be given something that they have not earned.

Now there are some serious counter arguments to this statement, but man it really caught me, I must say that I agree!

Obviously sometimes charity can be waranted. Or can it?

1) So you think that all the animals being fucked up by society don't deserve something better?
2) What about orphans of war/famine? Should they not deserve a helping hand?

My point is, if you go through life as a selfish p*&^, it will come back to you. Give a little back to society and even if you change only a single life with what you do, then you have achieved something. Not so?

It can, but as a general rule, I do not donate to charity, because I don't get to see exactly IF my money is going towards the cause specified, or if it is being stolen by some corrupt fucker(s)!

One day, when I have my empire all set up, I will start a charitable organisation. At least then I can make sure that the money goes towards the causes it should, and help the needy.


Some people are just not able to do much in order to help themselves, i.e. suffering from disabilities and such.

Beggars who DO NOT want to make the effort to get a job though, well, they can go fuck themselves, because laziness is something that should NEVER be rewarded!

I have no problem giving a car guard a tip, because at least I know that s/he made the effort to make an honest buck at the end of the day, but someone who just expects you to put money in his when he sticks it out? Nah.

Charity is something that is necessary. IMO we should always try and help people that cannot help themselves.

But any help we give people must decrease their dependence on that charity. Giving to people begging on the side of the road does nothing to get them away from that cycle. As The Sadist said they're lazy and giving to them just reinforces that. Giving some money to a guy starting his own business is good charity though, because it will enable him not to rely on charity.

Heir, most people are capable of helping themselves, they don't make the effort though. This obviously excludes a 6 year old who is starving and so on, but an able bodied person has no reason why they can't help themselves.

Edit: grammatical error

"Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he can eat for his life."

my stand on charity?

SPCA = Charity
Orphans = Charity

Feking Beggers/Blind begging on the side of the road? Go FEK YOURSELF! That is not charity!

There are only two charities that I have ever given money to and that is because I have seen the results of the money that is donated to them. One is Big Brother/Big Sister, I have donated money and time to this organization and with out the donations there would not be sufficeint funds for many of the programs. The other is called AFAF (it's Air Force Assistance Fund), this charity helped me out in the past when I first joined the military and had an unexpected death in the family. I didn't have the money to go home for the funeral, but through them I was able to get home.

So what I'm saying is that charities help people who need it. What's wrong with that?

Who's big brother? the TV Reality show?

Big Brother/Big Sister is a nonprofit organization in which people volunteer their time to underprivledged children. I've been active in this organization for a few years. Most people help the kids with their homework, take them to the zoo, or just spend time with them that they don't normally get.

So I take it you not from south africa?

No thats a program in the US. Not sure if it is place elsewhere though

No, I'm not from South Africa, I'm from the US. I don't know if there is such a program anywhere else though.

The Sadist, RevQ, Cyfermaster and Fishfly sum up exactly how I feel about Charity.

Valheru: no need to get all worked up, I'm not talking about animal charities.

Heir_of_isuldur: I disagree.

The point that I was trying to explore is probably best summed up by Cyfer's quote:
"Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he can eat for his life."

By giving pure charity in the form of money to people who could probably help themselves if given a swift kick to the behind, in my humble opinion only makes the whole situation worse. Not only are the donors out of cash that could have gone to making someone who really needs it's life better, but now the person who received that cash become more and more dependent on that hand out. It probably isn't a conscious thing, but when you know that if you try something and fail, you can fall back on begging and know that you can make it through, then you don't try as hard.

There was a story I was told by one of the most influential teachers in my life, it is the same as cyfers quote, in a different way:

There are two beggars. From a charity, each receives one Mielie (Corn to non south africans).
Beggar number one goes home to his shanty and cooks his corn, and eats well for the first night in a long time. The next day, he is back on the same corner, begging again.
beggar number two goes back to his shanty, cuts his corn in half and cooks one half and eats about as well as he has for a while, meaning not very well at all. The other half he strips, and plants the seeds in his minuscule dirt patch outside his door.
A year later, beggar number one is still begging every day.
Beggar number two has a stall on a major road, and sells corn for a living. He doesn't beg anymore, and he pays 3 other people who live next door to his shanty for a small piece of ground on which to grow more corn. He is expanding with every season.

Ok, yes, charity started it all. But how did it help beggar one? It didn't.
Giving someone money isn't going to sort out his problems. Teaching someone how to make a living will. If he gets off his/her ass and does something about it.

OK, next time you feel like teaching some beggar to plant the preverbial mielie, go right ahead!

I believe that it's just a universal principal. Giving to people who are less fortunate than you is necessary.

Ok, keep on giving!
Lets hope that if one day you need a handout, there are more people like you in the world.
Personally, I wont be hoping, Ill be doing something about my situation.

In a lot of cases I believe poverty is a state of mind, not a social situation.

What is charity? Giving and receiving nothing in return? I give plenty to SARS...Does that qualify?

Nope, because just like the rest of us, you are FORCED to do so.

The mielie story by Gitano is a nice one. I think that that is what needs to be done, but government needs to do more in order to get beggars of the streets, and teach them some basic skills in order to help themselves. The sad part is that for a lot of the beggars, it is simply easier to stick your hand out and wait for a handout.

I have heard stories where people would give the beggars food, instead of money, only for the beggars to throw that food back in their faces (sometimes literally even). Sad, but true.

There are very few charities I will support, mostly because I'm uncertain of where my money is going as was previously mentioned.

I will absolutely NOT give a single cent to beggars because:

1. If you can walk up and down at an intersection with your hand out, you can do so selling newspapers, cigarettes, drinks, etc.
2. Fake injury beggars are so prevalent you don't know the real ones from the fakers; thus, no one gets.
3. Blind people get an allowance from the state, and I know of blind people who are perfectly able to work. Plus their 'helpers' are rumoured to pocket most of the cash.
4. I do not know what they'll spend the money on.
5. I fucking despise women who make their little kids do their begging for them. It's child labour, plus if you're too stupid to realize that shagging your way into poverty is a bad thing, don't fucking do it. PUT THE DICK DOWN.
6. To add to the above: the situation's just as bad when parents drag their kids along with them for sympathy purposes. How the hell does an infant deserve to bake in the sun all day on his mother's back because she doesn't have a job?
7. Homeless Talk also get jack shit from me: I'm tired of them asking for personal donations, smokes, etc. when they should be working. Until this problem is dealt with, no purchase from me.
8. There is way too much crime at intersections from bastards posing as beggars. The cops need to crack down on this shit; people getting acid in their faces and whatnot, FFS.
9. I work too hard to be guilt-tripped by irritating beggars on my way to and from work. I pay taxes for roads and such and I pay for my own car: why must I be hassled?
10. Last but not least, there are plenty of beggars that make more than I do. Until I start getting donations, everyone else gets nothing.

Other than that, I don't mind helping out the SPCA, or mates that have been affected by cancer and such, but everyone else can piss off. If I can work my ass off for my money, paying for my own car, studies, housing, bills, etc. so can other people.

Plus it's a well-known fact that a tiny, 'wealthy' portion of the population pay the bills for the entire country. Nice.

Car guards are also a pain in the ass:

1. Why must I give someone cash for standing around doing nothing? Do they have any means of stopping a car thief once detected?
2. There have been numerous reported cases of car guards being in on car theft schemes. Enough said.
3. I will not pay some slacker to protect my car which has an alarm, immobilizer, gearlock, tracking system and insurance. I've forked out enough.
4. No, I don't need help with my groceries for money, thanks.
5. There are guards who 'force' you into paying otherwise your car gets vandalized. Paying guards in general ensures that guards like this remain on the streets.
6. If you can't identify my car when I leave, you obviously haven't been paying much attention. No money for jooz.
7. Unofficial car guards fuck it up for the real ones. Still no money for jooz.
8. One guard hassled me and my girlfriend so hectically the once I actually reported him to the shopping centre concerned. Surprisingly, nothing was done. Still no money for jooz.
9. As with beggars, I strongly disapprove of being guilted into paying up. STILL no... you get the idea.

The one and only guard I was happy to give money to actually showed me his gun that he had apparently offed many a carjacker with. I happily handed him R10.

Oh, and a final thought: when the state starts giving more money to charity than they do to fucking rugby and soccer, maybe I'll cough up a few pennies.

I am all for charities the benefit children, victims of abuse in any shape or form and animals.

I do not give to beggars though, they can do something to help themselves.

I'm a begger, please send some money... I need more money to fund my nasty habits! Eating 3 meals a day is hard when one doesn't have any money

Having beggars complain about food happened to me a lot. I actually sometimes give all kinds of things to all kinds of beggars/charities.
I kinda like giving leftover finger foods from office functions to children on the side of the road. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

If I sense someone try to guilt me into giving, or any kind of blind person, someone with obviously purposely torn clothing, or any fat bitch with her 12 children by a traffic light, no one gets anything!

Them and Fishfly.... NOTHING!

Yeah I ain't giving jack shit to Fishy, his PC is better than mine so he's clearly not poverty stricken

Amen to Ruro, Rusty and Sadist.

Car guards I'm grey on, its hard to say no because they are at least trying, but like you say, they are often no more than beggars who do fuck all and force your into giving cash.

Sandwiches have been thrown at my mother because she refused to give money.

If you aren't trying, you can fuck off.
Bad mood about beggars today, Im not sure why. It may be that there are still people who give them fucking money all the time, even though like the Sadist said, letting them know they can make a living off of honest hard working people just stops them from trying to work in the first place.


Just though of something, there is a religion that is very widespread in India, not sure if it is Hindi, but it very well could be, well anyway, this religion says that you are not allowed to walk past a beggar without giving him/her something. Guess where the most beggars in the world are? Yup, INDIA.

no it's not, I'm using a laptop now... selling/sold all my pc stuff for moolah!

It is hard to find jobs for 1.3 billion people. you know

Well we are as of 2 weeks ago 2nd World. Well things are improving

No such thing really.

I know India is very much like SA in terms of the gap between rich and poor... and the gap keeps growing

Those who deserve charity are those who cannot provide for themselves, and not by choice. Homeless and beggers=no. Orphaned children/disaster victims=yes.

There is:

1st World - Devoloped

2nd World : NIC - Newly industiralised country

3rd World - LEDC

And yes the gap is big and it does differ where u are in India. However on the bright side things are improving. For example in the last 12 months, 300 new Public Schools have been opened all over the country and 50% of the places are reserved for those below the poverty line.

The incentive is that if you go to school you get FREE lunch and dinner for you and your family. And it has been working so far. It would be iodealistic to say things are fine, but it is progressing and progressing fast.

If on;y we didn't have to worry about the bloody Pakistani governemt invading again (we have beaten them 3 times already - in a limited war w/o attacking them) and yet they still are trying) we would have more money to spend