Something that came to my attention

[LifeHiscost]

This brought me down a notch this morning - hope you enjoy as much as I did:

'Some people!' snorted a man standing behind me in the long line at the grocery store.

'You would think the manager would pay attention and open another line, said a woman.

I looked to the front of the line to see what the hold up was and saw a well dressed, young woman, trying to get the machine to accept her credit card.

No matter how many times she swiped it, the machine kept rejecting it.

'It's one of them welfare card things.

people need to get a job like everyone else,' said the man standing behind me.

The young woman turned around to see who had made the comment.

'It was me,' he said, pointing to himself.

The young lady's face began to change expression.

Almost in tears, she dropped the welfare card onto the counter and quickly walked out of the store.

Everyone in the checkout line watched as she began running to her car. Never looking back, she got in and drove away.

After developing cancer in 1977 and having had to use food stamps; I had learned never to judge anyone, without knowing the circumstances of their life. This turned out to be the case today.

Several minutes later a young man walked into the store.

He went up to the cashier and asked if she had seen the woman.

After describing her, the cashier told him that she had run out of the store, got into her car, and drove away.

'Why would she do that?' asked the man.

Everyone in the line looked around at the fellow who had made the statement.

'I made a stupid comment about the welfare card she was using.

Something I shouldn't have said. I'm sorry,' said the man.

'Well, that's bad, real bad, in fact.

Her brother was killed in Afghanistan two years ago.

He had three young children and she has taken on that responsibility.

She's twenty years old, single, and now has three children to support,' he said in a very firm voice.

'I'm really truly sorry.

I didn't know,' he replied, shaking both his hands about.

The young man asked, 'Are these paid for?' pointing to the shopping cart full of groceries.

'It wouldn't take her card,' the clerk told him.

'Do you know where she lives?' asked the man who had made the comment.

'Yes, she goes to our church.

'Excuse me,' he said as he made his way to the front of the line.

He pulled out his wallet, took out his credit card and told the cashier, 'Please use my card.

PLEASE!' The clerk took his credit card and began to ring up the young woman's

groceries. Hold on,' said the gentleman.

He walked back to his shopping cart and began loading his own groceries onto the belt to be included.

'Come on people.

We got three kids to help raise!' he told everyone in line.

Everyone began to place their groceries onto the fast moving belt.

A few customers began bagging the food and placing it into separate carts.

'Go back and get two big turkeys,' yelled a heavyset woman, as she looked at the man.

'NO,' yelled the man. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks.

The entire store became quiet for several seconds.

'Four turkeys,' yelled the man.

Everyone began laughing and went back to work.

When all was said and done, the man paid a total of $1,646.57 for the groceries.

He then walked over to the side, pulled out his check book, and began writing a

check using the bags of dog food piled near the front of the store for a writing surface. He turned around and handed the check to the young man.

'She will need a freezer and a few other things as well,' he told the man.

The young man looked at the check and said, 'This is really very generous of you.

'No,' said the man. 'Her brother was the generous one.

Everyone in the store had been observing the odd commotion and began to clap. And I drove home that day feeling very American.

We live in the Land of the free, because of the Brave!!! Remember our Troops of Yesterday and Today!!! A great example of why we should be kind and patient.

Kindness is the language the blind can see and the deaf can hear.

May God's many blessings continue to be with you - ALWAYS!!!

[aldona]

That's a very touching story but the lesson it ends up teaching in the end is the same as what was in the mind of the man who yelled out the thoughtless remark...

Namely:

"Depending on their circumstances, some poor people are more deserving of our compassion and kindness than others."

"I did not know" is a weak excuse. He should not have made a comment like that about ANYBODY with a welfare card, period.

aldona

[there buster]

Quote:

"Depending on their circumstances, some poor people are more deserving of our compassion and kindness than others."

The problem is the leftist assumption that giving government money to people--whatever their circumstances-- is automatically kind and compassionate.

The incident actually demonstrates that private personal charity is far more generous, and has better social results, than government subsidy. And having taken over the role of benefactor in chief, government reduces personal responsibility on both sides of the equation.

Someday we will recognize that "government charity" is an oxymoron.

[aldona]

Quote:

The problem is the leftist assumption that giving government money to people--whatever their circumstances-- is automatically kind and compassionate.

Let's try to leave left vs right out of it, just for once.

The man did not hurt the lady's feeling by failing to give her money. He did so by making a unkind comment.

He only started to throw money at the situation to ease his conscience after he found out that she was one of the "deserving" poor.

What every low income citizen does require of us, regardless of their circumstances and background, is a Christ-like attitude and kindness shown in the words that come out of our mouths.

aldona

[there buster]

Quote:

Let's try to leave left vs right out of it, just for once.

The man did not hurt the lady's feelings by failing to give her money. He did so by making a unkind comment.

Indeed, he could not "fail to give her money," since his money was confiscated on threat of fines and imprisonment and spent on a massive bureaucracy which used much of the remainder of the funds to subsidize indigence.

When confronted with real need, he demonstrated real care. This simply demonstrates the point: compelled charity is not charitable, neither is compelled righteousness of any sort in any way righteous.

The man's remark was stimulated by the 'welfare card,' which the left urges as expressions of 'compassion.'

Neither he nor the others lacked actual compassion for the young woman, as their generosity indicated. They simply recognized that possession of a welfare card had nothing to do with the circumstances of the person carrying it.

I agree that we should be able to "leave left and right" out of it. No doubt that will be possible when the left stops equating government compelled charity with 'compassion' and 'Christ-likeness,' and opposition to such policies as 'selfish' and 'mean-spirited.'

Then we can discuss rationally what policies actually promote -- rather than attempt to coerce--real kindness and charity. Now that's a discussion worth having.

[Gail]

Re: Government welfare plans

It sounds to me like ichabod is implying that recipients of welfare are not worthy or responsible.

In Canada, we have a welfare system, and there was a time when I had to collect it. I was not irresponsible and did not like the idea at all. But I was home with 3 children, had a jobless husband and we needed to eat.

It was a temporary measure that we did a couple of times. Then we were able to carry on.

I have seen and helped a few women who ended up single parents for various reasons. Personally I would rather see them stay at home with their children while the kids were small, even if it meant that the family needed to be supported by the government (church or whoever) while doing so. In the long run I feel this would save society more. By having the guardian rear the children and not leave them latch-key or day-cared we would have a greater chance of positive results.

Being on welfare is tough, but a family can learn how to live on less. My kids are ALL better citizens for remembering our difficult experience when they were young. Today they are all hard workers and good money managers and responsible adults. But I doubt that they would have received that life education if I would have been forced to work and place them in day-care while they were young.

It's all how you look at things.

[cricket]

Neither he nor the others lacked actual compassion for the young woman, as their generosity indicated. They simply recognized that possession of a welfare card had nothing to do with the circumstances of the person carrying it.

[there buster]

Quote:

It sounds to me like ichabod is implying that recipients of welfare are not worthy or responsible.

If you look again, you will see I have not said anything about the recipients of welfare. Quite the contrary. My remarks have focused on self-defeating nature of state coerced charity.

Whether recipients are worthy or not, coercing charity is in the end, self-defeating.

As the episode demonstrates, when people see a real need, many freely respond well beyond what the government would tax them to do.

Imposition of state power breaks the link of sympathy and accountability that otherwise unites both the giver and the receiver. Nowhere is that more obvious than in many high-tax, high-welfare rate cities, where wealthy people step over the homeless, consoling themselves that there are government programs to take care of such things, so the individual need not trouble himself/herself to act personally.

Even in Dickens "A Christmas Carol," when Scrooge is approached for a contribution to relieve the conditions of the poor, he asks, "Are there no workhouses?" And then he points out that he is taxed to support such institutions.

The modern welfare state has simply given the Scrooges of the world cover. They no longer need to apologize for their stinginess or lack of personal care. Now they can claim to be "compassionate," so long as they vote for politicians who promise to tax everyone to provide 'programs' for the poor. No matter that the bulk of the money goes not to the poor, but to middle and upper middle class bureaucrats who administer the programs.

I recognize there are often people legitimately in need. For many years, my family would have qualified for welfare. I know what it is to struggle. I also know what it is to help those in need.

My point is simply that government coerced charity is in the end counterproductive at best.

[there buster]

Quote:

Then why did the man say, "People need to get a job like everyone else"? It is because he did make an assumption as to what the circumstances were regarding the person carrying it.

That's the problem with state mandated charity. It bypasses individual will, and many times does go to those who make it their occupation to work the system. It only takes a few spectacular abuses to taint the image of every recipient.

And again, when he saw there was real need, he responded with generosity which exceeded whatever the governmnent would have done for her.

The government, by interposing between the needy one and the one with means to help, damaged both parties.

[Gerr]

If you look again, you will see I have not said anything about the recipients of welfare. Quite the contrary. My remarks have focused on self-defeating nature of state coerced charity.

Whether recipients are worthy or not, coercing charity is in the end, self-defeating.

It seems to me that if Christians have been looking after the needy as our Lord has instructed, there would have been no need for the gov't to step in.

Gerry

[Amelia]

Where are the childrens mother? Where are the parents of the young man and this girl? Really, would the government give a 20 yr old guardianship of her 3 nieces/nephews?