Last night, in this glorious red state of mine, Mr. Shakes and I were (regrettably) heading into the local megastore-complex (Wal-Mart, Sears Hardware, Lowes, etc.), which is the only type of place we can shop now that every independent retailer has been bankrupted by Sam Walton and friends. At a big 4-way stop between all the various expansive parking lots was a man with a homeless-and-hungry sign.
There were at least 10, and probably closer to 20, cars that went through that stop sign before us. Ours was the only car that stopped, gave the man money, talked to him, and/or in any other way acknowledged that he was alive. Lest you think it's “compassion fatigue” on the part of my neighbors, this is the first homeless person I've seen in town in years.
Aside from just sorta bitching in general, I also wanted to post this to illustrate (yet again) how the Right is full of shit. If only I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard one of them wax faux-concerned about the needy and how the existing state-funded social programs don’t work. If only I had a dime for every time I’ve heard one them blather endlessly about how charity should be done locally, rather than compelling taxes to use on 'liberal' programs, i.e. welfare. (If only I had all those nickels and dimes, I would have given them to the guy I all-too-meagerly helped last night.) Well, here was a perfect opportunity to reach out to someone less fortunate, and I didn't see anyone else leaping at the opportunity to provide local, neighborly charity to a member of their community.
I guess they were just being compassionately conservative with their cash. Red state values in action. Merry fucking Christmas.
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus