C'mon...

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This fall and winter season while you're all eating your thanksgiving, christmas, and hanukkah dinners please think about those 25 million in america alone, 9.9 million include children that wont be having the heaps of food. That suffer from inadequate diets, or starving all together. And while you might say thanks that your not one of them that doesnt help. It doesnt change their situation or give them a second of happiness. There are soup kitchens, shelters, volunteer work in your area and unless you can't afford another turkey, chicken, ham then you dont have a good reason to not help. Please take this into consideration and help.

> There are soup kitchens, shelters, volunteer work in your area and unless you can't afford another turkey, chicken, ham then you dont have a good reason to not help.

That's a great idea, but if you can swing it, a cash contribution to a kitchen or shelter is eve more valuable. At the local level, those guys don't waste money. Let me put in a plug for Haven from Hunger in Peabody, MA (where I used to live). They do great work. The person who runs the place is top notch.

Yeah... how about no

Yup.. Pretty much

Thanksgiving and x-mas morning, the only present Im opening is a sack of green... Nothing like lonely holidays :smile: (seriously.. Im stoked)

Every Thanksgiving after dinner at my grandmothers (including aunts, uncles, prents, cousins etc etc), we all donate money and pick a needy family in the town that really are struggling and we buy them christmas gifts and deliver them the day before christmas. Always gives us a good feeling and it's a way to give back to the community.Last year the mother broke down drying thanking us. My Uncle found the family and literally the mother (she was a single parent, her husband skipped out of her and their children) had no money for gifts and the kids would have woke up Christmas morning with no presents under the tree. It really made her feel good to have something for her children.

If you gave them money they'd be that much happierThen they could eat for christmas, instead of having to play with a remote control carAnd what about the people who CAN afford to buy christmas presents, but their kid(s) STILL wake up with no presents? Just scrwe them, right? They don't matter

And what about the people...It's better to pick the low-hanging fruit than none at all. You can go on and on, coming up with people and groups of people who are suffering. It's better to do something instead...anything.What Ntro's family does is very cool. If all comfortable families did that kind of thing, a lot of people would be a lot better off. It would also be cool if people did more stuff like that at times other than the Thanksgiving to Christmas period.

Stevea...... Nice reply! I agree with you. What eddie and his family do is cool. We donate but not to that extent... Kudos for Eddies family!

If all comfortable families did that kind of thing, a lot of people would be a lot better off.Not necessarily, it's all great and everything, but all you're doing is giving them a fish, as opposed to teaching them to catch their own.

What Ntro's family does is very cool. If all comfortable families did that kind of thing, a lot of people would be a lot better off. It would also be cool if people did more stuff like that at times other than the Thanksgiving to Christmas period. That's also one of my points ... why do people only do that on special occasions?? If they REALLY meant to help other people they'd do it as often as they could afford.I'm thinking people do it around those times because they believe they'll go to hell if they never help, so they do the bare minimum "to be good enoguh to get to heaven"

Thats why i posted this now is cause this is when people feel guilty about not helping. Sometimes people like me really enjoy helping others that cant help themselves, but no one really cares the reason as long as there is help.

You're concerned about people's motivations. It's a philosophical question, and it doesn't really matter. What matters is to do something to help someone. If you're hungry and someone gives you food, you don't obsess over their motivation.SA>> If all comfortable families did that kind of thing, a lot of people would be a lot better off.JJ> Not necessarily, it's all great and everything, but all you're doing is giving them a fish, as opposed to teaching them to catch their own. In the big picture, that's true. But it's not practical for individuals to teach everyone how to "fish". (I.e., most individuals don't have the resources to teach someone to read, do math, and find a job.) That's a job for the government and charitable organizations (although charitable organizations can't do the job alone). You're also jumping to the conclusion that someone who's needy right now is chronically needy. A lot of people suffer some type of misfortune (health issues, job loss, etc.) that's temporary. But they are still needy at that moment. It can happen to anyone.Ideally, we'd have a goverment (in the U.S.) that cared more. But we have what we have. The people who lost everything in the hurricanes, and still have nothing, might want to consider that when the next elections roll around, if they have a permanent address by then. One would think a Christian nation could do better.

Yeah, I guess I am concerned with people's motivations.Because it's bullshit when people say "Oh I care, I'm gonna donate something" cuz in reality they don't care because it's a one time thingThey won't care in a month about helping other people

If i was starving i wouldnt care why someone gave me food, i would care about how im gonna get food tomorrow.

God, I'm not saying the people in need are thinking about this!I'm saying that people are just lying when they say they care and donate shit, because they really do not care

not all

The only people who truly care (not just a one-time-caring thing) are people who donate a lot and pretty often

It's all good and nice when they donate something at Christmas time or whatever... but ask them to donate something in March and they'll screw you over

thats true, and i think its ridiculous. Its like with anything, no one cares till it directly affects them. Remember sept.11 how everyone had those flags on their cars? but after the flags went flying down the highway they never bought a new one? Like a false sense of patriotism?

Yeah, but who cares if the care, or if they're total hypocrites? Does altruism truly exist? Let the philosophers hash that out. If the idea is to minimize the total amount of suffering in the world, then any charitable act is helpful, regardless of the motivation.

that was one of my beefs with the whole religion thing. Millions of people dying, 6 million of my people and yet im expected to believe something exists that could stop that suffering at any moment but chose not to?And i agree, helping is helping who cares why.