[LinP3] Re: Why giving charity to Filipinas is misguided

The problem, in my view, of denial of charity, or of acting against
one's natural impulse to give away part of one's surfeit, is it's the
children, often very young children who pay the price. These kids, who
should be loved, should be nurtured, should be in school, should not
be forced to pay the consequences of their parent's decision to have
more children than they could afford, or for the absurdity of the
church's position on birth control. They are the victims here and they
are blameless.
--- In LivingInThePhilippines3@yahoogroups.com, "Mike"
<drmike97007@...> wrote:
>
> From a theoretical position, strictly behavioral to be sure, your
> argument may hold a grain of truth in a controlled environment. If
> all other variables are held constant, natural consequences, i.e.,
> negative reinforcement has some influence on behavior.
>
> In a laboratory setting for example, if we allow the 15 or so
> children born into a squatter family to starve, eventually there may
> be movement on a learning curve for the multiple parents. But, in
> this instance one uncontrolled variable is the church who tells them
> they can't have birth control or they will be excommunicated.
> Cultural variables such as the willingness of any even partially
> related adult to take on the parenting role also influences the
> population growth. There are hundreds of such uncontrolled variables
> here.
>
> On the other side, foreigners from 1st world countries find
> themselves with excess finances and just can't walk away from their
> consciences. Not a behavioral term but accurate. If you should
> visit or live here, and you find yourself able to pass through some
> of the most miserable conditions without a twinge, it will tell you
> more about yourself than about managing the behaviors of a third
> world country.
>
> Combining the concepts of starvation and foreign charity does not
> lead one to a panacea for problems here, it almost always leads to
> value confrontation, dillemas and a wide range of placements on the
> satified - dissatisfied scale. It certainly doesn't lead to a
> simplistic behavioral solution.
>
> Mike M.
>
>
> --- In LivingInThePhilippines3@yahoogroups.com, "andre_westbrook"
> <andre_westbrook@> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Hello
> >
> > I am writing to question once again the assumption that charity is
> a
> > panacea for the problems of the Philippines.
> >
> > It is often supposed by liberals and do gooders that giving money
> to
> > people without asking anything in return can only be a good thing.
> > And yet, in London recently soup kitchens that were once open
> during
> > the cold winter months of December and January have been closed -
> not
> > by a penny pinching government but because charities themselves
> > recognised that having access to food and drink was exacerbating
> the
> > problem of homelessness not curing it. If you think about it they
> > were right to do so. After all, once the qualms of living as a
> > vagrant have been overcome it is not too bad a life if one
> receives
> > food, clothing and overnight accommodation with, of course, the
> > chance to beg and hustle on the streets of a rich city.
> >
> > One of the complaints most often levelled at Filipinos and
> Filipinas
> > on this forum by so called kanos is that they are perceived as
> > walking ATM's. Who is to blame for this mindset? The Filipinos or
> the
> > kanos - it may surprise you to know that I happen to think the
> kano
> > is more to blame than the Filipino. To give anyone money without
> > expecting something in return is not in the highest good of all
> > concerned. If you think about it long enough - and few on this
> site
> > will - charity undermines notions of self-respect and thrift. It
> > creates a something for nothing culture which means that kanos
> have
> > become pressurised into parting with money they can ill afford to
> > lose simply because weak minded men from the Western world have
> given
> > in when the guilt buttons have been pushed in the past.
> >
> > This does not mean that one should not donate money to deserving
> > individuals who for reasons of bad luck or ill health require
> > tenporary assistance. But can we really have any sympathy for
> those
> > who just shrug their shoulders and reach inside their pockets
> > whenever a Filipino requests financial assistance. I think the
> answer
> > is we should not and we should have the courgae to deny the moral
> > high ground to those who would allow this miliking to continue.
> >
> > By all means employ and reward the Filipino for his hard work but
> do
> > not give him money for nothing.
> >
>

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