Have we lost our compassion???
Posted 04-05-2012 at 11:37 PM by Chowhound
I sometimes get confused, I can't seem to get mixed messages out of my head.
We are bombarded with messages growing up, work hard, and you'll get ahead, you'll be "OK"
I see the proliferation of homeless people around me, and I often wonder "What the F happened to that person"
I think we are conditioned to think that person is lazy or unmotivated, a "loser" so to speak.
But, is it really that way?
The older I get, I realize that people have limitations, not everyone is talented or capable, not to mention having actual disabilities.
Some people aren't capabile of certain things, maybe they are just "dumb" for lack of a nicer term.
Does this make them any less important? Should we just toss them aside? Have we no compasion?
Worty of being thrown away, just because they don't fit the coporate "produce, produce" mode of how we operate in America??
Have we lost our way, America is a compasionate nation, we have been, and will always be one of the biggest contributors to other countries natural disaters when the need arises???
Let's give some thought for when the need happens here......
We are bombarded with messages growing up, work hard, and you'll get ahead, you'll be "OK"
I see the proliferation of homeless people around me, and I often wonder "What the F happened to that person"
I think we are conditioned to think that person is lazy or unmotivated, a "loser" so to speak.
But, is it really that way?
The older I get, I realize that people have limitations, not everyone is talented or capable, not to mention having actual disabilities.
Some people aren't capabile of certain things, maybe they are just "dumb" for lack of a nicer term.
Does this make them any less important? Should we just toss them aside? Have we no compasion?
Worty of being thrown away, just because they don't fit the coporate "produce, produce" mode of how we operate in America??
Have we lost our way, America is a compasionate nation, we have been, and will always be one of the biggest contributors to other countries natural disaters when the need arises???
Let's give some thought for when the need happens here......
Total Comments 4
Comments
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That is one of the main problems from countries in the world. They want to look good by helping out other countries in need. While America has 'food' deserts, cities 'without' law and other problems. Wouldn't it be better to improve your own 'home' instead of someone elses 'home'Posted 08-18-2012 at 06:46 AM by kaizoku
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I think it's important to have compassion and put yourself in another person's shoes. It's been my observation that a lot of people lack this ability. Plenty of hard-working people who took personal responsibility, did everything right, and worked very, VERY hard, sometimes taking two or three jobs at a time, wound up out of work for months, maybe years. I saw this happen to my husband, when his job in the trades went overseas. It was a very difficult time for us.
This evening, I noticed your remark that posting on city-data makes you forget that there are "good, decent people in the world." Unfortunately, returning after not posting for a year and a half, I was quickly reminded why I didn't spend a lot of time on this forum. There are plenty of vicious, cruel people who post here, who get off on insulting others while trying to make themselves feel big. There are a lot of people who are personally insulted by the idea of a woman working and earning a good salary, or by a person in the LGBT community asking for basic rights, like inheritance rights, or the right not to be fired from a job for a personal characteristic they were born with. And when you're in an underprivileged group, whether you're black, gay, poor, or have a mental health issue, people are very quick to accuse you of "flaunting," using your status as an "excuse," asking for "special rights," or otherwise deviating from the script of the long-gone American Dream.
I believe in myself, and always have, no matter how many roadblocks I've encountered, or how many disappointments I've grappled with along the way. And as much as those who despise me annoy me – let's say that at the very least, I wouldn't bother to get to know them, because in my eyes, they're not worth knowing – I had quite a bit of compassion for them, at least until recently. But as the economy has worsened, people's financial straits have grown more dire, and the thought that the American Dream may never return looms larger and larger for most of us, I've seen people sink to all-time lows online. Literally, I've seen people wishing death on others – THAT'S how bad it gets, and that's how scared people are.
It's an interesting philosophical question: You feel compassion for all people and realize they are scared, confused, and quite likely, misinformed. But at what point might the compassion stop? Under what circumstances is it acceptable to say, "Ok, your life is your problem, and I'm going to focus on making things better for me?"Posted 09-29-2012 at 08:47 PM by VelvetFedora
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Empathy is the key word here. The ability and desire to put yourself into the person's shoes you are inclined to judge negatively. Having been homeless before has changed my perspective. But when I was younger and married, the ex and I would encounter homeless and panhandlers on the streets of L.A. asking for spare change. And as we ignored them, my thoughts would be, "why don't you just quit being lazy and go find a job like I did?" But lately, it should be obvious that everyone out there is not a boozer, ex-con, druggie or lazy opportunist. There also some decent laid off folks out there having hard times economically, abused run away or thrown away women and kids trying to survive the cruel streets. And I pray for them...Posted 04-22-2013 at 03:55 PM by Mr. Opinionated
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Empathy. Compassion. Kindness. Perspective. I have seen a lot in my life. Without these traits the hard times can defeat you but with these traits you can defeat the hard times. As well as spread empathy, compassion and understanding to someone else. No one should ever judge another because we have no idea what someone has been through.Posted 06-18-2013 at 02:30 AM by Niki H
