Stranger Helps After Mom's Car Breaks Down With Kids

Posted by $ nickursis 7 years, 8 months ago to Culture
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And now, after ranting about the evil in the world, something to restore some faith in humanity. A good story.
SOURCE URL: http://www.popsugar.com/moms/Stranger-Helps-After-Mom-Car-Breaks-Down-Kids-42102171


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  • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 8 months ago
    Most people are basically good. I have experienced the kindness of strangers many times What keeps many of them from exhibiting kindness is fear. The country has become a fearful place. I don't need to list what is happening to make people fearful, you all watch TV or read the paper.
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  • Posted by $ Radio_Randy 7 years, 8 months ago
    Good thing he didn't see the "Bernie Sanders for President" sticker on her bumper.

    I've picked up mothers, with children, a couple of times in my life. Once, I even had my wife and kids in the car. The temps were in the 90's, they were stranded along the highway and cellphones had yet to be introduced to mankind.

    More recently, I spotted a dead (POS) car along the road near my home. A girl and her boyfriend/husband only asked that I call a former neighbor of theirs to help them, which I did. Turns out, this former neighbor was a 78 year old widower who this couple had probably been taking advantage of for years. I almost felt sorry for the fellow, but we are responsible for our own actions. I think I would have claimed a kidney stone, or something...
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  • Posted by $ Abaco 7 years, 8 months ago
    A month ago a very good friend of mine died of cancer. His wife and my wife are best friends, growing up together. Luckily, they live only about 20 minutes away. They have three daughters. As my friend was in his death bed I made sure he understood that I'd be there to assist after he was gone. Not much was needed to be said, but he understood. This story reminds me of that. He was 45...
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  • Posted by $ Abaco 7 years, 8 months ago
    We need this kind of thing. This is a personal take on this. As a man, as a father, I can't just not help a mother and children in a situation like this. I still think men have a role to play in this world. It doesn't require much, but it requires that we act to keep women and children safe. At this point, it's in my DNA. Some may say that's sexist. If so, I'll own it.

    The harsh reality of our society is this - most men aren't man enough to stick around and protect their offspring. It's kind of funny but I remind me kids of this when they piss me off. "You know your buddy XXX? Notice how he doesn't have a daddy? His daddy decided he'd rather sit around with his buddies playing video games than put up with this kind of s*&%." Haha...
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    • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 7 years, 8 months ago
      You miss my point. One person helping another is not the story here. Someone stopping to help a woman with kids in the car is not the story. Read how it is slanted and nuanced. She was in great need her need is the story. Her angel was not just some person, some guy, but an old, infirm or invalid, man. He walked with a limp.

      This is in the same vein as Deepak Chopra and virtue of suffering.
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    • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
      I agree, this is what is needed, certain issues aside. Something like not letting children kill themselves with guns because daddy is a moron and left it out. Irregardless of the background, there were 3 children involved. The mother and father have issues, the father especially,it is a product of our current cultural structure (or lack thereof). Doesn't mean it isn't something to do.
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 7 years, 8 months ago
    Positive stories happen a lot more than the bad ones, but with journalists religiously following the Hearst dictum, "If it bleeds, it leads," the negative, sensational stories take priority.
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    • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 7 years, 8 months ago
      Follow the blog of the original writer. Frank Somerville of KTVU-TV San Francisco is all about good news.

      "Tonight I was talking to one of our editors, Danna Prosser, just as Hillary Clinton walked out to accept the Democratic nomination for President.

      I looked at the monitor for a moment. And when I looked back at Danna, I noticed she was crying.
      I asked her what was going on.
      She said: “Seeing Hillary Clinton tonight makes me proud to be a woman. I wish my mom was still alive. She was a huge supporter of Hillary Clinton. I wish she was here to see this.” It was a really touching moment.

      Danna reminded me of what tonight is all about. It doesn’t matter whether you support Hillary Clinton or not. It’s history in the making.

      A woman has finally been nominated for President by a major party. And I think that's something that can make us ALL proud to be an American." -- https://www.facebook.com/FrankSomervi...

      Women have been nominated to run for President since before women could vote. That the so-called "major" parties are behind the times has always been true. Note, also, of course, the the nomination of Sarah Palin by the GOP would qualify as history to cry about. But, apparently, the crying was for other reasons then...

      I agree that many good things happen all the time, most of them not greatly newsworthy. But this story was pure pablum.
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      • Posted by DrZarkov99 7 years, 8 months ago
        What's sad about the Hillary Clinton candidacy is that the Democratic party passed on the opportunity to nominate a truly outstanding woman like Shirley Chisolm, and instead bestowed the honor on one of the crookedest political game players ever to seek the office.

        Some would say that the bias against choosing a female candidate is so strong that it takes someone with the political muscle to be successful, but I sincerely hope this effort fails. There are several younger, more promising female political figures in both parties that have far less personal criminal baggage that I'd like to see given the chance to become President in the near future.
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        • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
          Doc, there are numerous possible choices, but the system is so corrupt, the choke holds with various strings like money, power, favors etc are so strong, that the good ones have not established any, which is why they are the good ones. I believe all we will get from here on out are Thompson succubi.
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  • Posted by brkssb 7 years, 8 months ago
    "Think this through..." If and when a person chooses to offer assistance to another, and it is an act of good will, and affordable (without sacrifice), I contend that is not altruism and it places value on human life and human interactions, not out of faith in humanity but in recognition of values. To dismiss such acts of kindness and generosity out of hand as "altruism" is to demonstrate a distinct LACK of understanding of the virtues of selfishness and the definition of altruism. Some members of this forum may find it useful to search the Ayn Rand Lexicon for "charity". Thank you, "Nickursis" for posting this and for your comments.
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    • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 7 years, 8 months ago
      My cautions were not about the act itself, of one person helping another, but of the spin of the story: one very needy person being helped by an ailing angel. It is the story of the blind leading the blind from the Bible.

      People help each other all the time. But this was not a story about an otherwise capable person caught in distressing circumstances beyond her control who is then helped by another capable person with the right skills and tools.

      It was a schmaltzy story from a master of saccharine commentary. (See his gushing over how the nomination of Hillary Clinton makes us all proud to be Americans. I wish my dead mother were here to see this.... Not just Mom, but Poor Dead Mom....
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    • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
      Thank you, sir, for your reply. "An act of goodwill" is what I saw here, and I thought it was a clear case of when someone can do something because they know it is the right thing to do.
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  • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 8 months ago
    Thanks Nickursis for your post.
    To be a whole person ,a person whom hungers for all that life has to offer , the person who uses his mind and his heart who acts in his own self interest also who has compassion and empathy and is a person of honor and integrity. That person is an asset to humanity. Having Compassion and empathy for ,and differentiating between a mooch and a Struggling being makes me feel happy and alive. We all know that we didn't get here alone and we are a species that has benefited from cooperation and relationships. No one should be forced to do anything for any one else's behalf except their juvenile offspring. There are many facets and emotions to experience on this river of life and kindness has its benefits to the giver as well as the recipient. I believe it is one aspect that differentiates man from animals.
    With respect to you,
    DOB
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    • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 7 years, 8 months ago
      That sounds like "You did not build that." We all know that we didn't get here alone and we are a species that has benefited from cooperation and relationships.

      You apparently missed the discussion here in the Gulch where it was asserted and defended that you are under no obligation to support your children. (Neither is anyone else required to support your children, but you are not.) And, moreover, if you could only save yourself or your child, one self-identified Objectivist here said that she would let the kid go to save herself. Just sayin'... your personal believes are yours, but they are not accepted by all here.

      Myself, I would save my child, but that choice is mine to make. I do not require that other people live or die for their kids.

      And BTW, a little time on YouTube will bring you too many cloying videos of natural animal enemies grooming each other and frolicking together. Your comments about people being better than animals was unfair to both people and animals.
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      • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 8 months ago
        I did miss the discussion of a parents responsibility to support their children . I respectfully, believe we humans should support
        Our minor children. Sorry for the offense to those of you who don't accept responsibility to your offspring ,for your actions. When I said we didn't get here alone I ment a human needs assistance to live once born if you think I am wrong about that well ..... If someone wouldn't save their child I want nothing to do with them objectivist or not.
        I put no requirements to anyone in my previous comments , nor do I now.
        I don't care if you accept my beliefs or not.
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        • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
          I think people seem to miss the point, I do not need to accept your beliefs, neither do you need to accept mine. I own my own self, and am responsible to myself. I can choose to accept responsibility for any damn thing I want, but I should not be forced to accept responsibility for anything beyond myself. I thought that was an objectivist view. Whether I approve or disapprove of your position on something, I owe you a respectful discussion. Too often I see people who slide off the road and start lecturing or pontificating about a position that implies the other person is wrong, and while that may actually seem true, no one should think they have the last, right, only answer on any issue that can not be conclusively proven through fact and data examination. This reminds me of the discussion we had a couple weeks ago where some people were vehemently trashing others views on something, when it was all a discussion on interpretation of a collection of facts and how some see them fitting together. I leave it to the holy politicians to pontificate and out-gas on all their wonderful holy knowledge. Look how well they have done, other than successfully scamming all of us for years. Your position is yours and deserves as much respect as anyone elses. I do not see anything objectionable in what you have said, whether I agree with them or not ( I do lean in your direction, maybe disagree on some details, but that is why we discuss and debate).
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          • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 8 months ago
            Thanks Nickursis , I appreciate and respect your discourse . I find it a little unnerving and even unrational to not be able to comment honestly to post a viewpoint .I don't expect anyone to just agree with me and it is not my intent to promote anything . I learn and grow from many contributors
            And I am awed and grateful for the intelligence of this online community.
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      • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
        The choice is always yours to make. The woman in this story made a choice, to continue to spawn like a salmon, even in the face of an uncertain future and no way to care for them. I am not arguing that issue, I am just saying that the old man made his choice to do what he did and I agree with his choice. The child thing I did mis and I have a hard time with the whole idea, in that if you choose to do something (reproduce) you have made a choice that has a responsibility attached to it. So, beyond any severe choices (the kid or me type), I think you do have that responsibility, until they are mature enough to fend for themselves. I do agree with the opposites can exist comfortably asepct you mention, but I think Dob was referring to the emotional satisfaction and self worth improvement some feel from doing something altruistic. I can't say animals have that capability, but I cannot say they don't. I think animals are actually more honest and better than most people, for the most part.
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        • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 8 months ago
          I apologize to all animals and people for my reference to both.
          Regarding doing something altruistic I prefer to call it a voluntary act of kindness.
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          • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
            My 7 horses, 2 dogs, 4 cats and 2 goats, appreciate it. I get better responses from them than I do some people....BTW goats are cool..useless..but cool..
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            • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 8 months ago
              Don't goats trim the lawn?
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              • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
                Well, yes, they are good at that, and for some god awful reason, they will eat blackberry bushes by the ton (as well as rosebushes). They have their uses. There was a guy in Portland renting a herd of the little buggers out just for that purpose and was rather successful. My wife got them for our 12 yo grand daughter to learn about care and feeding and responsibility. Unfortunately she is only with us 2-3 months a year, so we get the guys for the rest. But they are surprisingly loyal, and will follow you anywhere, and love attention like a dog. The "bahh" sort of like sheep, but sound much more like a baby. In fact we have the 2, one is twice as big as the other (they are of the pygmy variety) and he will wail like a child until you come pet him and talk to him. Funny as all get out...
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  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 7 years, 8 months ago
    Once one gets away from the lamestream rhetoric you will see mankind's true ways and our natural mutuality for each other. Evil does not reside within our hearts...it was put there in some by creatures that are not at all like us. They are the great unwashed and we the elite on the streets.
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  • Posted by term2 7 years, 8 months ago
    I can understand why people just walked away when she sought help. Its a result of the huge number of entitled "bums" that wander the streets saying anything they need to in order to get free money, food, etc.

    The first thing I would have thought of is that the woman was using her kids to get benefits for her entitled nature. I would have walked past her too, ignoring the tears and manipulations that I have heard and see so many times. Dragging three kids out there would appear to me to be a way to make me feel sorry for them. And it may have indeed been the case.

    Batteries dont go dead cause you leave a light on for a few minutes. They go dead because there is something wrong with the battery or the charging system. Usually there is warning (not always though).

    The older gentlemen helping her is ok with me. He volunteered, either in some sort of altruistic act of washing away his guilt over being alive, or out of a true benevolent spirit inside him. Who knows actually.
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    • Posted by $ allosaur 7 years, 8 months ago
      I carry jumper cables to increase the odds of getting help with a jump but I have asked people I find with a car hood up if all they need is a jump.
      Me dino tries to be a good-hearted prehistoric monster.
      One day I came out of the local Walmart when I saw a pretty young lady flitting about saying "mama" a lot on her cell phone. She approached me and said she desperately needed gas money to get to Pell City.
      I gave her ten bucks and thought no more about it.
      About a month later I walked out of the same Walmart and saw the same young lady flitting about and pretending to talk to her mama.
      She approached me and said she desperately needed gas money to get to Pell City.
      I said, "Remember me? You told me you needed to get to the same place about a month ago."
      The girl's eyes popped wide and she took of running.
      I walked on shaking my head. There's hundreds if not thousands of parking lots for a moocher to work all about the Birmingham area.
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      • Posted by term2 7 years, 8 months ago
        I have turned against the people who feel entitled and want money. It makes me feel bad to ignore them, BUT I have had the same experience as you just relayed. Now, I try (its hard) to be nice and I ask them- "Let me understand something- I missed the part about how I am supposed to work and make money so I can give it to you so you dont have to work. Am I getting the message right?
        That usually nips it in the bud and they walk off.

        FRANCISCO is right- its a war out there and we have to take sides.

        When they ask if I have any change, I tell them YES, but I wont give it to you....
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        • Posted by $ jdg 7 years, 8 months ago
          Same here. I'll give to the local food bank, but I won't give to beggars because it creates an incentive to beg -- and my city already has far too many of them. That goes double for the guys on street corners who come up to you when the light is red.

          And most of all, I'm POed at the idiots who do give them money. They're causing the problem. Any ideas on how to discourage the practice without making it a crime?
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          • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
            It's like feeding stray cats. I am amazed at how many people all over are saying they have these huge numbers of street beggars, are they in a union or something? Used to be one in a blue moon, now I see them all the time on offramps, streetcorners. I just thought it was the free state of Oregon calling to the best of us..guess not.
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        • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
          And that is indeed, how to treat a moocher. However, in this case, I see that the old man rose above the issue of "is she a moocher" and gave her help when needed. Of his own free will. I never know if the moochers on the side of the road are real or not, and it does detract from people truly in need, and makes it unnecessarily hard to find the difference.
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      • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
        The moochers are every where's Dino, they inhabit an inordinate number of off ramps and street corners. I gave up feeling sorry since there is always temp work to be found.Heinlein's jar after all..
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        • Posted by $ allosaur 7 years, 8 months ago
          I know, I know. I've turned away many an obvious moocher.
          The most memorable one was a big muscular dude, who asked old limping dino for money when I walked out of a gun show with an AR-15 in my hands.
          I thought he may try to mug me for the rifle, which was of course empty without an inserted clip. Kept my distance.
          Next person I saw was a security guard, who I sent running after the beggar.
          One thing you wrote I don't get. The link is all I found about "Heinlein's jar" when I tried to look it up.

          https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...
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          • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
            In "Have Space Suit, Will Travel" the boys dad did not believe in Banks or checks. He had a jar, where he put wads of money. Anyone could use it, and when it was empty, he figured he had to go work to get some more. If people who had the "moocher" case, ever thought that way, they would get Temp work to fill the jar, vice begging. But then, they must be allergic to work or something...
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            • Posted by $ allosaur 7 years, 8 months ago
              Must be one of those minute details you just can't look up with a PC search engine.
              As many times as I've seen Heinlein's name when I've looked in on the Gulch, maybe I should look for him in the science fiction section during my next Barnes & Noble visit.
              Come to think of it, I DID read Starship Troopers after I saw the movie.
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              • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
                Oh, Heinlein books are super. I have loved his stories since a youngling. Lots of straight up character and honesty.The later books kinda got a lot of people in an uproar, as he portrayed his perceptions on sex and family in ways a lot of people did not approve of, especially with Lazarus Long. But he had many good stories, including The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (which I would love to see as a movie or mini series) and Starship Troopers (abused by Hollywood into trash movies).
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    • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
      Indeed, just so. I don't know but that does not mean his actions are without merit.She just reflects what the government has bred, dependence and need. In my mind they have become unwitting victims, one reason AR was so refreshing, she codified what I had been seeing for years. I also do not stop to help unless I am really sure of safety for the exact reasons you state. Times have gotten rougher and rougher, and the real people get the short end, usually accompanied by their own bad habits.
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      • Posted by term2 7 years, 8 months ago
        Absolutely. I feel terrible just ignoring the homeless, BUT 99% of them are just moochers in training, and I would feel worse giving them money only to see them drink or drug it away.

        I am more upset at the people who DO give them money, as they are just enabling the bad behavior that got these people into trouble in the first place.
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        • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
          Indeed, that is true. I get frustrated as Government (read: City of Portland) decide they can fix the problem by spending 100 million on a shelter for 600, just to draw 600 more in from Washington and California. There is a fine line between helping and enabling. Government is all about enabling, with someone elses money, that THEY had to work to earn.
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          • Posted by term2 7 years, 8 months ago
            You are right. I remember Oscar goodman, mayor of Las Vegas, wanted to let the moocher homeless stay in an underutilized jail just out of town (to keep them from annoying the tourists). He got terrible criticism- how could he treat homeless that way... I thought it was a good idea actually
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            • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
              The real issue with almost any "help" program is it just draws that many more. Just like we have discussed, it is hard to separate the moochers from the true people with real issues that could help themselves given a lift.
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              • Posted by term2 7 years, 8 months ago
                I work across the street from some sort of Lutheran food bank. They appear to open once a week, and each week the lines and crowds get larger. As people figure out its free food, they want their 'share' I guess.
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                • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 8 months ago
                  The benevolence of organizations funded from freely given charities, that is the type of group the forefathers envisioned to provide a stop gap for the poor and weak.
                  Maybe the crowds get bigger each week because the govt is disabling the economic engine of the country and jobs are being sucked down the vacuum of regulations and impediments to job creation.
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                  • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
                    Again, it goes back to the problem of knowing the reasons behind each person showing up. The religious people just gave up, and pass over the question. I see the thing in the little 10000 person town I live near, the Seventh Day Adventist church somehow gets a large amount of produce and such and every Thursday, there are a good hundered-2 hundred people there. I figure I do not donate to the church, and I do not go to their food bank thing, so I let it go and do not have a dog in that fight. If they want to do it, good for them, just like the old man in the story. Something maybe to admire, but not get mired in.
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  • -1
    Posted by $ MikeMarotta 7 years, 8 months ago
    Oh come on!! She has four kids by way of a "partner" not a legal husband. She has no resources. A simple light drained the battery... Yes, it was nice of the old man to help, very benevolent. But the lesson here is just more altruistic, mystical hogwash. What is she going to do the next time she has a problem. As Dagny demanded of Cuffy Meigs, "What is your plan for the day after tomorrow?"

    How could you at all actually help that woman without completely restructuring her personal philosophy? Maybe we should send her a copy of an Ayn Rand book. But which one?

    I down voted everything back to 1. Let's think this through.
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    • Posted by $ Abaco 7 years, 8 months ago
      There is truth in what you say, Mike. I have found that it takes a surprisingly small amount of effort to be effective in taking somebody somewhat under-wing. If anybody can change to become more effective it's a single mother. Not always, but often.
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    • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
      Well good for you MIke, I hope you feel better. I cannot own others peoples lives, and if they crew them up, that is their problem. If a person decides to help them, however screwed up they are, I find that a good thing. The fact there are people around that still think that way is also a good thing. Is her life a wreck? Uh, yea. I was not lost on the 4 children, "an absent partner" and no support" But then she is no more worse than 90% of the rest of the country, most of whom should know better. I don't know her story, or her facts, so I do not want to judge.
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      • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 7 years, 8 months ago
        You misunderstand. The old man's benevolence was fine. What was not was the story, the way that her need was blown up to be the story. People help each other all the time. It does not need to be a saccharine substitute.

        I would have helped without question. I am, after all, a volunteer responder. I chose that and do it easily.

        My point was only that the story was that her deep and many needs validated his helping. The needier the better.

        Government aid versus private action is not the issue here. We do not have government emergency repair vehicles touring the roads.
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        • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
          I am not arguing the points. I do see that there are fine lines that are very hard to decide, as well as very bad people using everyone else. If the story was 100% straight, and the woman was a co-dependent who thought spawning like a salmon would keep her man, she was obviously wrong, and is in dire need of some basic life counseling. Like any report I see today about most anything, certain aspects get emphasized. "needy" is one of the trademark tools used by those who would manipulate others. I can't say what went on here beyond what was told, but I do see a connection with what government does (see City of Portland and homeless shelter for 100million) and use of the "they are needy" descriptor. Manipulation is rampant, and I can't say she is not one, but I do feel bad for the kids, another generation being bred to hope someone will "help them" rather than help themselves.
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    • Posted by Joy1inchrist 7 years, 8 months ago
      Mike ... or maybe this is just a beautiful example of why the gov't. shouldn't coerce us into supporting others in "need". Let us, individually, determine who we choose to help. In your (and my) fair city of Austin, many street corner beggers are helped with money, food, water or perhaps just a kind word and a smile. I have helped many, on different occasions ... perhaps you have chosen to do the same. It certainly is no sacrifice to me. I don't know their personal stories, of course. But I do know one thing - they are worse off than me and maybe all they need that day is just a little compassion. And the day after tomorrow? I hope they will seek a better solution.
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      • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 7 years, 8 months ago
        Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief... Everyone has a role in society. My issue is with the sugar coating on the story. It is, as you probably know better than I, the parable of the blind leading the blind from the book of Matthew.

        I see the same beggars at the same corners here in Austin. Sometimes I see them at different corners. It's a living. One day, I was running errands and was flush with cash and I saw a girl and dog at an intersection. I gave her five bucks. What's not to like about a girl and a dog? But I have not seen her since.

        One of the reasons that I moved to Austin is that when the temperatures are over 100, you can find those beggars on the medians selling bottles of iced water. It is very entrepreneurial here.
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        • Posted by $ 7 years, 8 months ago
          This is true, and we have our share of them here. It has become a cultural norm to beg in our society in the last 20-30 years. I am sure it is all connected to the increase in the "I will give it to you"political atmosphere. I am tired of being the unwilling donor...
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    • Posted by CircuitGuy 7 years, 8 months ago
      "What is she going to do the next time she has a problem."
      I lived in FL for several years, and I suspect the answer is she's trying to marry a geek who will get her life stabilized

      I understand what you're saying about it being not a news story, closer to an Onion story, but I'm sucker for happy stories of people helping one another of their own free will.

      You're right that it probably wouldn't be story by anyone's reckoning if some old guy saw a reasonably-affluent middle-aged person like me trying to push-start my car and gave me a jump. I still like the spirit.
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    • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 7 years, 8 months ago
      It's not mystical hogwash...it's a natural mutuality expressed in rational self interest...you yourself might find yourself in that same position. It is not a sacrifice and one gives up nothing in helping someone.
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