Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Not a penny

Today in a letter to the Metro one reader urged other Brits not to give a penny to Katrina relief. His reasoning was why give money to the richest country in the world especially when US foreign policy has been so repugnant to just about everybody else on the planet.

I didn't particularly care for the letter writer's tone, but I think I know where the sentiment is coming from. I mean what if you had a big, rich neighbour who played loud music and convinced your kids to go on wild, expensive escapades and then his house burned down. Well how charitable would you feel? I guess I'd still give the guy a bathrobe (probably the Vol-in-Law's) and a cup of coffee, but then I'm an American

Brits are normally pretty generous but I don't see a big outpouring of individual charity on this one.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I completely understand where the writer is coming from. I'm ashamed of our current administration and its arrogant "do as I say, not as I do" attitude. But I spent today at the Austin Convention Center helping some of the 5,000 evacuees who are trying to get back on their feet, and I want everyone to know that these people need help. Our government nor the administration will see a penny of the contributions, it will go to help people who are homeless and have no personal belongings of any kind. They need help and I hope that they won't be further punished for living in a country of good people but that is led by a shameful group of people. It is bad enough that they were neglected by their own government for almost a week, stuck in the Astrodome and convention center that was run by gun wielding gangsters watching their children be raped, living in filth.

Vol Abroad said...

I understand, but I'm not too happy about it in a way. It makes me feel a little unloved.

Part of the attitude is that the US has plenty of money anyway, so we should we give them any? But I don't think folks understand how many of these people have nothing and are down from 'not much' before.