Do you feel lucky...? Well, do you???

[username]

I was watching an interview with Bono on t.v. tonight and he was asked why he does what he does to help the poor in other countries. He said something to the effect of, he could have just as easily been born a starving child in Africa. By some luck of the draw, he wasn't born in to some third world country suffering from famine, drought, disease, what have you.

That struck me. By some random freaking luck, I was born where I was (in the U.S.) in one of the richest countries in the world.

The randomness of that makes me feel like I want to do more for those that, through no fault of their own, were born in a fucked up place.

[Lady Cop]

someone told me once that being born into a filthy shithole rife with disease and starving to death before age 1 was a step in that person's karma. that they had some bad stuff to make up for in stages.

i am not saying i believe that, but i thought about it. probably as good an explanation as any since there isn't one really.

yes, i know i was very fortunate in to whom and what circumstances i was born. i am ever grateful.

[username]

When I see pictures of kids that are starving (and I mean starving/dyiing) in places like Sudan or Somalia or wherever, I don't typically examine why them and not me. But the comments tonight made me reexamine how I take where I was born for granted. I was born lucky and those kids were not and I'm no more deserving of my good luck than they are of their bad luck. It's sad.

[Cracker]

It isn't really luck. Those are some of the oldest civilizations on Earth and they had some of the most fertile lands (if they had managed them correctly). Why are they starving and we aren't? Education vs. ignorance and tribalism vs. nationalism. They could never get past the tribal this-is-MY-goat-thing and the I-am-man-you-stay-naked-and-let-me-hump-you-when-I-want-thing. It fucked them and every child born to them.

Could it be fixed? Yep. Not by throwing money at it, though. They need to change how they live. I don't mean the Jesus thing, either, missionaries have been going for hundreds of years. They need to pool their resources, take care of what they have, and not let some fucking warlord with a gun have all the supplies and medicine we send.

The Japanese live on a fucking rock in the middle of the ocean and they do just fine.

Some people here don't have a good life. We need to concentrate on them. They have a chance.

[Cracker]

I was watching an interview with Bono on t.v. tonight and he was asked why he does what he does to help the poor in other countries. He said something to the effect of, he could have just as easily been born a starving child in Africa. By some luck of the draw, he wasn't born in to some third world country suffering from famine, drought, disease, what have you.

Yes he was. He's Irish.

[cannongal]

Yes and no-well maybe.

I grew up with a mother whose idea of a nightcap was a fifth of rum at 3 in the afternoon. She thought it was fun to see how many wooden spoons she could break over my back on any given day. She didn't believe in working much either, so at any given point in time we had no electricity, phone, cable or food in the house. I spent part of my childhood wondering which neighbor I might be able to mooch supper off of. At 16 I had a full time job, as well as going to school, and had moved into a rooming house to get away from her.

My children, however, are very lucky-(mostly because they have never met their grandmother)-also because of the way I grew up, I tend to spoil them rotten. They have never gone hungry, they don't know what a spanking feels like (they lose privileges or get extra chores), they've never gotten teased for wearing rags or not having the latest gizmo that's all the rage.

I like having their friends over, and their friends like coming over (nobody would ever come to my house While growing up-they were all afraid of my mother).

You can be born into povety-but still have a decent life with the right parents. On the flip side, you can come from an affluent family, but never know love and affection because your parents are too selfish to give you any. (as with the case of a few of my son's friends-whose parents provide them with all the latest gizmos and gadgets, and yet, they hang at my house all weekend, are made to stack wood and do dishes, and still not want to leave on Sunday because they had too much fun playing charades with an old karaoke machine or something like that)

[Duchess]

Yeah, I do feel lucky. I know I've been very fortunate to have the life I have had but I also know that life can go from sugar to shit in an instant and I take nothing for granted, absolutely nothing.

[pspence]

Wow CannonGal, that was very inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

[IMaDick]

My childhood was normal, I guess that is why I'm the only normal person in Mock.

[Middle Finger]

I was watching an interview with Bono on t.v. tonight and he was asked why he does what he does to help the poor in other countries. He said something to the effect of, he could have just as easily been born a starving child in Africa. By some luck of the draw, he wasn't born in to some third world country suffering from famine, drought, disease, what have you.

That struck me. By some random freaking luck, I was born where I was (in the U.S.) in one of the richest countries in the world.

The randomness of that makes me feel like I want to do more for those that, through no fault of their own, were born in a fucked up place.

Good thoughts ... and it goes to show you that life is a jungle.

[Maggot]

I have never liked U2 the guitar player is ok though.

[username]

It isn't really luck. Those are some of the oldest civilizations on Earth and they had some of the most fertile lands (if they had managed them correctly). Why are they starving and we aren't? Education vs. ignorance and tribalism vs. nationalism. They could never get past the tribal this-is-MY-goat-thing and the I-am-man-you-stay-naked-and-let-me-hump-you-when-I-want-thing. It fucked them and every child born to them.

Could it be fixed? Yep. Not by throwing money at it, though. They need to change how they live. I don't mean the Jesus thing, either, missionaries have been going for hundreds of years. They need to pool their resources, take care of what they have, and not let some fucking warlord with a gun have all the supplies and medicine we send.

The Japanese live on a fucking rock in the middle of the ocean and they do just fine.

Some people here don't have a good life. We need to concentrate on them. They have a chance.

I've been "lending money" to people through an organization called Kiva for a couple of years now. I've lent and been repaid the same $50 three times or so. It's kind of cool.

http://www.kiva.org/about/how

[cladking]

Perhaps I'm a little jaded but it seems that in some of these cases contributions tend to fuel the problem rather than solve it. Sure, when starvation is the result of famine or war anything people can do to ease the suffering is a very good thing but some of the starvation is virtually an annual thing. No matter how much money is sent to aid a starving baby the parents will get it first and only after the rulers have sucked up large percentages of it. But this isn't so much the problem as is the fact that people just tend to reproduce when you feed them and if there isn't food there won't be any the next year either in some cases.

Charities in this country actually send as little as 2% of contributions to help the needy. They have massive operating budgets because they are paying millions and millions to Madison Avenue for advertising and they have staff that have huge salaries. Then the dribs and drabs that get there is sucked up by corrupt leaders leaving little to reach the starving. The adults take the lion's share of the actual shipments.

The UN seems to be able to actually get food on site but they mostly only get involved when the cause is war.

Malnutrition will exist as long as man most probably but there's no reason for starvation other than corruption and greed while the reserves are full and farmers are paid to not grow food.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

All them starving baby issues would go away if their parents would stop fucking and having babies they can't fucking feed.
I grew up in a shit hole too but managed to get over it. Props to Bono and all those that choose to help those people, I help where I can and when I think about it. I don't go nuts with it and I don't lose any sleep over it because it can suck you dry.
To the original question, no doubt I am lucky to have been born here, but I am what I am because I worked at it. Being born here is just a step, you have to do the rest of it your self or you end up under a bridge with the other shitbags

[Duchess]

I am what I am because I worked at it. Being born here is just a step, you have to do the rest of it your self

That was an awesome post but I particularly like this part. ^^^^^^

I think there is a lot of excuse making bullshit going on "out there".

[Middle Finger]

I guess I should stop blaming women for my trance-like breast-magnetized states ...

[username]

All them starving baby issues would go away if their parents would stop fucking and having babies they can't fucking feed.

To the original question, no doubt I am lucky to have been born here, but I am what I am because I worked at it. Being born here is just a step, you have to do the rest of it your self or you end up under a bridge with the other shitbags

Oh FFS, there's a limit to the whole "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality. If you don't realize the difference between being born here vs. somewhere like Somalia you're an idiot.

I get what you're saying for people born here but I don't think you can or should have the same expectations for someone born in a truly poverty stricken, tribal, messed up, dried up, piece of shit nation.

With the lack of easy access to birth control, it's surprising these people don't have more kids. They're probably fucking a lot less often than Mock's resident hooker Duchess.

[Duchess]

They're probably fucking a lot less often than Mock's resident hooker Duchess.

Have you lost your fuckin' mind?

[SIXFOOTERsez]

All them starving baby issues would go away if their parents would stop fucking and having babies they can't fucking feed.

To the original question, no doubt I am lucky to have been born here, but I am what I am because I worked at it. Being born here is just a step, you have to do the rest of it your self or you end up under a bridge with the other shitbags

Oh FFS, there's a limit to the whole "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality. If you don't realize the difference between being born here vs. somewhere like Somalia you're an idiot.

No, there isn't. My point that you missed is you can be a POS here in a wonderful country like ours or in a shithole like somalia. One can also be a superior person there as well as here. Its choices, here or there. If those people wanted to be good, educated contributing members of society, they would not continue to be a POS when they get here. They CHOOSE to be ignorant shitbags

[Cracker]

They have land, water, seed if they want it, free access to the best our science has to offer. There is no good reason to live like that. We didn't have public education in this country for over two hundred years, but we made that happen.

They are over-populated and AIDS-ridden. There is pretty much just one cure for that. Who wants to hump if you are hungry and dirty and covered with flies? Not sexy.

I don't forgive people who keep having children they can't feed. That is wrong anywhere in the world.