Do you feel bad about "the starving kids in Africa" ?

[Auron225]

I think the number of people saying "My money wont make a difference" is tragic. True, your individual donation makes little difference. But if everyone thought like that, then nobody would donate anything - everything does make a difference, no matter how small. To me, money is better spent on a starving a child who can now survive and hope for a future than the useless crap Id otherwise get.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

I don't care, but I always think I should hate myself for not caring, but I don't...

It's an awful situation, WHY DONT I CARE DAMN IT!!

My thoughts on it all, nicely wrapped up in a neat little post.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

No. Every year its the same thing. An why are these parents having kids when they cant even feed themselves? No matter how much money that is thrown at them it will never solve there problem. Fact is, they leave in a desert - no water and difficult farming land. What do they expect? Throw them some condoms, that will deal with the spread of aids/hiv and the constant babies born into starvation. An then, maybe, they can start fixing there problems for the better and make a better place for any future kids. All they do now is give birth to more victims.

 

[KAPTAINmORGANnWo4life]

I care enough to advocate new methods of solving the problems affecting the 3rd-5th Worlds. The mechanisms that are in place now, IE Charities which focus on subsistence rather than growth, if they focus on anything beyond their own pocketbooks, simply do not work. Homeless/downtrodden people in the 1st and 2nd Worlds do need only a warm meal and a roof to have the potential to rise above poverty, but a nation with no economy, no laws, and no infrastructure to build upon needs less wells and elementary schools and more clean, fairly run, and judicious avenues for the nation, and therefore its population, to grow economically. This was the problem with the colonialism that put these regions in the state they're in: It obliterated their economies by taking the knees out from under their Secondary Economy.

My logic is that if you're going to be idealistic, don't work in absolutes and methods that have proven to be unable to turn that ideal into a reality.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

In all seriousness, I see a bum on the street? I give him a dollar. Even if its just to go buy drugs, if guys gotta beg for cash he needs that dollar more then I do.

But I'm not going to stress about every single horrible thing happening to people in the world. I got a credit card bill to pay.

 

[MrBenSampson]

"Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for the rest of his life." I learned that in school as a child, and it confused me greatly when the people who taught me that phrase would donate to feed the Africans.

Sending food, water and medicine won't fix the problem. The people you feed won't have some epiphany, and start building efficient farms, schools, hospitals, and so on. They'll just eat, wage wars against the other tribes, rape everything that moves, pump out more starving children, and beg for another donation.

If you want to do your part and help a single African child, go there and adopt one to bring home. Fixing the problems in Africa would require changing everything over there, including their culture.

 

[Adam28]

This thread just reminded me of Karl Pilkington.

Anyway, on topic. Yeah, charity isn't going to fix the problem but I'm sure that the majority of us here wouldn't be able to solve the problems there either. This doesn't mean we shouldn't give to charity when we can, but I think a little bit of research would help. There should be more charities focusing on development or relocation for areas like these.

 

[HenrySugar]

When you boil it down to what the problem is, "starving kids in Africa," you realize that there is only so much you can do. This includes other problems world wide. Am I okay with it? No. Have I tried doing something about it? Yes. Did it change anything? No. Will I continue to try? Yes. Are there other important issues that rank just as high? Yes. Have I tried doing something about those? Yes. Same outcome? Sadly.

 

[Saltychipmunk]

Starving kids in Africa... nope ... not at all, sending food and money to these African nations does nothing to fix the problem.. the problem being that the governments of those nations are ruled by corrupt bastards.
Reality check Africa has the greatest abundance of natural resources on earth. If they cant succeed there then they wont ever succeed.

plus what about the starving People here?
hell in america alone 15% of the population (40+ million people) .. more people than the combined population of several African nations... are in poverty.

Let that sink in for a second. 40 million people.

Why the hell should we be worrying about nations in Africa when we have a nations worth of poor here?
Why should we be worrying about giving to nations in Africa when we know that aid will be poorly managed by corrupt governments with selfish rulers?


I am all for humanitarian efforts and all that. But there are priorities that need to be set straight.

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

The people saying they don't care are funny...

Of course you care, as apathetic as you want to be... It's not always "super cool" to be apathetic, even if the internet makes it seem that way.

However, I don't donate shit.

If I was capable of living beyond comfortably, I would donate an appropriate amount... and anyone who says otherwise is a spoiled shithead, a liar, or a true asshole.

While it's true not everyone might be telling the truth, I think you are underestimating apathy. The way I see it (and most of my friends see it) is "is this effect my life in any way?". I find it very easy to not care about matters that are oceans away from me.

I understand what you're saying, but that is a very sheltered and naive attitude toward life. World experience breeds empathy. I've pretty much been around the world, and seen all types of people who truly deserve more than I. Sure, it's nice to be pampered and spoiled for a while, but soon you see that the people who live their lives like that are the worst of all of us. Being apathetic shows a true lack of humanity.

In the words of Helen Keller, "Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all - the apathy of human beings."

 

[mylittleromanianlove]

Yes and no.

Yes because: well it would suck to be starving

no because: Does it ever say they are ever doing things to help themselves? no. Not to mention that over in Africa all they have to worry about is getting mauled by wild animals and getting various diseases of sorts. and starving of course. But in the long run they have a simpler life and they don't have to worry about politics, social class, or really any of the unimportant things we worry about in other more privilaged countries. so there.

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

Does it ever say they are ever doing things to help themselves? no.

Is... is that some kind of joke?

Please don't tell me you're an American, because I spend a lot of time trying to convince people that Americans are decent human beings for the most part, but you're making it difficult.

 

[Call me Baz]

Yes it's all very sad and a pity and a waste of human lives each day. More than anything, though, it's annoyance bordering anger I feel for those adverts. How much money must go into them? Add that to the amount charities spend on street canvassers and you have a big amount of money they use "for a greater good" I am sure, but in the end it just proves that they aren't doing everything in their power. I saw a documentary (by Channel 4, UK) about "Chuggers" or charity muggers that accost you when you're going about your business in shopping centres and high streets and the like, which reported that the average donation term for these charitable folks that give in is 12 months, and the money invested in each signer is equal to donations lasting 18 months. -6 Months' worth of money seems like a good investment portfolio for a business right?

I'll let people with disposable income figure it out, although the chances of many of them using this website is rather low, they're far too concerned with people pirating their mus- whoops almost called out the Entertainment industry there!

TL;DR Not enough money goes to charitable causes even when given to a charity, I hate them for it. Millionaires sort it out, I'll help if my income reaches 7 figures.

 

[LongMuckDong]

I got enough problems keeping 100gb flowing into the house a month and keeping up with new game releases, Nikes and DJ gear... does this make me a ****?

Yes, and No.

Do I care?

Yes, but I figure if I get to Angelina Jolie status (or 1/10 of her $ levels) in terms of $$$$, I'll fly over myself and hand out a bunch of food and helpful shit.. I don't trust ANY of these Aid organisations enough to give them money and trust it will get to the lil' African peeps.

Here in NZ a bunch of World Vision employees got arrested for defrauding the organisation out of $200,000.. so yeah, that shot my trust in those fuckers.

Once I have enough grip, I will see to Africa and it's worries.

 

[Suicidejim]

Sure, I feel bad, but then, like any relatively well-off Westerner, I promptly forget about it.

 

[Koroviev]

I care about people in need because I wouldn't desire to be in their situation. If I prefer that others care about me when I'm in need, then I need to care about others currently in that position. It's the fundamental basis of ethics.

Saying "Well, my donation won't change everything" is a cop-out. It doesn't need to. Does it make a difference to you when you buy yourself something? Then it should make a difference if you help out just one person.

 

[MaxiP62]

No, It isn't my fault they're in that situation. I may donate every now and again, but I don't really care. That is really horrible of me, but It's how I feel.