By: Michaella Ortega
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Mikka Ortega is the daughter of murdered Palawan journalist and anti-corruption advocate Gerardo 'Doc Gerry' Ortega)
All this talk about squatters got me thinking that maybe Bianca Gonzales was onto something. The poor should not be babied. Why should they be? They don’t deserve our minced words and fake smiles.
We live in a meritocracy. In this day and age, you are judged for your merits. You get what you deserve. And the poor deserve to be put in their place, once and for all.
And because we don’t have time for too many reasons--you know, busy toiling and paying for taxes and all--here are just 3 reasons why the poor should not be babied:
1) Poor people leech off and steal.
And, of course, conversely we don’t [leech off or steal]. Never! Not us, no. We are, all of us, independent. We can pay for our own rent. Uh well, at least the cable. Okay fine! We always pay for the movies and music we enjoy. There you go.
Poor people though just have the thief vibes about them, don’t they? Every single time they’re around they make you more alert--hugging your bag like your long lost love. Wallet? Check. Cell phone? Check. Quick! Get to a safe air-conditioned place and buy things you don’t need!
Plus, the poor just leech off someone else’s hard work. What’s worse is they feel entitled to it, as if they deserve these comforts. Not if you don’t work hard for it you don’t. It’s not the taxpayers’ fault that they’re illiterate and sick.
We live in a democracy. Therefore, everyone should be treated equal. No exceptions. Yes, even the handicapped. Honestly, why should we give special treatment to the blind and the deaf? And why do cripples get special parking anyway?
The solution to poverty is quite easy really. Come, I’ll give you a run-on. All they have to do is get money they don’t have to send themselves to schools they can never afford for them to even have work that will pay enough for them to be able to afford these comforts. Of course that’s hard, impossible even. But that’s how the world works, okay?
2) Poor people are lazy.
It is rather obvious, isn’t it? Why poor people are poor. Poor people are poor because they are lazy. There, I said it. And we really don’t need empirical data or sociological studies to know that for sure. One look at them and we know. They’re lazy.
We, on the other hand, are not lazy. We are never late for work. We don’t ever wish to stay at home and sleep all day. Oh god, no. And sometimes, we find it in ourselves to work for 9 hours straight! Imagine that? 9 hours! (Yay! Enough leaves for a Euro tour!) We’re such workaholics, it’s depressing.
The poor, on the other hand, have no one else to blame but themselves. They always choose the wrong job. Someone should tell these people to pick jobs (a) with responsible employers; (b) where your bosses will never ask you to work for 18 hours straight or never go home; (c) where you are given the healthcare and retirement benefits you deserve; (d) where you never get abused; (e) and lastly, where you still have work 6 months later.
Besides, what do they have to say for themselves when you have so many rags to riches stories floating around? Sure, we’re not billionaires either but that’s only because we hate math.
3) Poor people deserve to be poor.
Yes, they do. A professor once said, we are what we choose. We are but the sum total of all our life choices. Ergo the poor are poor because they deliberately and continuously choose to be poor. They refuse to get better. There is a long list of outreach programs out there. See! And they’re still poor? Come on!
To drive home a point let’s quote a person who deserved to be rich, Paris Hilton (this was before she became overrated and boring): “Be born into the right family. Choose your chromosomes wisely. This may seem ludicrous advice, but actually it isn’t. If an heiress is in control of everything, why shouldn’t she be in control of who she’s born to? “
So while the poor were busy starting their lives wrong, we all worked hard to be born to healthy, learned families. Our choice paid off or, more appropriately, paid for our school and our vices. And after years and years of education, these same families welcomed us back to their houses -- back to soft couches and full fridges. Sucks to have poor parents!
Don't help
The conclusion to this non-sarcastic piece is rather simple. The solution to poverty is to pass quick judgment and make hasty generalizations about something as complex as poverty. Opinions about the right and humane policies should not concern us. These topics are but conversation fodder for them lily-livered liberals who do nothing but talk out of their arses. Not us. Not the realistic and practical people of the Philippines.
And remember, in the rare occurrence that poor people make us feel uncomfortable, do nothing. They don’t deserve our help. They decided to be lazy. They chose to be poor. Yes, even that 8-year old kid who spends the night under the bridge and the day asking for alms.
Had the roles been reversed, we, all of us, would expect to be treated the same way. Because clearly, nobody deserves second or third chances and there is no such thing as charity or hope.
Lastly, don't ever forget to congratulate yourself each time to make disparaging remarks about a person who happens to be poor. You’re a better human being for it.
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