poverty
Wednesday, 15. October 2008, 19:10:55
i don't know anything for sure but i think that if people who
have more than they need would share directly with those who
obviously have very little, in time, there would be no poverty;
and sickness would disappear also.
spell live backwards and it is evil.
live and let live; or evil and let evil.
if people would just practice a little direct charity there would be enough of everything for everyone.
also, the ways to get out of poverty, no matter how low one's
circumstances:
do nothing that isn't necessary.
work at something; anything. a day at a time; the universe will
respond.
help others. at least it will keep you connected to humanity.
have an aim I AM, a-I-m
my friend ooo
ooo took this picture of me
i was never really poor, even when i was homeless i still managed to get cigarettes. one portrait a day was enough to keep me alive on the venice beach boardwalk.
http://my.opera.com/community/blog/2008/10/15/blog-action-day-today
i recommend an insightful essay on the subject:
http://my.opera.com/Theskyunder/blog/2008/10/15/poverty-in-awareness?cid=6216828
http://my.opera.com/community/blog/2008/10/15/blog-action-d
ay-today
have more than they need would share directly with those who
obviously have very little, in time, there would be no poverty;
and sickness would disappear also.
spell live backwards and it is evil.
live and let live; or evil and let evil.
if people would just practice a little direct charity there would be enough of everything for everyone.
also, the ways to get out of poverty, no matter how low one's
circumstances:
do nothing that isn't necessary.
work at something; anything. a day at a time; the universe will
respond.
help others. at least it will keep you connected to humanity.
have an aim I AM, a-I-m
my friend ooo
ooo took this picture of me
i was never really poor, even when i was homeless i still managed to get cigarettes. one portrait a day was enough to keep me alive on the venice beach boardwalk.
http://my.opera.com/community/blog/2008/10/15/blog-action-day-today
i recommend an insightful essay on the subject:
http://my.opera.com/Theskyunder/blog/2008/10/15/poverty-in-awareness?cid=6216828
http://my.opera.com/community/blog/2008/10/15/blog-action-d
ay-today
(6%)
WIDGETIZE
1 2 Next »
Angeliki # 15. October 2008, 20:11
poverty should be vanished,
we all have so much more than we need.
Angeliki # 15. October 2008, 20:13
hugs to the handsome guy in the picture
B. Mazumder # 15. October 2008, 20:14
Yeah. I guess we cant help others if we have no idea about how to help ourselves. Once we find that out, we cant live a full life without helping others while we help ourselves, in our little ways. Even a good thought counts.
scott cumming # 15. October 2008, 20:29
i know i was brave to show my worst picture of myself... but you flatter me.
b.,
you're right. even a good thought counts. just the same as a bad thought can hurt.
Angeliki # 15. October 2008, 20:32
I always saw you with the eyes of the mind and heart,
it is good to see you in person too not that I did not see your pictures before, I even told you which one it is my favorite
*hugs*
David # 15. October 2008, 21:39
Allan # 15. October 2008, 21:40
PainterWoman # 15. October 2008, 21:49
Definitely not the worst. It's a very nice picture. And very paintable.
scott cumming # 15. October 2008, 21:58
which one?
ravo,
good point about sharing.
allan,
but you live in denmark where the politics are influenceable. here, they do whatever they like.
thank you pam, for the affirmation. i guess it's just that dent in my forehead i don't like to see. otherwise it's not too bad. that dent was when a flying baseball bat hit me head-on when i was ten years old.
the colors are very rembrandt and the composition is very 'chirico'. yeah, it's paintable.
PainterWoman # 15. October 2008, 23:33
Angeliki # 15. October 2008, 23:44
OMG I know your photo album better than you do by now ! that's scary
deborah # 16. October 2008, 02:59
Angeliki # 16. October 2008, 03:17
my very brief trip to Austria left me with very limited memories.
However I do remember her eyes lookig at me.The pain the despair.
Her clothes were very worn,
she was holding a newspaper looking looking at the section of job opportunities.
I have seen her look in faces of the homeless/people in need
here in New York City,
Pain and poverty has no nationality, no religion, no race, no age, no sexual orientation.
The expression of a hungry person it is the same .
Nobody
absolutely nobody will stand in a corner waiting for help
unless they are in need.
I never saw a rich person ,
an educated person with a job,
a mentally healthy person
wait in a corner for pennies to buy a meal.
I am the last to know who is in need or pretends.
My charity goes to any who I can afford to help without questioning.
Poverty does have the same look no matter where you are....
scott cumming # 16. October 2008, 04:43
in all those years he hung out there and panhandled for his meals.
after hanging out at my display for the summer and the fall of 2000
i convinced him to put his poems on display. i gave him paper and paint to start with and brushes... he began to sell his work for five dollars apiece and stopped panhandling.
we spent many an hour philosophizing together. he had a wry wit and was very intelligent. i put his picture up above.
deb,
i still wear that same hat in the winter. thank you for commenting.
meli,
yes, prolonged hunger can change your face. hunger is horrible.
you're right. about the photo i agree... it's the best. i had no idea so many people commented there... nobody told me. that's cool.
Dan DeVille # 16. October 2008, 13:15
Great post. Only some of us had a great insight on the poverty subject as you did.
It's always warm to read your texts.
Peace,
Dan
Nicolas Borgsmidt # 16. October 2008, 14:43
may your name be kept holy.
May your kingdom come.
May your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.
And never bring us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
Amen
God bless you all folks
scott cumming # 16. October 2008, 19:08
dan,
thanks for the warm comment.
nic,
thanks for the prayer.
peace... yes
Nicolas Borgsmidt # 16. October 2008, 19:46
I feel so lucky...thinking about my kids, my fiancé, my friends, my appartment, my painting, my job...
scott cumming # 16. October 2008, 20:12
Nicolas Borgsmidt # 16. October 2008, 20:23
Everytime I´m very happy I´m in danger of not sleeping for long periods of time
Angeliki # 16. October 2008, 20:26
"
Every time I´m very happy I´m in danger of not sleeping for long periods of time
If my bed was warmed I would have done the same !!!
I am very
FIFINELEB # 16. October 2008, 20:36
scott cumming # 16. October 2008, 20:40
Nicolas Borgsmidt # 16. October 2008, 20:40
But I put out bait from time to time. Good dinners and wine and massages
Angeliki # 16. October 2008, 20:53
man I just had a feeling!!!
after you mentioned " I am glad I had a call ...." I knew the steps to your heart were taken !!
Nicolas Borgsmidt # 16. October 2008, 21:00
scott cumming # 16. October 2008, 21:08
ummmm love the one you're with
cherish the one you love.
Angeliki # 16. October 2008, 21:14
Allan # 16. October 2008, 21:25
But poverty should be made illegal - and that can be done. It's about political willpower and nothing else.
Think of the huge amount of money spent on bailout of badly managed banks and other financial institutions. There you have it - suddenly there's no lack of money. But when a working poor single mother with three kids needs a helping hand, then there's suddenly a hundred good reasons why there's no money in society.
Excuse me, but that's bullshit.
And I think this goes for Scandinavia, Africa, Greenland and for the US of A. Oh, and for the rest of the world too, for that matter.
All it takes is good will. We need to vote for the right politicians - or run for election ourselves.
Person to person charity is wonderful and should be done all the time - but that will never solve the general problem.
scott cumming # 16. October 2008, 22:01
i had to borrow this from myself commenting on angeliki's post.
http://my.opera.com/ellinidata/blog/2008/10/16/joe-the-plumber
bill gates donates 600 million dollars to relief in africa and two days later warren buffet does the same thing. then they say they have no way to distribute the money effectively, but it still remains a tax-deductible donation.
if i wanted to help with my extra 600 billion dollars burning a hole in my pants. i would attach little parachutes to bags of real gold and shower the villages. now that would be effective.
same with the 750 billion 'rescue' package.... divide it up and mail an equal share to each citizen. but don't forget the homeless and fringe-dwellers... they could just show up once at their city hall and sign for a share. sudddenly, every single person would have money to put in the bank. ipso facto, the banks would rescued.
o.k., everyone would get about $2,500. that may not seem like much. but it depends on who you are. it could change the lives of some people dramatically.
and just add... they say, "if you don't like a law, then have it changed."
but who has the time? i'm still working on survival.
Allan # 16. October 2008, 22:08
And I normally don't talk like that.
It's just that poverty pisses me off in a way that most other don't. Let me quote my late dad, who knew what he was talking about; he knew poverty all through his childhood and early adulthood. He said:
"The worst thing about poverty is not the lack of food and shelter. It's the damned stupidity that comes with it - from the rich people as well as the poor. The poor think of themselves as inferior people which they're not. And the rich people think of themselves as better people - which they are certainly not. That's downright stupid!"
I hear you, Scott. And I understand that you too know what you're talking about.
scott cumming # 16. October 2008, 22:22
what he said is so true.
but hunger does hurt. and lack of shelter can drive you crazy. but republicans say it's "your own fault", "you must be lazy." etc.
and the rich don't want to remember how they clambered over their fellow man to get there. they are not even grateful for the work of others which brought them as 'owners' the rewards of industry into their pockets. no conscience.
allan, you remind me of that wonderful moment in the movie "network" when peter finch shouts "i'm mad as hell, and i'm not going to take it anymore." well, ya gotta see it. you probably have.
Angeliki # 16. October 2008, 23:27
the anger you see on people faces
walking in hungry goes away after a good meal....
I have seen poverty first hand,
hunger makes people angry, aggressive , desperate...
no human should go to bed hungry in this time and age,
no kid should have only one meal a day
which is at school lunch time and
be teased by other kids for receiving a free meal...
it is wrong,
society is wrong,
we all are wrong...
and all it is happening here at home, in American soil...
Nicolas Borgsmidt # 16. October 2008, 23:56
Angeliki # 17. October 2008, 00:33
studio41 # 17. October 2008, 00:42
scott cumming # 17. October 2008, 01:30
the hard thing is to break out of it. people need real help. if they don't get it then they go crazy. not that some people who are crazy (certifiable) don't make up the bulk of the homeless. :sad:
that's real sad nic. i know i once said when i was at my lowest "somebody shoot me." and "they shoot horses don't they?"
but that was just a short moment of weakness.
thanks for the offer jill.
studio41 # 17. October 2008, 01:34
Angeliki # 17. October 2008, 01:43
is it the sense of freedom and not following any body's rules?
is it the fear of being programed?
is it the fear of rejection ???
what makes it all so hard??
I was never an expert to know how the poverty living feel,
I always thought my extra clothes,
my dollar contribution or my voluntarily time will make a difference, then I am all discouraged and thinking that I contribute nothing...
how does it feel to be homeless??
I never asked,
I hate questioning but how would I understand if I don't know???
scott cumming # 17. October 2008, 02:31
my second cup always has a spoonful of hersheys.
meli,
i can just tell you that it's maddening.
at first there is a continuous feeling of panic.
an inner dialogue goes on ranging from "how did this happen to me?" to "i gotta get outta here."
you spend most of the time just trying to eat. then you have to eat again. then it's night time.
i used to push my cart of equipment and paintings away from the boardwalk, find a grassy spot by the curb and just go to sleep next to the loaded cart.
it's hard to get to sleep and you're lucky if you're exhausted. often you are awakened in the middle of the night by some kind of violence or police action.
you beat yourself up and blame yourself (if you are me) but you struggle to keep your spirits up and stay out of trouble. you have to wake up and have a plan every day and try to stick to it. you want oblivion but have to stay strong.
that's about all. eventually i will write the book. and there will be a chapter on the last 11 years of floating on the wind like a white pidgeon feather.
as you know, i am stabilized now... but this could go *poof any time at all. not by my doing though.
Angeliki # 17. October 2008, 02:38
always remember you have friends that care about you
thank you for bringing me into the world, mind, feelings of a homeless,
it seems like a scary place to be.
I am sure it must be even scarier for a woman out there....
scott cumming # 17. October 2008, 03:08
i believe you.
but nobody loves you when you're down and out.
anyway, when los angeles spits me out, i'm going to belize and live on fish and bananas.
probably homelessness is doubly difficult for women. but it would be just as difficult for some men as for some women.
probably more men would rather die than end up homeless.
i think women are more adaptable
Angeliki # 17. October 2008, 03:36
Angeliki # 17. October 2008, 03:47
"but nobody loves you when you're down and out.
I have been there Scott,
two babies, two mortgages, a company ready to dissolve,no family and 0 money at the bank...
I know exactly what you mean...
If I ever loose my humanity,
life will have no value to me.
I guess I am one of the idiots that before going to sleep I count if my day was worth living...
Maybe at times that's the very reason sleep comes late.
I mention Michael many times today since today was his Bday , he would have turned 55 ,
Michael taught me many things ,
among them he always used to say "make sure you make at least one person happy a day"
even if that person is you".
scott cumming # 17. October 2008, 03:55
Angeliki # 17. October 2008, 04:42
scott cumming # 17. October 2008, 04:49
studio41 # 17. October 2008, 06:01
good night Angeliki and Scott
Angeliki # 17. October 2008, 10:56
Good Morning everybody!
Léazz # 17. October 2008, 11:01