I hate this particular Friday every year, and the few days preceding with all the wind ups and the posturing that goes on in the name of charity, or perhaps that should be The Big Society given the current political climate.
I posted this last year, a week after Children In Need 2009. Dealing With The Day: Charity Stays At Home. If you've got a minute or two just skim through it.
A year on, could we have imagined then that we would be in an even worse situation today, especially for the poor and disabled, whom the children now considered to be in need will surely grow up to be, with a government whose intention appears to be to decimate the health and welfare services?
Again, apologies to anyone offended by my opinion, and if you are offended, come and walk in my shoes for a week or so and see if you still feel the same way.
Irene I agree with your views on charity. I have another difficulty with the concept of charity. In as much as it stigmatises those in receipt of it. I rage at the very nice polite ladies and gents who turn up at J's school from the local wooden spoon gang. Big floppy hats, floaty dresses, bow ties and tweed jackets. Smiling and feeling wonderful about themselves whilst using terms such as 'them' 'poor things' etc., I get it that J's head teacher needs the cash but the corollory of this is treating our kids as 'other' 'lesser' and lies in direct opposition to the aims of the school. Particularly when such charity is then splashed across the local rag with the same smiling happy people being seen to be so wonderful. Sorry vent over. Thank you for reading! (Slinks away grumpily......)
ReplyDeleteFiona, totally agree with you, questionable motives. I suppose one should be charitable enough to hope they don't realise how patronising, or even offensive, they are being. Ah well, such is life and thank you for reading!
ReplyDeleteI started to compose a reasonable, well-argued comment to indicate how much I agreed with you, but the more I wrote the angrier I got so for the sake of my (rising) blood pressure I'll just have to say YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
ReplyDeleteI have to go and lie down in a dark room now.
bbsmum, hi. You are so right, best to be concise on some subjects. Unfortunately, concise doesn't come easy to me. So I go for the next best option... better out than in, then have a cup of tea!
ReplyDeleteAnd yet we're both doing Twitter... how am I going to stick to 140 characters? I'm generally the verbose type : )
ReplyDeleteTea's definitely the answer. To everything.
Im with you on this one too.
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