Help or leave them alone?

I was recently criticized at a certain blog for suggesting that a certain program can help students in inner cities end the cycle of poverty.  The blog seemed to imply that these programs do not work because we (as in the creators/founders/donors) are imposing our culture onto the kids.  WTF are they talking about?  Are we supposed to ignore everything and just watch?  Are you saying that someone like Oprah should just watch impoverished teenaged girls in South Africa waste away their lives because they can’t get a decent education?  I realize that Oprah can’t help every single kid at her school (and that her school has run into some issues), but helping some kids is better than helping NONE.   And since Oprah’s school is based on a curriculum sanctioned by the South African government, it’s not as if she’s bringing an American education to the kids.

So who is supposed to help these kids?  People who grew up like those kids, but have become successful? Religious organizations?  Are those people truly insiders? I’m not sure.  You become an outsider once you leave the area, even if you grew up in it.  Places change, and change very quickly.  Even kids who attend boarding school on a bursary are considered outsiders when they return for the holidays.

I guess what the blog is saying is that they don’t need any help from other people at all and that they can help themselves.  However, if you don’t have connections, I don’t really see how you can advance.  The reason why the Old Boys’ Network/Club (guys have been networking for centuries.  Women are only beginning to do this).  Those guys all know people who know people, and they would recommend someone to another person who might need help/services.  If you don’t ask and don’t do anything in return, you don’t get any results.

No babysitters, please, we’re not from here!

An acquaintance of mine once said that he and his wife do not use sitters because where they’re from, it’s always family members who take care of the children if the parents have to be away. They said that no one in the old country used sitters. I wanted to disagree with him, but didn’t want to come out sounding politically incorrect. Sure, it may be true for general, every day people, but I really doubt wealthy people from the old country would agree. I can’t think of any country where the wealthy have historically lived just like the “masses.” Wealthy people always had servants of some sort, and this includes nannies/nurses. It’s just that now, “regular people” also use outside help. His little speech made it sound like people who had the money to afford servants weren’t really “part” of the country culture. HUH? I’m pretty sure historically speaking, these were the people who shaped it. They’re the ones whose names are in the records and history books. Unless, of course, he’s only talking about “regular” people.

What gets really odd is that this guy isn’t FROM the old country.  In fact, he was born in the UK and raised in Canada.  He’s probably been to the “old country” less than ten times in his life, yet it seems that he feels connected to the “old country” much more than any other 1.5 or second generation Canadian I know.   Even his wife is from the “old country,” an arranged marriage.  I know other people who have had arranged marriages, but they all married people who were either born or raised here. Did his parents brainwash him?  If so, it’s seriously a WHAT NOT TO DO situation.  It’s parents like his that slow down the acceptance process.

*NOTE: I was mostly raised by my grandmother, but my family still hired a “sitter” to stay with me between 4 and 5:30 while my grandmother cooked dinner.*

Momma McGuinty, Conservative Jewish Leader think Dalton McGuinty is crazy

His angry mom, a conservative Jew and even e-mails from thousands of Ontarians (so many, in fact, that it’s crashed their system) isn’t stopping Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty, from having second thoughts about the Ontario government’s proposal to get rid of the Lord’s Prayer. Should Mr. McGuinty and his people be listnening to the people of Ontario and focus on more serious issues like poverty, healthcare and the economy rather than changing tradition? Just because it isn’t your country or culture’s tradition, doesn’t mean that it’s someone else’s tradition. The politically correct, which is, unfortunately A LOT of people (politicians or non) today (at least the public person), seems to want to get rid of old English Canadian traditions, yet include old traditions of other cultures, which can be just as “exclusive” to a culture or cultures. I don’t understand why a non-Christian can complain about something like the Lord’s Prayer, yet if I complained about another religion’s prayer, then I’m anti-something or other. It’s not fair.

Toronto Star article