Saturday, November 05, 2005
Public Service Ad's
So the other day i was on the train and while i was sitting i happened to notice one of those poster ad's that they have hanging by the doors. Now i usually don't notice or even care what these have to say, but this one in general cought and kept my attention. The caption was "Spare change for meth. You wouldn't support this habbit......don't support panhandlers!" The poster then went on to talk about responsiblity and how we should not support the alochol/drug abuse of the homeless. This bothered me a little.....well actually alot. It's bad enough that those in need are already being slapped with lables such as "lazy" and "welfair bums" how about we just slap some more lables and judgments on to them and call them all alcoholics and drug addicts oh and don't forget mentally ill. No I am not nieve I do realize that there is a percentage of those that are homeless that fit into that mold, however it does not fit for all the them.......some are really people that are just in a bad way. Whenever I am downtown and see what is going on and i can't help but ask myself, isn't there something more that we as a society can to do help? I realize that we have community programs such as the drop in center, the mustard seed, and C.U.P.S., as well as many others, and even though these are fantasic organizations to me it just seems that more needs to be done. I really do believe that it could start with us a people, maybe taking the time to see someone that is less fourtunate then ourselves as an actual person, rather then our own cheap entertainment. Teaching people especially our kids to have compassion for their fellow man rather then just watching them lay on the ground and laugh at them because they are using a garbage bag as a blanket and the curb for their pillow. So i guess what i am really trying to get at is......yes we can continue to place public service ad's on the buses and trains, but tell me, is that really going to change anything?
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1 comment:
You're looking at this issue from a point of view I never would have considered.
What I thought when I saw those posters was, "Now why can't more people realize how harmful it can be to give money to panhandlers!" I read in the paper, that as recently as about 2 years ago, approximately 10 million dollars was being given to panhandlers in Calgary every year. While some of those people may actually be using that money to buy food or clothing, I'm pretty sure a lot of them are using it for other things. It seems possible, especially when I can smell mouthwash on them from several feet away.
But perhaps the ad campaign could have done more to positively encourage people to donate money to charities, rather than reinforcing the negative stereotype of junkies standing on streetcorners. So I think that all the agencies that are in place to help homeless people are the best answer we can come up with. The only thing that should change is that every penny who gets dropped into some guys hat on a sidewalk should go to the Salvation Army, or the Mustard Seed, or some other such place.
BTW, that other comment is spam. Those people really piss me off.
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