Saturday, December 17, 2011

Quick to judge

I recently had a facebook friend post that they had found a wallet and were going to return it the owner. The next post was that the Coach wallet that had been found had 2 WIC cards in it and that the poster had a problem with that.
I don't know if it's called WIC in other areas, but WIC is State food assistance for pregnant/nursing moms and young children (it's need based). I see several possibilities for a woman to have a Coach wallet AND government assistance cards in said wallet.
  • The wallet could be a cheap knock-off.
  • The wallet could have been purchased at Goodwill or a garage sale.
  • The wallet could have been a gift from someone.
  • The wallet could have been purchased during more affluent/better times.
  • The wallet could have been won at work for doing a good job.
  • The wallet could have been purchased by a woman who can afford it and has WIC cards for her foster kids.
Or possibly, that person with the wallet spends their money unwisely. Possibly they did buy an expensive wallet, while tax payers foot the bill for food for her family. The way I see it though, there are a lot of other possibilities.
Why is it so easy to judge so quickly and to choose to believe the worst about someone, someone we don't even know? This little facebook blip made me sad. It made me sad for the unknown Coach wallet lady and sad that this is so common-judge quickly and harshly. That's just yuck.

1 comment:

Obibini Bruni said...

I appreciate your reaction to your friends comment. I feel the same way. I live in Quebec, a province known for higher rates of welfare than the rest of the country. People have a bad view of those on welfare and a bad view of places those on welfare might shop/live/etc. Why? Because of the select few who choose to be on welfare. Everyone knows at least one person in that category, making it all that much easier to judge in such a way. The thing is, what about the majority on welfare, who have no other option, who are doing so temporarily while getting back on their feet, who would rather work? These people have to hide it, because of the ways they are thought of and judged. The official name for it is along the lines of last-resort financial aid, which is exactly what so many are using it as: a last resort. It tears my heart to hear these judgments, without even knowing or considering the circumstances that put the person there in the first place, much like the WIC card.
http://obibinibruni.org/