I just read this article in the Age (thanks for the tip off Cheryl). From the article:
Asked in a new book about his community role, Mr Harvey said giving to people who “are not putting anything back into the community” is like “helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason”
“He said it was arguable that giving charity to the homeless was “just wasted”. “It might be a callous way of putting it but what are they doing?” he said. “They are just a drag on the whole community.”
This statement could only come from someone someone who has never known what it is to struggle. And someone who is totally ignorant of the issues that result in homelessness. Nothing like the billionaire armchair perspective on society’s most vulnerable. If someone’s intrinsic value is only based on what he or she can put in to the community, we can all be written off at one stage or another of our lives. Yes Harvey, it was callous. Not to mention Darwinian. And your stores won’t be getting another cent from me.
Posted by Geoff on November 28, 2008 at 6:48 am
Rodney Olsen posted on this a couple of days ago, and I suggested that perhaps retailers who seduce people to buy things they don’t need and can’t afford with the promise of 12 months interest free credit is the real “drag on the whole community”.
Posted by Christina on November 28, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Good point Geoff. Surprised to see anyone still reading my much neglected blog!
Posted by Go Harvey… « Ranges Community Church on November 29, 2008 at 11:01 am
[...] Christina has been fired up to post on her blog…. I just read this article in the Age (thanks for the tip off Cheryl). From the [...]
Posted by fair%fowl on December 8, 2008 at 4:14 am
hard heartedness comes from people who never had it hard, who are judgemental without knowing anything at all about anothers life or troubles. they need some hard times themselves to soften their heart.
Posted by Christina on December 8, 2008 at 8:39 am
I agree – it is not so easy to judge people who are doing it tough if you have tasted it yourself.
Posted by beryl singleton bissell on December 9, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I suppose such callousness should not surprise us when we see it daily personified in industries seeking bailouts for their mismanagement and doting only on the bottom line and stockholders’ equity. Yet each time I read words like these, I feel a creeping sense of horror. Am I part of this problem? Do my habits contribute to such abuse? And, as a consumer, I know I too am part of this problem.
Posted by Christina on December 9, 2008 at 3:29 pm
You’re right Beryl. We are part of the problem every time we buy something we don’t need, looking for it at the cheapest price possible, regardless of who may be trampled on to make it possible. There is a crisis of conscience every time we hit the register with our credit card. Somehow I am often numbed to it though.
Posted by beryl singleton bissell on January 8, 2009 at 7:26 am
It’s lovely that we can choose not to read the Mr. Harvey’s of this world. Why dip one’s head in the mud when one can go walking with another.