We all had that ditsy aunt or grandmother whose idea of a Christmas present or birthday present was a sweater that always seemed to be the wrong size. Who always felt obliged to be "generous", bring over tons of food of which we had to give half away ourselves simply due to not having enough space on our shelves or in our refrigerator to accommodate it all.
Recently some church group provided a "charity" service at the laundromat I always go to, in which they washed, dried, and folded clothes for the patrons for free. Of course when I handed them my bag I made sure to mention I had detergent in a sandwich bag already premeasured among my dirty clothes, and to make sure not to put my laundry bag itself in the dryer after washing. (As a "bonus" they were also serving us free hotdogs and soft drinks while we waited for our clothes.)
When I got home to put my clothes away I noticed they were still damp. Whoever washed my stuff did not put enough time on the dryer apparently.
It was then that I thought: Shit, I would've been better off if they simply handed me a bunch of quarters and just let me do my stuff the way I normally do.
But that's what I'm getting at: People who do "favors" for you randomly that you never requested or asked for. All the unwanted gifts. Bringing you tons of food that you have nowhere to store in your small apartment and can't possibly eat up before it spoils. Or they loan you personal items of theirs even though you're not into borrowing or lending out yourself. You wind up "babysitting" someone else's private property for months.
I'm not against people being generous. It's just that if somebody wants to "do something for" another person they should first make sure that their acts and deeds will actually BENEFIT that other person---as opposed to merely alleviating their own guilty conscience or just being some kind of pious gesture.
In short: Just give me some goddamn money and I'LL decide for myself what it is I either want or need!
Recently some church group provided a "charity" service at the laundromat I always go to, in which they washed, dried, and folded clothes for the patrons for free. Of course when I handed them my bag I made sure to mention I had detergent in a sandwich bag already premeasured among my dirty clothes, and to make sure not to put my laundry bag itself in the dryer after washing. (As a "bonus" they were also serving us free hotdogs and soft drinks while we waited for our clothes.)
When I got home to put my clothes away I noticed they were still damp. Whoever washed my stuff did not put enough time on the dryer apparently.
It was then that I thought: Shit, I would've been better off if they simply handed me a bunch of quarters and just let me do my stuff the way I normally do.
But that's what I'm getting at: People who do "favors" for you randomly that you never requested or asked for. All the unwanted gifts. Bringing you tons of food that you have nowhere to store in your small apartment and can't possibly eat up before it spoils. Or they loan you personal items of theirs even though you're not into borrowing or lending out yourself. You wind up "babysitting" someone else's private property for months.
I'm not against people being generous. It's just that if somebody wants to "do something for" another person they should first make sure that their acts and deeds will actually BENEFIT that other person---as opposed to merely alleviating their own guilty conscience or just being some kind of pious gesture.
In short: Just give me some goddamn money and I'LL decide for myself what it is I either want or need!
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