2/10/2011

Ask and it shall be given

Every now and then, on Saturdays, armies of school children will be despatched into the streets, with a tin can in hand, to beg for money. Just ask, and the money will come in. People are expected to give, not to reward effort, but to beggars. The concept of begging to get easy money has been so successful that many big charities find it so convenient to beg for more money by organising them in a big way, with celebrities and public figures doing the begging. It is an annual affair and being conducted several times a year. And it is so popular and so attractive that foreign celebrities too find them very interesting and fun, begging for a good cause. We have a few infamous personalities that got so carried away with big time begging that they ended up behind bars. Money easy come easy go. When money can be had so easily, where is there a need to work? A young man even went to an extent of setting up several charities to beg for money, for his own pockets. And several others too did it in style. The latest I heard over the news is that grandmas are also roped in to the begging act. Great fun man, and so much enthusiasm shown by the grannies to beg on the streets. Soon more grannies will be attracted to this new found past time. Did I remember someone saying there is no such thing as free lunch? Nothing is for free. You want something, you got to work for it. With begging becoming a national past time, is there a contradiction? This culture of begging when one is young, begging when one is an adult, and begging when one is old, is sinking roots as a national culture here. Possibly we are the biggest nation of beggars.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's imperative for Singaporeans to stop this NATIONAL SHAME OF BEGGING not by NOT BEGGING, BUT, by NOT DONATING AND GIVING TO CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS. GIVE IT DIRECTLY TO THOSE IN NEED PERSONALLY.

Anonymous said...

Nothing surprising that a few infamous personalities have been behind bars, if you consider them to be beggars. Beggars have long been rounded up and cleared from the streets and put behind bars.

Please don't mention the dirty word 'beggars' in Singapore. There are no beggars in Singapore. Only people doing charity.

I wonder what the late Dr Ee Peng Liang will say, since he himself admit that he is a big time beggar, while he was presiding over the NCSS.

auntielucia said...

Redbean, you've written a topic I've always wanted to write abt but had refrained for fear of affecting response to real beggars.

I've often thought it's such a shame to see well-dressed kids approaching strangers to give for this or that "worthy cause".

Especially when such "begging" is done in competition with tissue sellers who are by and large scabby and genuinely poor!

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Hi auntielucia,

They think begging is fun. Some even think that they can make a living by begging as proven by some young men who set up several begging agencies to pay for their salaries.

When shall we teach the young that begging is shameful and they should never resort to begging but to earn their keeps? The moral behind begging must not be encouraged.