Kids from poorer neighborhoods sometimes come to my building asking for candy

[Recursion]

Sorry, I'm just having a bad day and need to get this out there in an OP. It's nearly Halloween, though that's not really much of a holiday in India (maybe in Goa or Pondicherry?) But this is Diwali which is kind of like Christmas and Halloween together. (Happy Diwali, btw, to everyone...)

Anyways, there are a large group of young boys who routinely come up to either my car or my person asking for money. The NGO's say about 3/4ths of them are trafficked, so we can't give them money. If you have a bottle of safe water it's OK to give those to one of the "poor neighborhood" kids, or a pack of cookies. Those are fine, because they can drink them or eat them right there. But you have to make sure to watch them drink or eat it. If you give them money, though, it goes to their trafficker. I try to keep a dozen or so bottles of water with me plus two or three sleeves of oreos, but I never have enough at the right time. I try -- I swear to God I do -- but there's always a larger crowd than I think there will be. I cry at night about that. Those kids really just want some help, and I don't have it.

If you want to get really depressed: read on. If not, just hit "back". You'll be happier that way. I'm not judging.

In addition to the kids there are also mother-child teams who wait at the intersections near my apartment block. Most of you have probably seen how infants in real life behave. But these babies are always incredibly well-behaved, sleeping peacefully on the woman's arm. It's worse than it sounds. The traffickers pass out a baby in the morning (that's not her mother) along with a small dose of heroin, to keep the baby quiet. If the mother brings back enough money she gets the rest of the heroin. So the option is to ignore the woman with the limp smacked-out baby or to give her money that will go to the man who makes this happen.

I fucking hate this world and everything about it, sometimes. Still. We move on and face the world.

[lunasun]

1. Happy Diwali

[Recursion]

2. Thanks (nt)

[MineralMan]

3. That puts our situation in the U.S. in perspective.

Thanks.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

4. Sounds like a teapublican paradise.

[Recursion]

5. And yet it's an explicitly socialist country

Funny how that works.

[Dont call me Shirley]

6. This system of being in this world has been created by Man, not nature.

The self-appointed creators and upholders of this artificially made system work tirelessly to keep this system as dysfunctional as possible for the rest of us. They are insane people who have created this system to function in such a compassionless crazy-making manner.

Despair just for a tiny moment, Recursion, and then be thankful you have compassion. Be grateful you are a human being who recognizes the insanity of the current system created by sociopaths. Be thankful knowing you can tell the difference between false and true. You are on the good path.

[heaven05]

7. +1000

May we all stay on that path, here.