Rioters and Looters
A number of years ago I used to frequent a certain resort for 1 week each summer. There I met a bright, personable 16 year old girl. Let’s call her “Marie”. Marie worked at the resort as a chambermaid for the summer. I spoke to the owner of the resort about how impressed I was with this girl and he replied that management was also impressed with her and the Company had guaranteed Marie that if she finished High School they would pay for her College Tuition. What a great story.
The next year I returned and did not see Marie so I asked about her. The owner said that after the summer Marie hooked up with some fellow, got pregnant and while the Company restated their offer of paying for her College Tuition she apparently told them that now that she had a baby she would just go on welfare like her mother did when Marie was born. Not such a great story.
So when I consider the young people looting and burning in the streets of Britain and elsewhere I wonder who has deprived them of the opportunity to stay in school- to take seriously the public education and a work ethic offered them rather than complain that they have no opportunities and no jobs.
True, poverty breeds poverty. But just like Marie many do not want to work for the things they need and want. Rather they complain that they are oppressed.
We cannot force people to apply themselves and get an education which increases their odds of employment. Nor can we force them to have ambition and work to achieve. It is easy and faster to blame someone else for YOUR troubles. It is harder and takes longer to accept a job, any job and work your way up.
The best answer I saw was the story on CBS 60 Minutes about the Harlem Children’s Charter School run by Geoffrey Canada. We will put up a link on our Commentary page so you can read or watch this fascinating story.
There is no “entitlement” in life. To those of you looting and burning I say: “No one owes you a living. You have to work for it”
If you hate and loot the local shopkeepers it is not because they oppress you, but because you don’t have the fortitude and the ambition to get up early every morning and work as hard as they do.