Someone left a Definitive Religious Book at my neighbor's door the other day. It may appear a simple, well-meaning gesture, but I pondered the implications of such an act.
My neighbor, A-po* is a rag-and-bone collector. It's more of a decision to work by circumstances than by choice.
Her only daughter is a manic-depressive and is thus unable to hold on to a regular job. Unable to maintain a regular office employment and unwilling to try alternatives like hawker assistants and such like, A-po has no choice but to concede to her daughter's quirks and support herself and pretty much her over 40-year-old daughter by collecting recyclable materials to be sold.
It's not an easy job, having to move about at her old age, carrying all those trash cans and heavy cardboards, not to mention doing it at odd hours of the day - we are talking blazing noon-day sun and pneumonia-inducing pre-dawn hours. She has to get to these stuffs before her 'competitors' do, like the other old lady in the neighborhood and the council's collecting unit.
All of us neighbors know of and understand her predicament. Whenever we have and are able to, we would leave our recyclables at her doorstep. Even when neatly packed and stacked, the stuffs often resemble a veritable Mont Blanc. Undeniably, it is a fire hazard, but everyone of us just help to watch out for her, after all nobody who has a heart would lodge a complaint to the town council.
Sometimes, on rare occasions, we would find a shopping bag with food necessities like milk powder and other assorted canned nourishments on her doorstep. It is a useful gesture, but we seldom do it as neighbors, since we never know how A-po might take to this act.
However, the other day, I noticed a Definitive Religious Book wedged into the tight compartment between the iron gate and the wooden front door of A-po's apartment. I was puzzled by the implications of the ambiguous, ambivalent gift. As much as it is definitely a well-meant gift, one cannot but consider the connotations inherent within the object.
The two ideas that immediately struck me were:
If the person had assumed that A-po is not a believer is the implication then that her 'predicament' is an affliction of or from the Almighty (assuming that this entity exists)? Or is A-po's or indeed any unbeliever-at-large's 'situation' or 'affliction' a result of one's unbelief?
On the other hand, if the giver had assumed A-po as a believer, than the implication would possibly be, �hey, there is something wrong with your faith, better check yourself�. If that is the case, may I suggest to that giver to check oneself instead, since by that very gesture, one had made a judgment and assumed a forbidden position - that of one's Almighty.
I often wonder if certain religious sects and beliefs require the acceptance of faith so absolutely that one must deny one's intelligence or even limited intellectual processes. Incidents like this make me reconsider the question. In this instant, denial of mental processes meant implications of outright insults to three parties - the receiver, the believer and the beliefs.
What an ironic twist indeed.
* A polite colloquial term for �grandma� and also used as a general term of respect to address a person of age.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
Vince,
How true! The world, now with communication that's practically instantaneous can't hide from people living in these situations and they're having to live in these situations speaks volumns about not just a nations response but humanities.
We are in the midst of the same problem that's escalating and has been growing since the 1970's. The plight of what can be done to help those help themselves out of a situation that's really unbearable to deal with. Having an aged woman collecting recylables on the streets as a means of support shouldn't have to be a sole means of living anywhere on the planet and yet with skewed priorities here we are. For the right amount of money, you can seemingly do or go anywhere and those that are "out of the loop" so to speak, who have no way to support themselves other than to collect recylables is tragic.
It's really also a testament to one mother's love. She could have thrown her daughter out and she sticks by her. That's an intense bond. I commend her for that.
Someone reading your blog (say Oprah Winfrey) could hook her up with a new home, a car and a new wardrobe. While the gesture is grandiose and over the top, what does that do for those still out there looking for scraps to live on? It's easier to give money to placate guilt than it is to find a solution so that those living like this don't have to.
There's always going to be people falling on hard times like these. We as the human race, need to change what our approach is to the problem (as multi-facted as it is) to address something to glaringly off kilter.
Thanks for your Blog entry. : )
Could it be, that it was meant to be left as a recyclable item ?
Sarav
Possibly. That's a very pragmatic way of looking at it. ;P Wonder if A-po sold it as wastepaper... heh.
Post a Comment