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Sep. 10th, 2005 06:57 amA moral dilemma:
I recently got this notice from Hecht's, a "red" company.
http://www.hechts.com/gifts/OnlineShopping/WB?Dsp=199&cm_re=0906-_-hpwrn-_-katbg&cm_mmc=Email-_-9/9/2005-_-NA-_-Katrina
It announces that for every dollar you donate to Katrina aid through them, they will match funds. Sounds great. The problem is they siphon through the red cross and salvation army, who seem to be working in a joint venture. Red Cross has some weird conditions that prevent any honest bi / curious / gay male from donating blood, but otherwise is very out and about in the gay community. Salvation Army is rabidly anti-gay. Famously so.
You might say that the gay issue is subsumed by the horror in NOLA. Would you say the same thing if they were racist? Pro-life? If they said women should be beaten if they reveal skin? I mean, which moral issue is too pressing to let it overshadow the good things they do? For me, it's this one and the other prejudices it indicates are either there or just below the surface. You have your choice of which group to give to, and you can choose one that doesn't preach hate.
Still, red cross is working with them on the issue. Can these funds be isolated from their other agenda? How much does it matter if some of my donation is what some white prejudiced bastard takes home, to spend supporting Bush, to put in the donation plate of his straight white church, to buy bullets, to print his hate on fliers? Which is the greater good, and how much do I overlook - which issue is important enough and is not? Is it better to give more with the risk that my dollars may support the religious right, or to net less with the understanding that my dollars are less likely to wind up supporting evil - the very evils that created this horror in the first place?
---
Something is wrong at work, at school, with me. It occurs to me that I don't mind working. In fact, I work for recreation and enjoy it. I hurt myself in the gym, study what to do there, and put in great effort to be as fit and strong as I can. I love it, love the pain, love the control, and take pride in my work. The same can be said for running, hiking, biking, etc. The same can not be said for work or school. There I spend my energies trying to find the best result for the least effort.
There are some things at work I enjoy, and once in a while I get a spark and take off with it. That's less true since the management changed to an abusive regime. Still, a lot of what I enjoyed about work was the lack of work, the ability to get it done and move on (mentally) to other things, kid you not, like LJ. I have typically rated work as good when it is not demanding, as in less work = good work.
I don't seem to be lazy. I seem to work hard when I recognize that the beneficiary of my efforts is myself, or when I care about the issue being pursued. I wonder if I can find work I enjoy? If I could channel these energies into a place I wanted to put them, if I woke up excited and wanting to rush out and do whatever the work is, that would be an accomplishment.
Is that immature dreaming, or a reasonable goal? How do I even start such a pursuit?
I recently got this notice from Hecht's, a "red" company.
http://www.hechts.com/gifts/OnlineShopping/WB?Dsp=199&cm_re=0906-_-hpwrn-_-katbg&cm_mmc=Email-_-9/9/2005-_-NA-_-Katrina
It announces that for every dollar you donate to Katrina aid through them, they will match funds. Sounds great. The problem is they siphon through the red cross and salvation army, who seem to be working in a joint venture. Red Cross has some weird conditions that prevent any honest bi / curious / gay male from donating blood, but otherwise is very out and about in the gay community. Salvation Army is rabidly anti-gay. Famously so.
You might say that the gay issue is subsumed by the horror in NOLA. Would you say the same thing if they were racist? Pro-life? If they said women should be beaten if they reveal skin? I mean, which moral issue is too pressing to let it overshadow the good things they do? For me, it's this one and the other prejudices it indicates are either there or just below the surface. You have your choice of which group to give to, and you can choose one that doesn't preach hate.
Still, red cross is working with them on the issue. Can these funds be isolated from their other agenda? How much does it matter if some of my donation is what some white prejudiced bastard takes home, to spend supporting Bush, to put in the donation plate of his straight white church, to buy bullets, to print his hate on fliers? Which is the greater good, and how much do I overlook - which issue is important enough and is not? Is it better to give more with the risk that my dollars may support the religious right, or to net less with the understanding that my dollars are less likely to wind up supporting evil - the very evils that created this horror in the first place?
---
Something is wrong at work, at school, with me. It occurs to me that I don't mind working. In fact, I work for recreation and enjoy it. I hurt myself in the gym, study what to do there, and put in great effort to be as fit and strong as I can. I love it, love the pain, love the control, and take pride in my work. The same can be said for running, hiking, biking, etc. The same can not be said for work or school. There I spend my energies trying to find the best result for the least effort.
There are some things at work I enjoy, and once in a while I get a spark and take off with it. That's less true since the management changed to an abusive regime. Still, a lot of what I enjoyed about work was the lack of work, the ability to get it done and move on (mentally) to other things, kid you not, like LJ. I have typically rated work as good when it is not demanding, as in less work = good work.
I don't seem to be lazy. I seem to work hard when I recognize that the beneficiary of my efforts is myself, or when I care about the issue being pursued. I wonder if I can find work I enjoy? If I could channel these energies into a place I wanted to put them, if I woke up excited and wanting to rush out and do whatever the work is, that would be an accomplishment.
Is that immature dreaming, or a reasonable goal? How do I even start such a pursuit?
