#dckitchen

I do not think Trisha is a troll.

In fact, much of what she has to say about volunteering is spot on. I find volunteering to be a falsely altruistic way to gain good PR. Teenagers volunteer to graduate- it was certainly that way in my case. Quite frankly, I give less than a damn about the "less fortunate". This country was built on hard work, determination and ingenuity, not whiny little beggars asking others to work for them. And if they refuse to work, they starve. Simple as that- we have an overpopulation issue and little money to spare for welfare. Many homeless people balk at cutting lawns or cleaning pools or doing "demeaning" jobs. Guess what, bums- a job is a job, man. If it pays, it pays, and money pays for food. I too am selfish- why shouldn't I be? What is mine is rightfully mine, and no one has a right to patrimoniously expect me to give of what is mine.

Volunteering to relieve some sense of guilt is just plain delusion. If you are successful, enjoy, luxuriate, thrive in your success! Those who are worse off than you can also work up to success. That is the glory of the capitalist system- even the lowest of the low can one day rise to be great.

You ever hear the saying "Feed a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime". Rather than aggregating these impermanent and wasted resources, we should instead teach these bums some skills so they can have economic independence. Robert Egger, I respect that you are a well-valued member of the DC community. But I am a local from Montgomery County, and I can tell you- the poverty won't go away. You have to fix decades of other mitigating factors, and many of these people live off the dole, off of hardworking taxpayers. These people need to learn to live, rather than to merely exist on the charity of others. Besides, charity is pointless. It doesn't help Africa in the long run, and it won't help DC. White flight and bad schools and the now-defunct crack issue and corrupt government have brewed a perfect storm, one present in many cities, one that cannot be resolved by some misguided charity. Do work where it counts.

And you give us young people far too much credit. I know many, MANY people who forged service hours in order to graduate. Many of us, myself included, find service to be something either ordered by courts or forced upon us. Very few of us view it as a pure altruistic positive, and those that do generally belong to the more religious crowd. Don't hate on Trisha because she opposes your views. Don't bring her down because she accurately attacks what you preach. She has as much of a right to say what she believes as you do. Sincerely,

Brad Matthews