Trying to be a decent person

[Eric13]

There isn't ever any pain in being kind. But regret can cause lots of pain for a lifetime. 

Although it does irk me when kindness is taken for weakness. 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Eric13
Added last sentence

[gregory]

4 hours ago, RunningWild said:

Why is it hard to be decent?  Why must all decent actions be defined as anything other than altruistic?  I wish I had those answers. 

 

This past year, when I was working all the time, I paid a kid to mow my lawn and trim around the house and also to do the same for a neighbor who is on a fixed income.  The place where I live charges $35 each time they mow someone's lawn and they do it when they want to, without any regard for whether someone can afford it.  They'd already increased rent and made it nearly impossible for the elderly to pay their rent as they'd always done.  So many still don't have internet access and even if they do, they can hardly navigate it to more than merely reading the news or playing a game.  And frankly, they're not all that interested in the internet anyway.  Yet, this place suddenly insisted that all payments to them were digital.

 

I received a bit of flack for having his lawn mowed.  My motive was completely altruistic.  I never went to him and asked him if he wanted it done.  I just had a kid do it.  At first, he was upset and telling the kid that he couldn't afford it.  The kid's dad explained that it was already paid for. 

 

This guy didn't own a lawn mower himself and I don't think he could have pushed one around his yard even if he did.  He has no vehicle of his own.  No family and only a few friends his own age that I'm aware of.  Where's the harm in helping someone like that out?

 

Apparently it ruffles feathers.  Darn.

 

 

Some people hate the idea that they "have to accept charity". It makes them feel demeaned. When I do something like that, and the person remonstrates, I just ask them to pay it forward by doing something they can do for someone who'd appreciate it. There's always something - even if it's just talking to someone who lives alone - maybe someone elderly who may be lonely....

[Saturn Celeste]

Bad things happen to good people.  Be careful out there!

https://www.wate.com/news/homeless-man-accused-of-slitting-womans-throat-after-she-let-him-into-her-home-to-shower/

 

@katrinka, your OP was excellent.  I totally agreed with you.

[Grandma]

On 2/19/2022 at 12:53 PM, RunningWild said:

This guy didn't own a lawn mower himself and I don't think he could have pushed one around his yard even if he did.  He has no vehicle of his own.  No family and only a few friends his own age that I'm aware of.  Where's the harm in helping someone like that out?

 

Apparently it ruffles feathers.  Darn.

Do you really want an answer to that question?  Because I have some thoughts about how I, an elderly person on a fixed income, see the situation a little differently than you do.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Grandma

[katrinka]

On 2/19/2022 at 4:20 PM, gregory said:

At first, he was upset and telling the kid that he couldn't afford it. 

It sounds like that's what got him upset. It's best if things like this are not a surprise.

Where I live, if your grass gets high you get a warning letter from the city. They tell you that you have 10 days to cut it, or they'll send someone to cut it, bill you and fine you. He might have thought something like that was happening.