A new Low in America

I had seen nearly every kind of wrong there was in this country I was introduced to a new all time low on the day before Thanksgiving.

I am not typically the type of person that is easily outraged or even shocked by the way people act in this country and even when I am, I usually limit my rantings to the privacy of my own home. What I witnessed on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was so horrific that I felt a real need to share with everyone the amazing dis regard some people have. This shameless display of greed that I am about to share with you should outrage every one that hears about it. I was outraged, I was saddened but most of all I was shocked.

I was shocked to find out that people in my small community could be so thoughtless and so uncaring.

 I live in a city where the unemployment rate and the homeless rates are both extremely high. This is an unfortunate fact of life. My city also has an infinite number of helping-hand organizations which is a fortunate fact of life. Often times small businesses or private individuals will get in the gift giving spirit and do some thing really nice.

One such small business, a mom and pop chicken restaurant, was giving away free Thanksgiving dinners. I know this business is not making an extreme amount of money and the kindness they were offering was I am sure very costly for them.

I drove into the parking lot that the restaurant shares with my local corner store and this normally one car at a time parking lot was packed to overflowing. There were signs all over advertising the free dinner and I thought that is really a very nice thing for them to be doing. I waited patiently for a parking spot, parked my car and went into the store expecting it to me very busy. I was dismayed to see that I was the only one in the store. I made my purchase and returned to the parking lot where I took a second look at the cars. Among them were 3 Lincoln Towncars, 4 Caddilacs, 1 CadillacSUV, and 3 Hummers all nearly new. As I got in my car and prepared to leave I took a closer look at the line of people waiting for the free dinners which where being handed out through a window on the porch and was amazed to see that a majority of the people waiting in that line where nicely dressed in expensive clothing, clean shaved and definitely not underfed.

I remember thinking to myself that the restaurant should not allow that kind of abuse but then I realized that there was probably very little they could do about it since they had advertised the free meal. I also realised that the restaurant was not the one at fault here. They got caught trying to do a nice thing by a lot of greedy, not so nice people!

Seeing that shameless display of greed was an all time low for me. I did not ever imagine that there were people out there that could be so heartless. There are a lot if people in this city that could have benefited from this restaurants generosity who probably didn't because of the ones taking that didn't need.

 just because you drive a nice car and have expensive clothing that you are greedy. I am simply saying that if people have the resource to provide for themselves they should.

It is hard enough in our declining economy for anyone to be able to be charitable and when people that do not need take it makes it even harder.

In a recent approximation USA Today estimated "1.6 million people unduplicated persons used transitional housing or emergency shelters. Of these people, approximately 1/3 are members of households with children, a nine percent increase since 2007.

The number of people claiming unemployment in October 2009 increased by 12,900 on the month to reach 1.64 million, the highest number of claimants since April 1997.

In 2009 18.2 percent of Americans were considered to be impoverished with an average income of less than $24,000 an year. $24, to $46,000 a year is considered low income. $46, to $57, 000 and year is middle class.

Considering this information, it is not likely that the people driving the 3 Lincolns, 4 Caddy's, 1 Escalade, and 3 Hummers really needed to me in line waiting for a free Thanksgiving meal.