more comments...
« Wareagle24/7 wrote on Thursday, Apr 04 at 12:43 AM »
« aubap0006 wrote on Thursday, Apr 04 at 12:09 AM »
« Racer50 wrote on Wednesday, Apr 03 at 11:33 PM »
« brad12345 wrote on Wednesday, Apr 03 at 11:00 PM »
« itb0001 wrote on Friday, Mar 29 at 03:59 PM »
I'm sure the writer of this letter had good intentions, but if you took the time to go through Slum City you'd understand that you've made grand assumptions about its impact. And you know what they say about assuming. A representation of where people live does not reinforce a negative stereotype. The signs there did not say "This is what ALL of Kenya looks like." Frankly, I've been to places that look exactly like what was set up on the concourse. And in reality what was set up on the concourse was a lot nicer than what most people live in. I understand you acknowledge poverty exists here in the states and want to challenge students to take action, but what you've accomplished in this letter make a comparison that isn't fair and discredited all the hard work put into this event. First, not everyone is going to look at a student constructed simulation and say "This must be what ALL of Kenya, India, and other third world countries look like." This might be the case for some people, but that's there were volunteers there to talk them through the different exhibits. There is no "false distance". This logic of false distance, seeing a trailer park and seeing Auburn or Alabama flags hanging from them, one could assume all Auburn or Alabama fans live in trailers. They're surrounded by multimillion dollar roads and not far off from multibillion dollar cities, but they must just be poor. I don't think what you have said is fair to the organizations that put this little event together. And saying you think they had a good heart in it doesn't hide the unfairness of your statement. Comparing any poverty in the U.S. to poverty in third world countries is like saying the Super Bowl is the same as the Sun Belt championship. There is no comparison. If you took the time to go through what they had set up on the concourse you would have seen that they were partnered with SIFAT, Servants in Faith and Technology, which is an organization that focuses on long-term development to people in need, instead of short-term relief. This event was meant to open peoples eyes to how good we have it here and possibly gain some recruits to help people out in need. If it made you uncomfortable at the concept of poverty in other countries, as well as in the U.S., then I think the event accomplished exactly what it was supposed to do.
« ceciladkins wrote on Saturday, Mar 23 at 07:09 PM »