Don't Feed the Ducks! - The Way of Phi in Practice -

Doesn't the offender's posture alone suggest the illicit nature of his actions?

Dear friend,

Sometimes even good deeds seem to be prohibited.

Like feeding ducks.

How could that be a crime?

Then again, perhaps it isn't the feeding of the ducks itself that is the problem, but rather the consequences thereof.

Nowadays, beggars are a common sight outside grocery stores and when I meet them, mixed feelings arise in me.

I'm reminded of Jesus's words that whatever I do for the least of his brothers and sisters I have done for him. Occasionally I have offered a banana to the person that I see, but usually my compassion is limited to a brief greeting and a vague sense of guilt.

Then I am considering shady networks supposedly bringing people here from other countries, deliberately placing them at strategic places to beg by playing on people's emotions, as a sort of day job, the earnings of which are then collected by their managers.

But somewhere in all of this there is something larger that seems to call my attention. For I do want to practise compassion, but I don't want my compassion to be exploited. It is similar to when kindness is treated as weakness. That really pisses me off.

So, when I do meet foreign beggars in Sweden, it doesn't feel genuine. It feels orchestrated. I think ever since I recognised some Romanian beggars I'd seen at my local grocery store waiting for their flights home at the airport, I've had misgivings about this whole business.

What would Jesus do?

Still here,

Christopher

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