mia

i've been a bit m.i.a. lately. we had a friend visit town, i've been working (same as always), shopping for some golf clubs, and watching msnbc.

the other day we watched this documentary about teen runaways who flock to portland, oregon because of the laid-back atmosphere and the readily available black tar heroin. it was mostly interesting, but there was one girl on it that really annoyed me.

she was a 16 year old runaway. she ran away because her parents were "strict"--they wanted her to do her homework. she would sit on the street and beg for money. she got upset when people told her to get a job. she didn't want to become a "corporate puppet." instead, she wanted to "do whatever i felt like." but then she would go to the free clinics funded by, you guessed it, those corporate puppets.

which is why maybe taxes shouldn't fund these things. sure, there are those truly in need. but there are those who simply won't "stoop" to a job they (subjectively) think they're better than. and then there are those who just refuse to do anything and don't hide an intentional dependency. the thing is, most of the people who work with these social (call them welfare if you wish) programs are too "nice" and don't investigate or discriminate. they want to help everyone. which is admirable. maybe. unless helping someone means making them make themselves useful or responsible. in which case they're enablers.

speaking of which, this is probably incoherent. plus i'm watching "intervention" on a&e. good stuff. i ramble about this once or twice a year. you get the point.