But crowd funding has also attracted scores of unscrupulous individuals who see this as a gateway to obtaining easy money without having to lift a finger - well, apart from typing up a short sob story, that is. These are probably the same sort of people who turn up their noses at some poor homeless person begging on a street corner.
I have previously written about the unfortunate case of Jahi McMath. 15 months later, and this circus is still going on. The GoFundMe that was originally set up to move her from CHO to another facility is still up and running, even though she was moved over a year ago. And in the meantime, we have seen how the family have been spending those donations. But enough about Jahi's family for now.
Recently I received a link to this other GoFundMe site:
Buy a Car for Rania El-Alloul
"This campaign is to help raise funds to buy Rania a car and also raise awareness of the issue. No woman with Hijab or any other religious symbol should be treated differently anywhere, let alone in a court of law.
We want to buy a car for her because she is separated and on welfare. She went to court to try and get her car back. It was taken because her son drove with a suspended license.
Any excess funds will be directed to her legal fees or as requested by Ms. El-Alloul."
Now, I don't care if this woman had gone to court stark bollock naked, claiming that her rights as a nudist were not being respected. What I do object to is this culture of entitlement. There are millions of separated women on welfare from all walks of life, races and religions, (including Muslims) so why should she be special? And why did she allow her son to drive with a suspended license? What if he had caused an accident or even killed someone? So she had her car confiscated, big deal. It's got nothing to do with what she was or wasn't wearing. She broke the law. Tough!
Another case I have been following recently is that of a mother who lost her baby and set up a GoFundMe to bury her child. I am not going to go into too much detail out of respect for the family, as this is a very recent case. All I will say is that a couple of weeks ago, this same woman was bragging on Facebook about the new luxury car her husband (who incidentally is in the military) had bought her as a Valentine's gift.
No doubt she has been left with crippling medical bills, but then again, she was advised by the doctors treating the baby that any intrusive treatment was futile.
IMO, these people are in the same league as the scammers who prey on vulnerable people on online dating sites. This culture of entitlement is just wrong. Of course, we all have our dreams, be it an exotic holiday or a new home. But people need to learn the value of money and value qualities such as intelligence and hard work.
I would rather give some spare change to this guy, at least he is honest!
