Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for February 11, 2010
Transcript:
Holly: Gram, I don't want to baby-sit...and if I DO I sure don't want to give the money AWAY. Gramma Evie: Holly, you have ALL you NEED. But the money you can earn in an AFTERNOON... Gramma Evie: ...could feed a Somali family for a WEEK! Or teach an Afghani woman to READ! Holly: WHO CAN'T READ?! Gramma Evie: Half the world. What DO they teach you in that school you're LUCKY to go to?!
susanwobb about 14 years ago
What’s KD? Kibble Delight? K-ration Dinner? Kazookistani Delectables? Kentucky Dumpster?
kreole about 14 years ago
The sad thing is that the more we contribute to hungry people in a country with a corrupt government, the less the government has to provide to the people, leaving more money available to keep the corrupt government in power. The real solution is to get rid of the corrupt government… (called “Nation Building”) , which seems to be politically incorrect by many, so we just keep plodding along……
farflungfloyd about 14 years ago
More and more stats seem to show that just charity and aid creates long-term problems. However, getting the female population of a country to read, educating and empowering them leads to all kinds of long term growth.
verso-recto about 14 years ago
Hey susan: somebodyshort is showing his/her Canadian roots. “KD” is “Kraft Dinner”, glorified macaroni and cheese(?) in a box - a staple of starving students but, unfortunately, what many people use to tide them over when incomes are low.
JerryGorton about 14 years ago
I have always had plenty, but I still eat it a lot. I like it…
pdking77 about 14 years ago
How long is this guilt-motivated PSA going to run?
Ronshua about 14 years ago
“Kraft Dinner”is pricey , for in between , good times table-fare . The poor folk stock-up standard is Top Ramen Needles by the on sale case lots .
Yukoneric about 14 years ago
The illiteracy rate where I live (USA) is 17%. Sad.
Jungleman about 14 years ago
Ha, Canadian indeed. Kraft Dinner – macaroni and cheese for poor students too busy with partying and paper writing to spend time on cooking. My son, who lived in Canada for 4 1/2 years, transported tons and tons of Kraft Dinners accross Canada … you see it in all Family Stores and Safeways all accross Confederation!
On the charity issue, merely dumping money is counterproductive, but helping with short term immediate aid while seeking to make education accessible can be of real import. “If you give fish to a hungry man, you help him one day; if you give him fishing gear and teach him how to use it, you help him for life …” However, aid has to be really well directed. Government corruption is a real concern, indeed.
pearlandpeach about 14 years ago
Charlie Wilson got Congress to fund the Afghans to beat the Russians… the Congress would not give him the extra million to set up schools for woman and children….and see where we are now for lack of a smidgen of what was already spent on arms for the populace.
Direct help is so very important. Gran has it right.
lightenup Premium Member about 14 years ago
It’s also been proven that helping the people directly and giving them a way to flourish on their own lowers the likelihood that they will turn to radical groups for help and community, which of course leads to less terrorism. (I probably didn’t state that very well, and I’m sure there will be someone who will jump all over this, but the gist of what I’m trying to say is true.)
alondra about 14 years ago
I agree teaching the women how to become more independent is very important. Otherwise all they’ll do is make more babies they can’t care for and they’ll continue to be oppressed thinking there’s nothing else for them.
jay_dallas about 14 years ago
I think Grandma is a little over the top here. Why shouldnt a kid want to keep the money they earn? We are all supposed to wear sack cloth and flail ourselves to atone for our higher standard of living?
Valkano about 14 years ago
Jan, so great that you’re using Evie to educate readers about what is happening in the world. Globally, about 75 million kids aren’t in school because their families can’t afford the school fees. A Global Fund for Education – which demands accountability for the money spent – could help these nations eliminate school fees and ensure that every child gets a seat in the classroom
I invite you to use results.org as a resource in the future for Evie. RESULTS is the organization that introduced Muhammad Yunus to the U.S. Congress 20 years before he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in providing small loans to the poor.
Jan, if you’ve touched a nerve here, it only means you’re on the right track.
kab2rb about 14 years ago
When I was growing up we didn’t eat much M&C. Waffles and pancakes or beans all could afford. My dad couldn’t get work locally when laid off by a local aircraft had to go out of town. Company’s back then would hire someone from that company affraid they loose the worker. My mom had to major budget. And with my dad being gone for 10 years she still major budgets but can afford stuff and will not buy. Evan to fix the house. I still like SS evan if grandma is trying to educate her granddaughter. Just like us there are a lot of charities that call we are to the point we don’t answer the phone. They aren’t interested in how much income only what they can get. Holly could volunteer her time with childern on their education on subjects she knows. Like reading.
David Smirh about 14 years ago
So… apparently all you folks LIKE being preached to in the comics. Good Lord, is there no escape ?
nevadamike70 about 14 years ago
Thank you Jan! I’m among those who think that the comics don’t have to be empty rhetoric. I’m sure you know that if you were writing about the snow fall in D.C. then the comic would be applauded by the wing-nuts. Stone Soup has consistently been a “message” work. Please, keep up the good work.
jerzy about 14 years ago
Looks like someone forgot that comics are supposed to be funny. When I make decisions about what to do with my hard earned money, I definitely do NOT look to comic strips for advice!
MamaTaney about 14 years ago
Hmm .. I think this would be a good time for Holly to take a year off of public school and go over there with Evie. She can be unschooled (a type of homeschooling), learn about other cultures, help make a difference in others’ lives, and have fun traveling (meaning she’ll seem exotic & extra special the the kids her age when she gets home!).
pinkdryad Premium Member about 14 years ago
ok, mamataney, being “unschooled” is absolutely nothing like being homeschooled! i was homeschooled and have a better education than most in the public school system. don’t talk about something if you have no idea what you’re discussing.
as far as the comic is concerned, we all know there are so many issues and charities and problems around the world that need help. thank you for the reminder and encouragement to help. now enough is enough. lay off the guilt trip and please move on to a new topic.
Ooops! Premium Member about 14 years ago
I actually take offense at some of the commercials I see and hear in the United States. They ask you to contribute to this or that charity, but you must donate new items only. It’s not that people who need help should be denied the opportunity to get new items.
There are those who want to help but have to buy used items for themselves. It is implied their items that are no longer useful, but are in good condition are not good enough.
I am aware that there are places you can donate those items, but they don’t advertise that. I wish the companies that collect to help (and improve their business image) would either collect both new and used items, or at least take a little time to mention an organization that will be able to make use of those items.
cbrsarah about 14 years ago
If you want to help people we should help ourselves. Given the current economy, there are a lot of people out of work across the country. Many of them not only lost their jobs but their homes as well. The homeless rate is a disgrace and we’re giving millions away to foreign countries that would stab you in the back as soon as you turn around.
NoBrandName about 14 years ago
Wow, some people really hate to learn possible ways of helping other people.
mzetusky about 14 years ago
I love this strip - but dont start lecturing
alondra about 14 years ago
LuvH8 I agree with what you said. It irks me when a charity will only accept money or brand new clothing or blankets or whatever. Many of us have more clothes than we need and it would give us a chance to go through our closets and get rid of things we no longer wear and be giving it to those who can use it so we’re doing a good deed at the same time. It’s a win-win situation. We don’t all have money to spend on new things or just money to give.
vldazzle about 14 years ago
I no longer give to charities so far away. There are too many worthwhile causes right at home. That being said, Evie is on HER cause -so is promoting it- cute! I have finally realized that I won’t be working in an office again, so I am donating packages of all my office wear (skirt suits of many colors, blouses and sweaters) to a veteran’s org that pick’s up monthly. I still buy a few new things, but mine are much more casual as I seldom leave the house on business (work is emailed or FAXed to me-or sometimes delivered).
babsbybend about 14 years ago
There are plenty of charities that schools work with, and children have the opportunities to help fund-raise for them. And usually the charities are for the community around them.
That said, the local school district is collecting pennies to help build schools in Pakistan. The schools are teaching plenty on charity, but Holly’s Gran didn’t bother while she was at home. It was Alix who found the poor family, and tried to help them on her own, because she didn’t believe that her grandmother would want to.
And parents–and grandparents–have plenty of opportunities to teach the kids about life outside the house. I regularly guilted my kids about life here vs. Afghanistan.
Gran there didn’t volunteer in school while she was in the states, so she has no idea what the schools teach, and what’s more, her example of actively avoiding the schools and refusing to help with homework has set the path for her oldest grandchild.
What did Gran do with her days while the girls were in school and had the house all to herself? She didn’t volunteer in the local community, or at school. Can anyone blame Holly for wanting to be how she saw Gran every day?
jerzy about 14 years ago
You are correct, babsybend. Gran wouldn’t even be away working for that charity if it weren’t for wanting to be with her boyfriend, so she’s a hypocrite for expecting Holly to work at a job she hates AND give away all her earnings!
I’m all for teaching kids they need to earn their spending money, or for teaching them to do volunteer work, but we can’t expect teens to be saints. It seems like Gran wants Holly to be a saint, while she’s quite a sinner herself!
Also, I already give to charities of my OWN choice, & I don’t appreciate a daily guilt trip from some comic strip that USED to be funny, just because I choose different charites.
MarcAureleus984 about 6 years ago
Eve is not a hypocrite. She helped at home, on volunteer house-builds and with the kids’ homework when she was here, & if she likes the people she works with overseas (romantically or otherwise), that doesn’t make her contribution less meaningful for the people in desperate need.
If you have charities of your own, that is fine. But many don’t look outside their own life unless someone brings it up. Plus, the punchlines may not be to your taste this week, but they are still there in this comic.
I don’t think Eve wants Holly to be a saint. I think she wants her to be a well-rounded, thoughtful person. Holly needs a little help thinking of others’ problems, which will put her own in perspective.
No One in Particular about 2 years ago
If Holly ever actually reads a newspaper, she may just die of shock: “Some people have not faucets??” “No electricity?!” “NO MALLS?!?!?!?!!??!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!”