Untitled by Asian Female

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So my coworker says to me this morning, "Hey you know how Blahbity-Blah has been going through a hard time lately? Well I was talking to her the other day about Christmas shopping for the kids and she mentioned that her daughter isn't going to have much of a Christmas this year because she can't afford the gift her daughter really REALLY wants. So I was thinking how nice it would be if we could start an anonymous fund for her and that way she'd be able to give her daughter a nice Christmas. No pressure, just however much you wanna contribute."

"What does her daughter want for Christmas?" I ask.

The response - a Nintendo DS Lite.

Excuse me?!

Only a non-Asian person would think this justifies as reason to start an anonymous fund. Maybe I'm old school but I come from a world where all I had for a toy growing up was a square piece of orange faux-fur. I learned early on in life that priorities need to be made, sacrifices are required and if you don't get what you want, you'd better have a damn good imagination!

My parents survived those Communist days of labor camps and food rationing - 2 ounces of meat a month! Should I really be feeling sorry for a woman who can't afford to buy her *5 YEAR OLD* a Nintendo DS Lite??

This is the reason why America has been going down the tube and China is going to rise as the next super power. The American mentality is too dependent on handouts. We've got the charities and the fundraisers and the welfare programs - donations for everything you can think of. These are just crutches people so don't kid yourself - we're not doing anybody any favors. When are we going to say life-is-hard-so-suck-it-up! What life lesson is this five year old child going to learn by receiving a Nintendo DS Lite for Christmas? More importantly, 15 years from now when this child grows up to be an adult, what is this person going to expect from the world?

Comments

Winnie said…
i think the gesture was meant to be a kind one and they didn't think it through to this degree. it's a semi-pity gesture b/c the mom (who loves her kid) just wants to get her kid what s/he wants and she probably feels guilty she can't provide and your coworkers just want to be thoughtful, especially during the holidays. the kid will derive temporary pleasure from it as all kids do. nothing is gained but the kid and mom's satisfaction and your coworkers gain pride. the kid won't know any better yet; he's too young to realize it.
December 3, 2008 at 8:27 PM
J said…
BTW, I'd like to introduce a new blogger, known simply as "Asian Female."
December 3, 2008 at 8:56 PM
Degenerasian said…
The mother should never say "can't afford" and "Nintendo DS"

A 5-year old can play with pretty much anything.

When you have to pool money to give yo someone to buy a gift, then Christmas has lost all of it's meaning.
December 3, 2008 at 9:38 PM
J said…
I think the mom should take the opportunity to teach the child about the spirit of giving and how meaningful it is when you give or receive a gift that shows a lot of thought. It's rather unfortunate that the mother is such a linear thinker and can't come up with an alternative gift idea.
December 3, 2008 at 10:06 PM
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