Opportunists really piss me off......

I originally posted this on another site where I blog, The Epistolarians and now I've got an update to the story. And SURPRISE! I'm even MORE  pissed now!

There’s something that really chaps my ass and I just can’t keep quiet about it any longer.  I know a lot of people who have cried poor over the years. And I know some of them really are in need, I totally get that. And I’m not judging these people who are really down and out, nor am I degrading them in any way. However, there is a certain type of person who very well may be poor but this type of person repeatedly comes out on top of most things only because people feel sorry for them and give them things that by rights they should earn on their own. And while it doesn’t affect me, it affects those people that I truly care about. And it’s time I got this off my chest, so here goes.

There’s this girl, we’ll call her Beulah. And Beulah had gotten herself in a bad way. But ever the trooper, Beulah did what she needed to do, and now has an offspring. Beulah was a single mother relying on her parents to help her out. She also relied on her friends. A lot. But not for what you might think. She didn’t rely on those friends to help her financially take care of her offspring (let’s call him Paco). She didn’t rely on those friends to help pay for Paco’s clothes, schooling, food, etc. No, she depended on these friends to get her into things: clubs, shows, concerts, all the places that responsible adults pay to get to themselves. But not Beulah. 

Beulah sees an opportunity to take advantage and jumps on it. Now, I know that the early bird catches the worm and you have to carpe the diem and seize the day and all that bullshit, but there’s a big difference between taking the bull by the horns to get what you want, and getting others to get it for you. And that’s what pisses me off. Here’s a great example of what I’m talking about.

Recently, Beulah ran into more financial difficulties (again). And Beulah’s amazing, and generous friends started helping her out. The asked others to help out too. And really, when you see that a stranger is in need, of course the right and just thing to do is to help out. However, what Beulah’s friends (and these poor unsuspecting strangers) THINK she’s going to do with the money, and what she’s actually PLANNING on doing with the money are two very different things. I’m not psychic, but I do follow things on the old innerwebz. This ain’t my first time at the rodeo. And I know that while Beulah is making everyone and their mother aware that people are collecting money for her, she’s also got her eye on things she’s already planning on buying with this money. Things that, SURPRISE! Have nothing whatsoever to do with helping Paco (unless Paco wants to listen to old vinyl or hang posters) 

Now here's an UPDATE to the original post: Guess who is going on a cruise!!! If you guessed Beulah, you'd be correct! That's right, friends and neighbors, for all of you who donated to her cause to help her out financially, you've paid for her trip to the Caribbean! Congratulations. In my black little heart, if I donated to her because she was having financial difficulties and then I found out she was taking a Caribbean vacation on my dime, I'd be pissed as hell. But that's just me. If you donated to her and are happy for her that she's getting some time away from her son, then you are a better person than I am. Fo' shizzle.

This type of person, an opportunist, annoys the shit out of me. Honestly, aggravates me to no end. Want another example? Years ago I worked in Atlantic City. And at that time, one of the people in my department (let’s call her Hortense) called into the office to say that her son had been killed in a car accident. We were all shocked and saddened at this. Her son was about 8 years old. It was tragic and awful and we all took up a collection for Hortense, as we knew she didn’t have much and thought money would be better than flowers to get through a funeral and a horrible time in her life. We collected close to $1000 and gave it to her. And Hortense was grateful.  A few days later, someone from our department called her house to check to see how she was coping, how she was dealing with this tragedy. She didn’t answer, but her mother did. And her mother informed us that Hortense’s son had NOT, in fact, died in a tragic car accident. The boy was right there in the room with her. And Hortense was at work. When we explained to Hortense’s mother what had transpired, and that Hortense was NOT, in fact, at work, she apologized, horribly embarrassed at what Hortense had done. That was the last time we ever heard anything about Hortense. 

So you see, people can be sneaky and underhanded and that makes me sick. I earn my money, if I am facing hard times, I don’t expect others to give me money to get through. I don’t expect others to give me money to go to movies, concerts, trips, etc. If I can’t afford it myself, I’m not expecting others to foot the bill for me. And people who DO this, without guilt, with no conscience, irritate me.