A Tale of Two Families
There’s a nice little street in a nice little town. On this street, two houses sit side by side.
In one house there is a nice, well adjusted family. They live their lives with some semblance of discipline. The parents nurture their children, care for their property and get along quite well. They are active in the community and frequently help the less fortunate.
In the other house, chaos reigns. The family is exceedingly dysfunctional. The parents behave like petty tyrants. They spend all their money on themselves and ignore the needs of their children. The children are beaten and seldom have enough to eat. The property looks like a war zone.
One day, the major of the town - Bob Delgoff – learns of this unfortunate situation. And being a good, compassionate man, he decides to do something about it. So, he pays visit to the Nice family. Once inside their home he proceeds to lecture them in a most sanctimonious fashion. “You need to do more to help your neighbours.” says Mayor Bob. “You have so much and they have so little. You should be ashamed.”
“But Mr. Mayor,” says Mr. Nice, “Mr. and Mrs. Tyrant spend all their money on themselves and neglect their children terribly. They are the cause of their own problems. Why aren’t you lecturing them instead of us?”
The mayor, having no retort to this unexpected bit of irrefutable logic, sputters something unintelligible and makes a hasty retreat.
The next week he is on the local TV station with Mayor Nobo of a neighbouring town, announcing a benefit concert with proceeds going to Mr. and Mrs. Tyrant. "We must help their children." Mayor Nobo exclaims. "They are innocent victims and we must do all we can to save them."
Everyone feels sorry for the Tyrants' children and the concert is a huge success. Being the good citizens that they are, the Nice family attend the concert and give generously.
Mayors Bob and Nobo make a big public display of turning over the proceeds to Mr. and Mrs. Tyrant. They make the front page of the local paper and the evening news.
Mr. and Mrs. Tyrant promptly buy a 60" Plasma screen, a satellite subscription and three crates of Rum. The children are locked in their rooms so the parents can party throughout the night.
The following week, two of their eight children are found dead of starvation and a third is hospitalized with pneumonia. Everyone feels sorry for them. Another concert is organized.
But, this time, the Nice family doesn't attend.
In one house there is a nice, well adjusted family. They live their lives with some semblance of discipline. The parents nurture their children, care for their property and get along quite well. They are active in the community and frequently help the less fortunate.
In the other house, chaos reigns. The family is exceedingly dysfunctional. The parents behave like petty tyrants. They spend all their money on themselves and ignore the needs of their children. The children are beaten and seldom have enough to eat. The property looks like a war zone.
One day, the major of the town - Bob Delgoff – learns of this unfortunate situation. And being a good, compassionate man, he decides to do something about it. So, he pays visit to the Nice family. Once inside their home he proceeds to lecture them in a most sanctimonious fashion. “You need to do more to help your neighbours.” says Mayor Bob. “You have so much and they have so little. You should be ashamed.”
“But Mr. Mayor,” says Mr. Nice, “Mr. and Mrs. Tyrant spend all their money on themselves and neglect their children terribly. They are the cause of their own problems. Why aren’t you lecturing them instead of us?”
The mayor, having no retort to this unexpected bit of irrefutable logic, sputters something unintelligible and makes a hasty retreat.
The next week he is on the local TV station with Mayor Nobo of a neighbouring town, announcing a benefit concert with proceeds going to Mr. and Mrs. Tyrant. "We must help their children." Mayor Nobo exclaims. "They are innocent victims and we must do all we can to save them."
Everyone feels sorry for the Tyrants' children and the concert is a huge success. Being the good citizens that they are, the Nice family attend the concert and give generously.
Mayors Bob and Nobo make a big public display of turning over the proceeds to Mr. and Mrs. Tyrant. They make the front page of the local paper and the evening news.
Mr. and Mrs. Tyrant promptly buy a 60" Plasma screen, a satellite subscription and three crates of Rum. The children are locked in their rooms so the parents can party throughout the night.
The following week, two of their eight children are found dead of starvation and a third is hospitalized with pneumonia. Everyone feels sorry for them. Another concert is organized.
But, this time, the Nice family doesn't attend.
2 Comments:
It's strange how when you de-globalise it, it becomes more real.
Of course, you realise that the Nice family will be charged for not having called Children's Aid.
Excellent post! (but I still want Ralph to make PMPM look bad)
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