“Anti Poverty” Activism

I’m an anti poverty activist. And I’m doing what I can to prevent poverty. Like.. work, for one thing. Pay my child support as well. And I even hired a student over the summertime to do some work for me, and was able to pay her at a rate we agreed to, and that was worth it to me for the work that she provided me.

Yes, I’ll do what I can to be an activist against poverty. But I sure won’t steal from others. Lisa at The London Fog brings our attention to the recent shenanigans of The Ontario Coalition against Poverty. Apparently, they stole $3,000.00 worth of merchandise from a Loblaws store, and of course, OCAP’s John Clarke dismisses the word “shoplifting.”

Of course. It’s outright theft, if you ask me. $3,000.00 worth of merchandise goes a bit beyond the average shop lifting excursion, if you ask me. Not that shoplifting is any less serious.. but it’s not exactly easy to hide three grand worth of food in your pockets. If fact, this is not any minor summary conviction criminal offence – this is nothing less than an indictable offence.

Legalities aside, what does theft have to do with anti-poverty activism?

Mike at the London Fog points out that in the original article that the ‘anti’ was missing when reporting. John Clarke is now a poverty activist – not an “anti-poverty” activist.

I have no idea about the wealth of John Clarke. But certainly, he is very impoverished when it comes to his values. I wonder how he would feel if someone stole $3,000.00 worth of his property, and then submitted a bill to the Government for payment. Yes, John Clarke most certainly is a poverty activist, and a disgusting one, at that.

In my own anti-poverty actions, I prefer the words of that wise old Ben Franklin guy over the words and actions of the idiotic John Clarke:

“I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”
~Benjamin Franklin, On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor, November 1766

And Ben’s views and observations match mine as well. I spent 15 years working with so called folks in “poverty” and can tell you that after three hundred and fifty years or so, human nature is still the same as it was in Ben’s day.

Sorry John.. but if you come and try to steal $3,000.00 worth of good from me, I’ll do everything I can including blowing your head off, if I have to. That’s two child support payments for me, John. And your activism isn’t going to prevent me from following through with my responsibilities, as far as I can help it.

And that ain’t a threat. It’s a promise. I catch you in the act of trying to steal my property, and you don’t stop when I tell you to stop, I will do EVERYTHING in my power to stop you, regardless of the result. Even if it means I gotta kill you.

So anytime you are ready, John Clarke, to take your idiotic demonstrations up my way, let me know. I’ll be waiting. My love for my children far exceeds my love for you and your activities. Come on John. It’s a battle worth fighting for, right? As Mike points out, you’ve got some wild looking eyes there. But wait till you see how wild my eyes can get when I am protecting my property and that of my children and loved ones. You up for it, John?

If you’d like to discuss REAL anti poverty movements, then come chat with me. But don’t you dare try to steal from me or my children or my loved ones. You WILL pay the consequences, which could be the ultimate sacrifice. Willing to go that far, John Boy? I bet not. With all your ranting and raving, deep down your a coward and a thief and someone who has despicable values. Come on John Boy.. try your stunt with me. And I’ll even make it easy for you. Let me know when you’ll be attempting your theft, and I’ll make sure I have $3,000.00 worth of food in my fridge.

In the meantime, take a long hard look at Ben Franklin’s words, above. Consider them. Ruminate over them. And if you had any sense at all, you’d join the real anti-poverty activists in this country. And you’ll turn from your wicked ways. And you’ll encourage your friends to be productive. To take responsibility for themselves.

But the challenge is there, John Boy. Let’s see how much of an activist you are. Let’s seem who’s eyes get the wildest look.. yours while you steal.. or mine while I protect my property and my loved ones. John Boy, I’m betting that it’s my eyes that will become the wildest.. as I also restrain myself initially, demand that you stop, warn you to stop, and give you an opportunity to stop, and if you don’t, use whatever force is necessary, up to and including lethal force. Whether it’s three grand worth of food, or ten dollars worth. I bloody well worked hard for it, John Boy, regardless of it’s value on the open market.

And I guess you realize.. you just made the price of groceries go up too. Time to hit the books on economics, John Boy.

Until we meet.. have fun. In the meantime, I’ll fight my own “anti-poverty” battles my way. And completely and utterly despise your way, as you make food more expensive for me and my family and loved ones.

John Boy.. anyone we should call in the event of something bad happening to you? A priest perhaps? The government? Your poverty activists? Cuz.. something bad WILL happen to you if you ever dare to try to pull the same stunt with me. But being a man of values that you are.. I’m sure you will take up my challenge. $3,000.00 worth of food when you give the word, John Boy.. all for the taking.. if you can.

Update: Someone emailed me asking me if I had firearms and if so, if they were unregistered. My response is that I don’t need firearms to carry out my defence of proprly, although firearms are quite efficient. It’s funny that I might save a life by pointing a firearm in self defence.. the sheer fear of it would probably cause someone like John Clarke to back off….

On the other hand, a very good store bought or home made sling shot will do the job just as well. A powerful slingshot will blow someone’s head off, up close. It will also have tremendous stopping power.

I have no need of firearms to protect my property and loved ones should John Clarke take me up on my challenge. And should the government decide to make slingshots prohibited, I still have at my disposal, baseball bats, knives, rope, a 4 cell maglite, matches, lighters, lysol, and a wide range of toilet cleaning products. John Clarke’s grin, while on acid.. might be very intersting. Those eyes of his might get a little wilder when subjected to Sani-Flush powder and water.

But an M-16 is much more effient, psychologically. As is a .303 with a magazine. Or even a 12 guage shotgun. Come on John.. fight the battle…