Polar opposites

So although there isn't a picture to go with today's post, a really wanted to share this story with you guys about two completely opposite people I emcountered at work today. As you guys know, I work at a kiosk in the mall raising money for ActionAid, a charity that works with impoverished people in over 50 countries. One woman stopped today and tried to donate several times. Unfortunately, because of our policies on donations, she wasn't able to. To my surprise, she then started to cry. When I asked her what was wrong, she said that it was because people like us (a charity) were fundraising in a mall. She then explained how it really makes it hit home that while people like us are out shopping, other people don't even have water. The sad things is how completely true that statement is. Unfortunately, it just isn't something we think about here very much.

While all this was going on, one of my coworkers attempted to stop a guy who was walking by our table. The man then proceeded to yell at her, saying that we should help street kids instead of these "motherf***ers." Now, I should explain to you that while a lot of people aren't happy to talk to us, it's extremely rare to have someone actually start cursing, so the fact that this man used that word to describe the kids we're trying to help was absolutely shocking. I couldn't help but think of how it ironic it was that the two extremes of the people I encounted everyday happened to show up at our table at the same time. One one side of the table was a man yelling about how these people we're working to help are "motherf***ers." On the other side was a woman who was so overcome with compassion that she started to cry. It really does paint a pretty accurate picture of the types of people who are out there and the types of people we get to meet every day at work.