"I made the decision to buy her some groceries because arresting her was not going to solve the problem of her children being hungry," Miami-Dade police officer Vicki Thomas told WSVN after she caught a woman shoplifting.
What do you think of the officer's decision to go beyond the call of duty?
While it is true some people abuse the system, keep in mind that it is some. Not everyone or even most people sell their benefits or waste it on junk food and empty calories. The people that do this or who only buy prepackaged foods may do so out of ignorance or because they lack cooking facilities and may only have a microwave or may not have working utilities. Not by any means do I excuse anyone who just blatantly abuse or misuse their benefits, often times it is the innocent children who suffer. There are plenty of families that bargain shop clip coupons and bulk bulk and do anything to save and get more food to take care of their families, sometimes still falling short. There are many families who work and still barely scrape by working long hours. There is even a steady stream of people with college degrees unable to find work in their field and have to take minimum wage jobs.Personally, I work full time and commute by bus (3 hours a day just for transportation by bus) and take care of my children and my brothers and sisters(who are minors) after our parents passed away, a total of six children and I barely get by. I receive food stamps and pay for eveything else I pay rent utilities and provide for all 6 children and it is a daily struggle. I have never sold my benefits or even thought about it ever, and I cook everything and try to make all that I can from scratch. I'm divorced and do receive child support for my children but I barely make it each month. Not eveyone who receives aide is a loser, rather than see my family in foster care where anything can happen I support and love them along with my own children. With 7 people i get $528 in food stamps and I am thrifty to the last penny. Especially with the cuts in food stamps , some people are getting desperate. It is not easy to find a job even in fast food these days with credentials, especially if you are over qualified and your chosen field job market is low or almost non existent. Especially if you live in a smaller city , some people drive cities away to look for work and spend most of their money on gas back and forth to work. Times are hard.
Is food insecurity supposed to be the higher classed way of saying people, don't have enough to eat? More stupid sh-t Obama has come up with!
So far 6 hundred million dollars has been wasted on Obama's ACA website, with no end in sight. How many thousands of families, would this money have helped to buy food? Just stupid!
@glenda-Obama didn't invent poverty in America. Most of what we're going through started during the Reagan years and have only gotten worse. Blame the Republicans for cutting back on social services and skewing the economy so that the rich are richer than they have ever been while the middle class is disappearing.
It's sad but I feel like the more you try to help people the more you get spit on. Rich bitches think everyone should fend for themselves and have NO CONCEPT of what it means to live in a community, help a neighbor, do a favor without expecting anything in return etc. And they look down on those who TRY to help others. I have been asked on more than one occasion why I spend money on good food for the food bank if I cant be sure that the people who receive the food are " really poor". But even the people you offer help to often dont WANT what you offer! You offer food to the guy on the street begging for money and he says " no" because he'd rather have cash. Whats that tell you? And SNAP is a joke, if I had a nickle for every woman I've seen selling her snap benefits I'd be on vacation in the carribean right now. People on both sides are shameless. I Think drug testing should be mandatory for every single person getting assistance, failed test = no more trading EBT for tequila. That would literally make my day to see that in action. I agree that sometimes some people just need help out of a hole, but by and large the people I KNOW are where they are because they are a bunch of lazy, lying, users and abusers. The world is full of them and they are proud of what they do.
If people who are too poor to have kids realizes it, then we won't be having this kind of problem.
Where in the article does it say she was poor when she had the children?
God bless that family and the officer who helped her feed her family on that day. Now that this was given national coverage, maybe someone can set her up w/ schooling or a program to help her back on her feet to prevent this from occurring again...
Give a person a fish; feed them for a day.
Teach a person to fish and feed them for a lifetime.
Nice gesture, but doesn't solve the core problem.
Like arresting her would have solved the problem?
If that's your solution ... I was thinking more along the lines of her having fallen on hard times and this was her last resort because welfare & SNAP were no longer options for some reason. But if you think she should have been arrested, who am I to put words in your mouth?
Arresting her wouldn't be my solution either.
But food pantries and other assistance programs are stretched to their limits right now... even when you don't factor in the effects of the government shutdown (which was, and could again, promising to screw over nutrition programs like WIC for mothers and young children & Meals on Wheels for seniors).
What we need is for more people to take a look at what it means to be part of a large and multifaceted society, and how they fit in it... and realize that if they are among the haves it's actually part of their end of the economic/social contract to help the have-nots without government mandate and that such help benefits everyone in the end. Unfortunately, it would take a huge restructuring of people's minds and government to make this happen... and people are resistant to change.
I'm seeing the cop's actions as a person who is more in touch with that necessary realization than most.
I'm coming at things from a liberal mixed with libertarian (with a small "l" because I don't agree with the "official" Libertarian party either) point of view.
"Arresting her wouldn't be my solution either."
Then stop putting words in other people's mouths. YOU'RE the only person who brought up arresting her. Sheesh.
I would've done the same. That's Awsome!!!!
If more people would do what this policeman did there would be more people that would not have to steal. Also when you share ask God to really bless the person.
I applaud the cop. He is a hero and a roll model.
The "article" was a sentence long and you still couldn't read the whole thing. And assuming the cop was a man is completely sexist. Of course I guess you can't expect too much from someone who thinks it's "roll" model.
I loaned a customer $300 of my own money once for a security deposit as a banker because he couldn't qualify for a loan. Was paid back with $330 a week later. Score.
I did something similar. Had a lady begging outside of a local WalMart, saying that she needed diapers and supplies for her granddaughter, who she was caring for since Mom is in jail. I did not give cash, but rather walked her through the store and bought $100 (give or take) of diapers, baby wipes, formula and the like. Dang, but that stuff is pricy!