Picture above shows Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan embracing a young woman who has been wheelchair-bound since an automobile accident six years ago, during the Thong Chai Charity Show on March 21.
The show managed to raise S$7.23 million at the end of the live telecast.
For over 20 years I have been advocating that fund raising for worthy causes must be achieved through education and not largely through emotive appeals using sob stories, celebrities or stupid monks performing retarded stunts.
My calls have fallen on deaf ears.
The emotional blackmail way of fund raising is still being used today because it is effective in a society which is immature, a society comprising people who find it easier to write a check to give away conscience money than to roll up their sleeves, dirty their hands and actually help change lives or to automatically set aside precious resources on a regular basis for the betterment of the underprivileged and the less fortunate.
Yup, just give some money and get it over with fast.
Sob stories, celebrities and stupid monks performing retarded stunts sure help move things along.