You turn on your TV. Maybe you wanted to catch up with your favorite TV shows after your day's end of work or after you're done with your assignments. Whatever it is. Your eyes are focused on the TV screen. You might have your favorite drinks right next to you or your loved ones or even both to keep you company while you are watching the TV. But then right before your favorite show, a commercial comes in to your view. A commercial about children in Africa suffering and in need of help and to help them, you donate to the UNICEF or the designated organization.
Some of you might have looked at the commercial and did not have much thought about it. Maybe you might have wondered and even be thankful for how much privileged you are compared to the people in the UNICEF commercial. And perhaps, you might have had this sudden urge to donate for the cause but then decided not to while in other cases you might have gone along with your urges.
But here's the thing. Have you actually, seriously thought about the children in the UNICEF commercial or the commercial in general? Perhaps have you wondered what is going on behind the scene of the commercial? There are cases where people go to certain regions in Africa and deliberately contaminate the regions' water source or other lively hoods to generate a scenario befitting such UNICEF commercial. Or they choose children who are extremely poor to be featured in the commercial and generalize the whole region of Africa as being poor. Sources about these cases can be found in Google. How about we ourselves try to find the sources rather than the sources are easily given to us. We ourselves have to take action and not wait for the action to come to us. And these behind the scene actions…they are not so different than the propaganda featured in the DPRK commercials. DPRK focusing on impoverished children versus UNICEF (not just UNICEF) commercial focusing on impoverished children. The difference? One is in communistic (it's actually Juche) world and the other is in a democratic world. The cause may be different you say? Then here comes the politics. Expansion of the organization. Publicity of organizations' agenda. Connections. Deep pockets. And the list goes on. Surely, if it is for the better, then the commercial should be more of improved condition—a glimpse of progress—rather than the same old suffering, no?
The last inquiry brings in the title of this article. Poverty porn. Porn is an addiction to self-gratification. The question is...If the people whom you donated your money becomes much more successful than you, will you truly congratulate them towards their success? Your life has its own complex problems and things. But now others have overcome those obstacles due to your contribution that you could have used to resolve your own complex issues in life. As long as those in the UNICEF commercial stay poor then everything is OK? Perhaps the whole notion of donating is for your own benefit. Self-righteousness. Find one's own solace in this difficult life. An act of forgiveness. Whatever. Just ask yourself. Helping the poor…what purpose does it serve more?
