A Contrast of Values

Two seemingly unrelated events occurred today that I just have to share. My mom & I took the bus out to Ladner to visit her older brother who recently moved into an assisted living facility. When we got to the Ladner Bus Exchange, a man came to the front door and said to the driver, "Hey man, I don't have any change, can I get a ride to the KFC?" Rather than point out to him that there was a McDonald's half a block away to get some change, instead the driver let him on, though warning him that there was a $75 fine if he got caught. Mr. Freeloader hopped on, saying that he would risk it. He then added that after lunch he was going to pick up his "EI" (Employment Insurance) cheque.

A woman, who clearly didn't know this guy, insisted that she would pay for him. There were no protestations of pride or self-respect on his part. What did come out of his mouth next was this, "I'm a child of God and this is a blessing. It's a sin to turn down a blessing, isn't it?!" I almost threw up.

The bus got rolling and Mr. EI-KFC got off about 6 blocks later. Oh, you may be interested to know that he about 25 years old and white.

Fast forward a few hours. At lunch, we were served by an Indian woman in her late 30's. We learned that though she was not born here, her 5 children were. In addition to this job waiting and cleaning tables, she also works part-time at the Post Office. Her husband builds townhouses in Burnaby and also runs a blueberry farm that they just bought in Ladner.

When people say that we should stop all immigration to Canada I just laugh and think, "Stop new immigrants from coming here?!? The vast majority of them are the ones setting the examples for the rest of us!!!"