The prompt for today says: If someone were to perform an act of charity for you, but then you found out that it was simply to chase clout and not necessarily to help you, will you accept it all the same? Does their motive matter if they're meeting a need you're desperate for?
From the prompt, here are a few things to take notice of: it's simply to chase clout, and one is in desperate need. First, it mentions nothing about dishonor, only that their intentions were not true. Over the years, I have seen several charities being publicized on social media and television stations, and one common act is the photoshoots and the vivid identification of the organization or individual providing the charity. There is often backlash from viewers and followers, arguing that charity should be done in secrecy, and when a prominent person never does public charity, viewers again drag them for not helping the needy.
But with how fast profits are made from followers and the visibility one gets from being idolized for kindness, a lot of people have joined the fold, not with good intentions, but to portray an act that only gets them the likes and profit they desire. While they expand, they meet people who are vulnerable and in desperate need, and the only thing these people see is a means to their survival, not the clout that follows with it. To be honest, one in desperate need doesn't care if it's to chase clout or not; they only see a means to their end. What a hungry man needs at any moment is food, and he does not account for what happens after his needs are met. What one in financial debt needs is money; the aftermath of solving such need does not bother him much, especially if dishonor isn't in the picture.
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Personally, whatever is offered to me for clout's sake in my desperate need, I'll accept it. While they keep chasing their clout, I have answers to my need. While a lot of people may see it as selling myself out for bread, I see it as a business transaction: trading your clout-chasing for my need. Because either way, there are still people who would satisfy that need while I sit here holding onto the burden of my need. In business, one trades something to get what he needs. Treating it as a business might just save me the pain of humiliation. As long as there is no hidden form of dishonor, then let's both win in our little spaces. I may not be in that state forever; needs don't come often, but clout-chasing stays for a very long time and sometimes becomes irrelevant over the years.
Would I feel hurt when I realize the act of kindness was to chase clout? Definitely. Would I accept it anyway? Definitely. Would I feel regret afterwards? Never. Would I be happy I did? Definitely. It all comes down to profit—what we all stand to gain or lose when we accept or reject it. A man in need sometimes has no shame, especially if it doesn't hurt his ego in any way. Accepting charity isn't a crime; everyone needs help. No one has ever judged anyone for accepting charity, and it doesn't change all of a sudden, because we all know that everyone is going through something and needs a little kindness from others. Their intentions are theirs to worry about, and my needs are mine to worry about. When it becomes a business, we trade both to meet an end.
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