So this is something I have seen in my city.. It's also very openly done, with groups of 10-15 children out on the streets begging and one or maybe two adults sitting nearby monitoring them.. These children will take the money you give them and hand it over to the adults.. The good thing is most of the times if they get food they tend to eat it..
Another thing I have noticed is that often you find these underprivileged people begging instead of doing day to day jobs, simply because they get more money this way..
I don't know how many of you have seen the movie Slumdog Millionaire, but it has a scene with a certain level of truth to it.. I am talking about the one where they forcibly blind the child beggar in the hopes that he will manage getting more money.. I haven't really heard of this being done per say, but I do know of people who pretend to be injured with casts on their legs and arms and beg..
Those who see these people every day know that it's not a real injury because they have had the cast for the past 7-10 years.. At least that is the case with a man who begs near my old house..
Another thing I felt could be relevant here is the feigned interest in a particular situation.. The most obvious example that comes to mind is the Ice-Bucket challenge..
In India when the celebrities started with it everybody was really hyped with it and wanted to try the challenge.. The truth of the matter is 90% or probably more had never heard of ALS and wouldn't even know the full form of it.. Here the number of people officially diagnosed with ALS is minute compared to the population...
I got an estimate of 0.012% of the population that has been diagnosed with it.. Other diseases are far more prevalent in India.. TB, AIDS, Cancer and Malaria are far more lethal, yet the attention to such causes is minimal..
I'm guilty of ignoring these too, so I do feel wrong about preaching, but I feel that feigning an interest in a cause that is trending is far worse, since the minute the trend passes, so does the support...
Every year in January, we have the Mumbai Marathon, and people get pumped and start training for it months in advance.. They all donate to charities and it's a big deal.. The only issue I have is by the next weekend the entire thing is forgotten..
I agree that people do have other things in mind and yes, without ignoring certain big and small parts, we would probably explode.. I know there are times when I try and contemplate just how screwed up this world is and try and empathise with those who aren't as fortunate as me, I end up crying, not because I understand them, but from the overwhelming feeling that I don't think anybody can, and thus nobody will help them..
As Kuro rightly said, ethics is nothing more than social convention, but does that mean following these trends is ethical? Does it mean abandoning these causes the minute the trend passes is ethical too? Yes these trends provide major support and relief for a variety of causes and they help them immensely in the short run, but does it make any difference in the long run?
I think, I have rambled on way too long.. So I'll just wait for someone else to post now..