“Giving Back to the Community”

This philosophy has long been heard in the African American community as a requirement for the so-called achievers, or anybody who is identified as earning any money, and certainly Latinos have the philanthropic attitude of “giving back to the community” and have many civic and nonprofit models for this philanthropic ideal–now it is perhaps a national philosophy and world philosophy, whoever invented this philosophy as phrased in this manner.

Anybody who is identified as having any wealth at all, any money beyond the community norm, even if it’s imaginary wealth, is required to “give back to the community.” When you go into any type of work that is associated as a “wealth-producing” work, then you’re required to “give back to the community.” It’s a noble request and a noble requirement, but it can also be very oppressive to those who can not meet the impossible demands of this type of philosophy.

Certainly philanthropists have always had this ideal, although they have not necessarily phrased it in this grassroots manner. Every community, whether grassroots or elite have their “local heroes and heroines” involved in some form of philanthropy.

Nevertheless, in giving back to the community, whether local, national, or global there must be a method of doing this that is feasible and reasonable, not just giving freebies and donations to people.

The people just spend the money and then they continue the same old same old, looking for more freebies and more donations. Many people feel that this is the meaning of “giving back to the community.” That it is an entitlement, and for freebies. It is not necessarily that.

There are many blacks for example who believe in reparations, and others certainly believe in reparations along with them. Other oppressed peoples have received various forms of reparations, countries and races, so reparations is a norm. Nevertheless, just giving freebies to people is not reparations, where everybody spends their “bit of money” and then continues the same old demands of entitlement. Reparations has to be connected to restoration and rebuilding including the people’s communities and infrastructure. Business and economic development included. Like the so-called “war on poverty.” War on poverty cannot be just free money for people, where they just spend their “bit of money” and continue in poverty. Many people along with the money have to be taught how to build and rebuild, how to set up companies and businesses. Many of the poor have the proper notion of “giving back to the community,” but many of them only understand grabbing as much money as they can get, and bankrupting the people who have money for them. This has to be said.