The episode that aired tonight featured a woman who's husband stole all her money and left her with their six children to run off with a 19 year old girl. The woman explained that she had owned a Roti shop and had three taxis working however after a string of unfortunate events she lost everything. All she had was the three taxis but then the drivers crashed two and left her with one taxi that she was getting money from but then she ended up having to sell the last taxi to get money to pay her rent which is $4000 a month. Now she has the six children, the youngest being 7 months and no money to pay her rent or see about her children so she came to Ian Alleyne for help.
After I watched the episode I went on Twitter and saw this tweet from a woman criticizing the lady.
How many children does this woman have? Where are the fathers? Has she never heard of birth control?? #Crimewatch #TandT
— Jax Yorke-Westcott (@TriniJax) August 2, 2013
I honestly was annoyed when I saw that tweet for various reasons. One being that NO ONE should be allowed to dictate how many children a woman chooses to have. She also mentioned "Where are the fathers?" which meant that she assumed the lady had these six children with different men. If she was paying attention to the story she would've realized she had the six of them for her husband. I tweeted her saying that not all women believe in birth control because I know that I am a woman that don't believe in birth control and I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't. (But that's another article)
However my point is she had no right to criticize this woman for the situation she ended up in. Instead of focusing on the REAL issue which is her husband stealing the money and leaving his own flesh and blood alone, homeless without money. That is what everyone should be focused on and not how many children she has. Don't get me wrong I don't believe that anybody should be having children that they can't take care of because the last thing we need is a child suffering, but if you do have the means of taking care of them and you decide to have six or more children then go ahead and do so. This lady obviously had the means of taking care of them. She wouldn't have thought in her wildest dreams that she would've ended up in this situation so you can't fault her for being down on her luck. And it's beyond my understanding how the woman on Twitter could not find any empathy for the lady knowing that she and her children are on the verge of being homeless.
Instead of being empathetic and understanding she was judgmental and that is one quality I detest in people. It's not right to judge others just because your life is peachy keen at the moment. Don't sit up your high horse and judge and point fingers at others that's not as well off as you, because there is something called karma and it WILL come back and bite you in the you know what!
I can't believe that we live in a world where it has become so normal to criticize everybody for every little decision that they make. The only explanation I can think of to explain this woman's delusional tweet is that she completely missed the whole point about why the lady was on Crime Watch. That had to be it because I refuse to believe that we live in a world that thinks it's okay to criticize someone for going through hard times. You never know what tomorrow holds for you so you have to treat people the same you you would want to be treated if you were in the same situation.
But the problem with the woman on Twitter and many other people in the world is they are too caught up in themselves to understand what anybody else is going through. They think that because their life is good at the moment, (they're probably in a "happy" marriage, have a good job with a steady income) that everybody else should be the same and if you're not, then something is wrong with you and that's what's wrong with the world. Just let everyone be and STOP JUDGING. Before you judge someone take a moment to look at yourself in the mirror.
Recently I read an article on The Root that sums up the point I'm trying to make perfectly. A excerpt from the article is below.
A woman, like so many in the room, who is at the forefront of her career -- told a story about seeing another woman in need of help. She watched from the sidewalk as a mother struggled with a diaper-less toddler clearly in need of a bathroom who was seconds away from going right there on the crowded and hot sidewalk. Instead of shaking her head in disgust or going on a Twitter rant about "these people," she offered her aid. There was a restroom in a store not too far away, she told the struggling mom. Could she help her get there? That's what looking in a mirror is like. Seeing another person, who might not be perfect but who in the end is a reflection of you.
So next time before you go on a Twitter rant about "These People" remember to pause and look at yourself in the mirror. I'm sure if you really look and don't just point your finger at the other person you will change your mind about the tweet you were about to send.