In 2015, the Borough of Milton Keynes had nine 'lower super output areas'[o] that are in the 10% most deprived in England, but also had twelve 'lower super output areas' in the 10% least deprived in England.[201] This contrast between areas of affluence and areas of deprivation in spite of a thriving local economy, inspired local charity The Community Foundation (in its 2016 'Vital Signs' report) to describe the position as a 'Tale of Two Cities'.[202]

---from the wiki page for "Milton Keynes" posted to offer that if Ol' Milt could talk and act well then it looks like he'd do what he could for his neighbor when he could do it---

The Judge wrote: ↑Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:24 pm Why barang try to solve Khmer people's problems is beyond me.

I haven't experienced one Khmer ever who truly tried to help me, without benefiting greatly for themselves in the process.

I see it everyday. These people are professionals at playing the woe-be-me card. Despite any signs, verbal pleas, etc, ready assured they have family somewhere who can support them, if they are truly in need.

It takes a shrewd eye to identify the level and magnitude of their collective greed.

You can't change the country or the people, but you can change your attitude.

Wherever you live, there are always people in need. Poor people are not playing at being poor and needy just to cheat you and piss you off. If you were not there, they would still be poor and in need. They are not being poor AT YOU, believe it or not.

You said

I haven't experienced one Khmer ever who truly tried to help me, without benefiting greatly for themselves in the process.These people [Khmer] are professionals at playing the woe-be-me card

Life is short and you sound unhappy. Why not accept things as they are, don't expect anything, stop judging people, and appreciate the good things in life ? "Do what you can" is not a bad life motto.

@Anchor Moy for the most part I concur, but posters who warn here about the poseur poor also have valid points, there is a lot of getting over on the foreigners going on out there and I don't need to be fluent in Khmer to know its a hustle when someone talks poor but has got more cash than me on them but that hand still is out.

That's why qualified giving to your inner circle of locals might be best, and then I would add to never give money to locals you know are rough even if they are sweet to you, even if they need it and you can see that need.

I can say from experience that when the day comes and you don't give, all you ever gave cumulatively will be forgotten and you will be targeted from then on. Usually this is called "extortion" and this might be what other posters refuse to give in to and rightfully so to them. I wish I never did, it's limited my safe movement in this city and I have to look out and be ready for anything in some zones of the city now because I thought I was doing good and making inroads with a holes.

What can we do?

Don't hand out money. It doesn't gain respect. Nothing is as superficial here, in particular, as many ignorant barang might think. Or maybe it's All too, superficial--money talks.
And especially ignore the people telling you it's somehow your attitude which makes you wrong always.
Many of us have been around, in many places, long enough to simply know it's the lay of the land. No amount of "positivity" turns sht to gold.
The Khmer have a reputation for being hustlers. This is not news. These calf barang who come out the chute and wax enlightened for two months, god fobide they've maintained a delusion for decades...
you get my point.
Trust your instincts. Keep that wallet in your pocket!
Better yet don't use a wallet.

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:01 pm

The Judge wrote: ↑Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:24 pm Why barang try to solve Khmer people's problems is beyond me.

I haven't experienced one Khmer ever who truly tried to help me, without benefiting greatly for themselves in the process.

I see it everyday. These people are professionals at playing the woe-be-me card. Despite any signs, verbal pleas, etc, ready assured they have family somewhere who can support them, if they are truly in need.

It takes a shrewd eye to identify the level and magnitude of their collective greed.

You can't change the country or the people, but you can change your attitude.

Wherever you live, there are always people in need. Poor people are not playing at being poor and needy just to cheat you and piss you off. If you were not there, they would still be poor and in need. They are not being poor AT YOU, believe it or not.

You said

I haven't experienced one Khmer ever who truly tried to help me, without benefiting greatly for themselves in the process.These people [Khmer] are professionals at playing the woe-be-me card

Life is short and you sound unhappy. Why not accept things as they are, don't expect anything, stop judging people, and appreciate the good things in life ? "Do what you can" is not a bad life motto.

Yes, and there's a pattern of posts that are negative of Cambodia and disparaging of khmers. It's one thing to criticize certain aspects of life in Cambodia from time to time, another to make sweeping negative generalisations that insult and demean khmers on a continual, ongoing basis.

@The Judge If that is your MO going forward, it's not appropriate on this forum. Nor are sweeping racial slurs as you've done on another topic. I suggest you lighten up on this rhetoric if you wish to stay on here. Take a 24 hrs off to think about how you want to contribute to CEO and no need to come back if you wish to resume as before.

Word sanjuro, I had my reasons I just missed the endgame. Point is that giving should not be forbidden by some street credo, it could be what makes us human vs acting like a machine. It could be someone has their reasons, and then life got in the way or maybe death got in the way which was my case and that allowed me to see the endgame. This whole rap to not give to nobody no how borders on being a hater and making generalizations about "The Khmer" (as if you speak for all Khmer?!) is not constructive at all and just makes us look like we are here leaching in many ways. I don't buy into your approach to attitudes and places and destiny and while I feel ya I have to say that you also cannot say a place is not worth helping because you know how it will turn out. Man, if that kind of fatalism caught on and those flames got fanned we oughta just drinking the Jonestown Kool Aid now. I am too eager to see how it all turns out myself because even if its a shit show everybody knows that you can snow the snowman but you cannot shit the shitbird.

Both of these sites have become so calcified with opportunistic pseudo-wokism that it's inevitable that I get banned at some point while speaking truth to power.
Truth (as in "water is wet", or pizza delivery 'bodies with persons' are "not in fact heroic" ) is not a popular subject.

With that said, who here can honestly say Cambodia attracts the best and brightest? To pick on barang--east & west.

Anyone? Look around you. Statistically even if you find a handful of "swell" guys or "good chaps" as was mockingly said when we bit it at 55 , what percentage would we top out at? 2?
1? Does that make us the 1%. No. You can BS on a forum or slumped over a bar or to your mother-in-law all you like. -Doesn't mean they bought it. You're the hardest sell to yourself. Take it as severely cynical as you want, doesn't matter much to me. I know where I stand. I know what makes me smile. We are all, human, after all.

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:01 pm

The Judge wrote: ↑Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:24 pm Why barang try to solve Khmer people's problems is beyond me.

I haven't experienced one Khmer ever who truly tried to help me, without benefiting greatly for themselves in the process.

I see it everyday. These people are professionals at playing the woe-be-me card. Despite any signs, verbal pleas, etc, ready assured they have family somewhere who can support them, if they are truly in need.

It takes a shrewd eye to identify the level and magnitude of their collective greed.

You can't change the country or the people, but you can change your attitude.

Wherever you live, there are always people in need. Poor people are not playing at being poor and needy just to cheat you and piss you off. If you were not there, they would still be poor and in need. They are not being poor AT YOU, believe it or not.

You said

I haven't experienced one Khmer ever who truly tried to help me, without benefiting greatly for themselves in the process.These people [Khmer] are professionals at playing the woe-be-me card

Life is short and you sound unhappy. Why not accept things as they are, don't expect anything, stop judging people, and appreciate the good things in life ? "Do what you can" is not a bad life motto.

I see both sides of the argument as a bit extreme, with yours obviously righteous and the other too negative.

Fence-sitting serves no purpose, so I hope my happy medium avoids that.

Another motto/adage to live by might be " He who is too much afraid of being duped has lost the power of being magnanimous"

On the hand, particularly in the big smoke, "none of the workers have any business on any day". So, supposedly, they have no money. Unfortunately, they have lied for the entirety of my stay here (long), and now the "cry wolf" effect is biting them in the ass.

People whom have ripped me off seem to have forgotten about that, or hope I have. They can not be rewarded.

Around 90% of the ones I help would, I believe, steal off me, given the chance. I know because I used to set them up. I don't do that anymore because it is unfair, and I don't wanna know.

The culture/upbringing is not in our favour. "We are all rich - go get our money" is an exaggeration, because they know we are not all rich. But most of us are, in their eyes (maybe they are right, comparatively).

I have done it tough here before. A case break-in, clean-out, fuck-off, hunt-down and start-up.

Nobody helped me. I didn't like it. It had to change. So I got off my ass and made it happen.

Instead of "Give me a dollar", how about offering a service or product?

I know a barang whom finds watches in some dumping place, fixes them up and sells them for $5 to $40, depending on their value and your suckerage.

But to the negative poster, you can not "tar them all with the same brush". If you don't give a shit about others in society (in particular, those that are hosts, born in the house, you are visiting), and only for yourself, then your disdain thickens your blood and builds acid in your gut.

Imagine if someone walked into your open house, uninvited, helped themselves to the goodies, and started criticizing you.

And your opposing argument: It is a very strange time, with basic things being taken away. We are all in this, so helping is needed, and fuck it if you get used. Fuck them. I start small, and laugh if they get $1 dishonestly - "Could have got a lot more if you weren't an idiot".

"Good people don't care about being duped, as long as they're happy, which is the shortest form of happiness; hence, self-duprication becomes a habit". Trust me, I know; I'm an addict.

I am certainly in agreeance with you albeit, seemingly a little more wary, I am a softy sucker and am happy with that - Hard things break. Soft things don't.

sanjuro wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:24 pm Both of these sites have become so calcified with opportunistic pseudo-wokism that it's inevitable that I get banned at some point while speaking truth to power.
Truth (as in "water is wet", or pizza delivery 'bodies with persons' are "not in fact heroic" ) is not a popular subject.

With that said, who here can honestly say Cambodia attracts the best and brightest? To pick on barang--east & west.

Anyone? Look around you. Statistically even if you find a handful of "swell" guys or "good chaps" as was mockingly said when we bit it at 55 , what percentage would we top out at? 2?
1? Does that make us the 1%. No. You can BS on a forum or slumped over a bar or to your mother-in-law all you like. -Doesn't mean they bought it. You're the hardest sell to yourself. Take it as severely cynical as you want, doesn't matter much to me. I know where I stand. I know what makes me smile. We are all, human, after all.

Humane, is another question.