When a man walked the streets of London shouting “F*ck the poor,” people got mad. Really mad. However, when the same guy walked the same street shouting “Help the poor,” he barely got noticed.
From the Pilion Trust website:
Charity asks Londoners to put their money where their mouths are in controversial ?Fuck The Poor? campaign?
7/04/13 ??The Pilion Trust, a charity which helps some of the poorest and most vulnerable, has conducted a social experiment on the people of London to see if we really do care about those who are less fortunate.?
A man wearing a sign saying ?Fuck the poor? was sent out to the streets of the capital as part of a campaign for the charity by advertising agency Publicis. Londoners were secretly filmed taking the man to task for the offensive statement.?
Afterwards, the man flipped his sign over so that it read ?Help the poor? and he proceeded to ask for donations ? but this time people completely ignored him.?
The film of the social experiment is being posted on youtube [sic] on 7th?April and will be released in cinemas later in the month.?
The campaign message is:??We know you care. Please care enough to give.??
Savvas Panas, the Chief Executive of the Pilion Trust, said: ?As a charity that has been severely affected by the nationwide decrease in charitable donations (20%) and Government cuts (60%).?
?We understand that some may be shocked by this footage. We are more offended however, that people across the United Kingdom are living in adverse poverty.??
Andy Bird, Executive Creative Director of Publicis said, ?The Pilion Trust is a small front line charity without the budget to make itself heard in paid-for media, and also loses out on high street donations, so we helped them to make a film that highlighted the discrepancy between peoples attitude when confronted with injustice and bigotry about poverty, and then their apathy when asked directly to help do something about it ? donate.?
How often do we find ourselves guilty of “talking the talk” but not “walking the walk”? This video brings that into focus.
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Tiffany Willis is a fifth-generation Texan and the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
