There is no such thing as a free lunch!

I am reminded today of all the poor and wretched out there (and they always seem to be the poorest don't they?) who just continually get screwed over in the false hope that money can somehow be made easily, or maybe that there way out of this wretchedness will come all at once...in a flash of blinding light...maybe when god, the national lottery, etc. decides its the time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7726069.stm

It might be something that is quite culturally entrenched here I reckon: millions of the poorest people here seem to fanatically take part in the over 40 different lotteries that are offered by the state, for instance.

I just so happen to have befriended the pretty brunette who 'mans' the lottery kiosk outside my metro station, seeing as I can top up there with airtime on my way to university. She must have one of the toughest jobs out there, because people are buying tickets to the various lotteries from 8am to 11pm at night! ...and that is just at her kiosk! There are so many here that the next one can be found barely 50 meters up the road.

Watching the ever hopeful look on these poor peoples faces, as they hand over stacks of money on a sometimes daily basis, is truly heartbreaking. Someone just keeps getting richer and these unfortunate souls keep thinking that today is going to be there lucky day! The marketing and commercials for the lottery certainly give that impression. Its striking to me because this mentality seems to pervade this society at so many levels: when I am in the super market I am urged to enter a draw for a car with my till slip; when I buy airtime I am reminded that by just writing down my details and handing in my receipt I could be winning big; when you buy a six-pack of beer, there is a lucky draw that takes place every week and you could also win big based on the undersides of the bottle tops that you were 'lucky' enough to uncover, whilst slowly getting pissed and sobbing into your sleeve thanks to the mountain of debt you're in.

For me it seems like a way of suppressing these people and I am really saddened at how institutionalized these beliefs are amongst the poor. One of the most disturbing parts about this business is the cold purposefulness (read the article) of those criminals who are so blatantly robbing these people.

I know that to some degree it happens everywhere, but I feel it quite strongly here and maybe its just that little more jarring seeing it in another culture. Sometimes I really wish that society had a few less boundaries between the different classes...the things that keep the rich dominant and the poor impotent.