There is a saying that beggars can’t be choosers, and while this may be true for most cases, I think there are exceptional ones. To take the saying literally, most beggars become one because they have no choice. But there are those who choose to be beggars, and even to the extreme case of doing so for the sake of principles – like the 1981 year-long ‘performance’ of Tehching Hsieh who “lived in the streets, never entering a building except when he was arrested by the police, an event documented on videotape” (as cited in Hollevoet, C., “Wandering in the City”, pp. 51-52).
To interpret the saying non-literally, most ‘beggars’ (people in needs) can’t be, and perhaps shouldn’t be, choosers, because these ‘beggars’ are in inferior positions, in the opposite end of the givers and decision makers, and therefore should just accept what would be decided by those in superior positions.
In an attempt to question the statement in previous paragraph, in this past six months, I have tried to not only be a beggar but also be a chooser in the matter of going back to school. Having achieved my chosen goal to be at HGSE, I am now back to being a beggar for full scholarship – which necessitates me to postpone my study for another year, and to continue living in uncertainties in the next month or two, and most likely for the year to come. Only to hope and to prove that perhaps a beggar can also be a chooser, although through long-winded, anxious-ridden, risk-taking, goal-seeking and -questioning process.
4 comments:
i guess, this 'beggar-chooser' matter is a very critical issue in our daily lives. the 'chooser', people who have power, tend to do things as they desire and forget about the 'beggar'. i believe that in every power we possess, we all have consequences. the 'chooser', being able to 'choose' should think more about the effect of their decisions to the community. it's not that they are the ones who should think about the inferiors, but it's all about duties they have to do, having all the freedom to choose. what we get here is people race against each other trying to be the 'chooser'. by the time they become one, they will just forget the duties and consequences followed. then, could we say that they are doing wrong? or it will be just the 'law of nature'? *i've been asking myself the same question :) really pleased if you want to share your opinion :)
btw, miss, congratulations for your studying abroad :) for my graduate program, i would like to study abroad, too. and i'm thinking about which university i should choose. i'm now considering universities in USA, and i found difficulties in making choices. i'm trying to gather information from well-known univ, but i found it difficult to decide which one will suit me best. is there some kind of list about architecture departments in USA univ? or should we find scholarship first, then decide which univ we want to choose? because i would like to get scholarship, too.. i feel so confused about it right now :p really grateful if you're willing to help :) thx b4 :D
hi amy,
i'm not sure i understand what you mean by chooser in your comment. can you give some kind of example to contextualize it?
i think being a chooser doesn't necessarily mean you have to have the highest kind of position. you just need to have enough (i.e. you have no obligations or restrictions) to be able to choose. so in finding schools i can be a chooser (although the schools have more actual power to choose, but i can decide which school i want to go to). in being a student i can be a chooser too (i.e. a student can choose not to do homework, or to do it my way, etc.).
so if you could give me some examples of what you mean, then we can better discuss this. i will e-mail you personally re: studying abroad.
amy, apparently i don't have your e-mail address anymore and it's not posted on your profile. so could you e-mail me your e-mail address? my e-mail address is on my profile. and in the future, feel free to address your personal inquiries through this e-mail address. i promise i'll respond to them :)
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