thought of the day 2009 11 03 - give a man a fish

The adage goes "If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish he'll eat for a lifetime." But that's pretty much horseshit. I mean even if you teach a guy to fish, you still have to give him line, bait, lures, hooks, a rod and reel, a knife, a stove. You can't just teach him to fish and walk away. If he didn't have enough money for a goddamn fish, he certainly doesn't have the money for a rod and reel. And look, I know how to fish, it's not something you can just pick up in the morning and master by lunch. So even if you taught the guy how to fish AND gave him a rod and reel, and bait, and hooks, and line, and a knife and a stove, halfway through learning how to fish he'd be so fucking hungry he'd just sell the gear or he'd trade it for a goddamn fish.