Pork!

So I see that some people in France are serving pork soup to the indigent. Of course, devout Muslims can’t eat pork, so it’s perceived as some anti-Muslim effort. I figure if you’re giving out charity, the recipients of your charity don’t get much right to complain. Don’t want pork soup? Get your fellow Muslims to engage more in the 3rd pillar, mmkay?

The episode reminds of a time in my misspent youth when I was standing in a desert listening to a Lieutenant Colonel chastise me and the rest of my squadron for giving the natives, Muslims all, MREs containing pork. He pointed out that while we might (and did) think it was amusing, said natives found it deeply offensive. Then, as now, I didn’t much care what the natives found offensive. If you’re asking for help, whether that help be basic sustenance or military assistance, you don’t get to complain about the help provided. The option always exists for you to refuse the help and handle things yourself. If you can’t manage that, too bad for you, huh? There's an old saying about beggars and choosers that applies here.