>>Compassion, IMHO, is to teach the person to suck it up, become stronger, realize that you let go what you can't handle, don't blame things on everyone else and accept responsibility for your actions; by learning and growing, you become stronger. Then there's the liberal's compassion: oh, you don't want to work? OK, here's food stamps, public transportation on call, free medical care, free counseling, free legal care, etc...ad nauseum... We realize you're less competent, less fortunate and its not your fault. We'll take good care of you. Everybody else, you have to recognize that they are less fortunate, so you can't say anything that would hurt their feelings, make them feel less fortunate or trouble their psyche. What a crock!
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>I thought you'd gonna tell me that I shouldn't be so harsh toward Marcia. And I was prepared beforehand to soften my criticism. But were you? As I read your words (but there may be a language problem here indeed) you are trying to start a whole new thread, this time about compassion in all its aspects. I think that diverges attention also. The compassion John Ryan asked for was concrete and valid. The act of Marcia may eventually have really negative, economical and therefore social and psychological impact on someones rest of life.

Except that is was Mike Bean. Just never can slide any wrong statement <g>