Stephen Baldwin beg-a-thon

Apparently, some Christian big wigs have set up a website where people can donate directly to the blonde Baldwin brother because he had to declare bankruptcy last year. $2.3 million or so in mortgages, tax bills, credit cards, etc. They SAY it's because Hollywood stopped offering him roles because he's a Christian.

Well, bully for Stephen. Why does he qualify for this largesse when so many other people don't?

The boatloads of other decent people down on their luck didn't buy multiple homes in pricey Hollywood, expecting the good times to go on forever. They didn't publicly lambaste the people they hoped would hire them--seriously, if you're hiring for a position, would you hire the guy who gets on every Christian TV show to talk about how evil you are? Many of those people who declared bankruptcy (if they were fortunate enough to have that option) are probably good, God-fearing Christian folk, too, and perhaps even ones that many of us godless harlot-types would respect for their overall decency, hard work, and lack of pretense. Some may have made mistakes, for sure, but in this society, the rich pay next to nothing for huge mistakes they made with deliberate indifference, wreaking devastating consequences for the whole world. Regular folks, on the other hand, better not charge something extra on their credit cards or they're screwed for life.

Stephen, honey, sweetie. Maybe people stopped hiring you because (1) Hollywood is notoriously fickle to begin with, (2) you acted like a jerk in public towards the very people who were in a position to hire you, and (3) you just don't bring anything all that interesting to the table as an actor anymore. (Though if the Christian entertainment market is so damned huge, as it's purported to be, why aren't you getting hired for blockbusters in that field?)

Not to mention that whole spending-beyond-your-means thing. Isn't that what people on your side of the debate love to throw at those of us on our side? Come on now, be honest. Why do you deserve that sort of obscene hand-out for screwing up? It's not like you're a Wall Street wizard or anything.

I think a lot of people deserve that kindness more than you, though if people want to donate to you, I say it's their money and they can do as they please. It just doesn't make them any more Christian or moral in general than the rest of us. For those caring people (Christian or not) who still cling to the notion of "deserving poor" versus "undeserving poor," I suggest that there are deserving folks in your own back yard who could use the helping hand a lot more than some Hollywood type who bit the hand that fed him.