Think, people

I came across this article on MSN and it surprises me that people don’t think about this kind of thing happening. Every time I see pictures of lottery winners on the front cover of a newspaper or on TV, I can’t help but shake my head in disapproval and go, “What the heck were these people thinking?!”

Don’t you realize that telling the world you have $20 million dollars makes you a really good target for people with bad intentions?

In the Philippines (if I remember correctly), they don’t publish winners’ identities simply because of how dangerous it is. We are well aware of just how many bad and desperate people are out there. We can’t even display our cellphones in public too much for fear of attracting a stalker/hold-upper/thief. I remember going to Glorietta one summer with my family to buy school supplies. We had lunch and then my mom realized her purse had been stolen… together with at least 5000php in it and all her credit cards and bank cards. It was so bad. I also remember commuting to UST one early morning with 5 people in the jeep and the guy near the exit was holding a knife and asking the girl beside me to give him her watch. Her watch! It wasn’t even anything special… it was plain and old.

So when you are out there smiling towards a camera, waiving a check in hand and a headline that says, “Winner of $20 million…” Is it not just plain D-U-M-B? Is it really all that surprising when someone tries something against you?

Be more wary people.