When smart people go dumb....

I went out to my friend T's new place yesterday. She's moved out of the big city into the country (or at least it will be for a couple of years, development is already creeping out there) and since she's always wanted to live in the country, and the rent was way cheaper, everyone thought it was a great move for her.
She had told me that the house needed repairs, and TLC, but this did not prepare me for the reality; Limited running water (huge leak that had been unrepaired for years, so they just leave the water off most of the time, and buy bottled water to drink and cook with, a house where the foundation has sagged to the point whole rooms are cracking off the house, walls crumpled like paper, and the floor drops several INCHES in places. Huge holes where rats, snakes, scorpions and all kinds of other nasties can get in, no heat/air, a septic tank, that due to the lack of water in it, stinks to high heaven and is collapsing in places. And on, and on, and on.
OK, I've lived in some pits, mostly when I was young. One place was a shack with a tin roof under huge pecan trees. When it rained or the wind blew in the fall, the sound was deafening. Another was the old house next to the shack, which had been build by hand, and we had to make everything from scratch or modify store bought for repairs, because modern fixtures like new windows/doors wouldn't fit. The house we're in now is definitely a fixer upper, which we are doing. I've never lived in a new house, I don't really like them, at least not the ones I can afford.
But here's the difference; we would have been saving $$ to have the water fixed if we couldn't DIY. We would be shoring up the foundation so it wouldn't sag any further and do more damage. We would be fixing or covering the holes, fixing the woodwork, painting. Yes, those things cost money, but there are many things that can be done for minimal or no money and some effort. Which brings us to the root of the issue, E-F-F-O-R-T. These women are content to live in squalor and unhealthy conditions, because to clean up and fix things, they would have to get off their asses and do it. T wants someone to do it/pay for it for her, or better yet give her a million dollars so that she can blow it on smoking, dvds, junk food and high dollar pet toys and snacks. She doesn't have a car, and she's disabled. With the money I've personally seen this woman blow, she could have a car and a decent place to live, but that's not where her priorites are. She'd rather live like this and make no effort to better her situation, because it takes effort. We call that a "welfare mentality".
T has really gone downhill, despite everyone trying to help her. She really only want someone to support her and do everything for her. I love her and she will always be a member of the family, but I realized a long time ago that I couldn't take her to raise, and had to let her go, for my own sanity. Nothing's changed about her, and sadly, nothing ever will, exept to go downhill. Poverty is one thing, but lack of pride and self-respect is totally another.