Bieber, Bethesda & Blackmail

Much has been said lately in some media in London, Ontario about pop music star Justin Bieber’s alleged responsibility to give a large part of his fortune to save the Bethesda Centre--a home for pregnant teenage girls in the city--from closing. The reason? His mother, Pattie Mallette, stayed at the centre when she was 18 and pregnant with him. 
Pressure
The public pressure on Justin to give a large lump sum of his own money for this cause seems enormous sometimes. Many people imply and say, in letters to the editor and newspaper columns, it’s now Justin’s job to repay the Bethesda Centre; that it's his job to show, with his money, how grateful he is for what the centre did for his mother, and by extension, for him, all those years ago. 
But I assume Justin's mother has, at least once, thanked the Bethesda Centre for its help all those years ago. If so, is that not enough? In my view, people are wrong to think Justin should be obligated to give any money at all, just because he's wealthy; and just because his mom stayed at the centre for a time just before he was born.

The Apparent Dilemma

The Bethesda Centre is run by the Salvation Army, which, according to various news reports, said in February 2012 it would need $1.5 million to ensure the centre could stay open for between three to five years; instead of just on a year-to-year basis. 
Various news reports say the Salvation Army claims it can’t keep operating the centre with an annual budget shortfall of $300,000. The Salvation Army reportedly has set a deadline of May 31, 2012 as the date by which all of the $1.5 million must be raised; or the Salvation Army will supposedly make the decision to close the centre; if not right away, then at a specified date in the near future.

A Complicated Situation?

In fairness, I have not read any reports indicating the Salvation Army has ever said publicly it hopes or believes Justin Bieber, or anyone else for that matter, should help rescue the Bethesda Centre financially. 
And no doubt this overall situation could be more-complex than it might seem at first glance. Is the solution really just as simple as some organization or some person--such as Justin Bieber--coming up with enough money to ensure the Bethesda Centre could stay open for a few years; and not just year-to-year?
Questions
In these contexts, I think the following questions are worth considering:
1) Is there more to the story than meets the eye? 
2) Would there really be no more problems regarding the Bethesda Centre if the Salvation Army received $1.5 million by May 31, 2012?
3) Does the Salvation Army even want the Bethesda Centre to stay open? If not, why? 
4) Did the Salvation Army purposely set the required dollar amount needed to keep the centre open so high--at $1.5 million--because it knew raising that much money in such a short period of time would be nearly impossible? 

5) Ultimately, is the Salvation Army actually hoping for a negative outcome, for some reason, so it can justify closing the Bethesda Centre?

Giving In  
By all accounts Bieber has already given in to some of the public pressure for him to rescue or at least help the Bethesda Centre. He apparently has committed part of the proceeds from his latest tune, Turn to You, which he reportedly wrote as a tribute to his mother, to go to the centre. 
On May 15, 2012 one news source reported, “On Saturday (May 12, 2012), the Help Save Bethesda committee announced that Bieber would be donating a portion of the revenues from his single to their campaign” (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-news/justin-bieber-mother-day-song-helps-save-ontario-171526758.html).

Apparently, though, the total amount to be donated from the sales of Bieber’s new song won’t be known for some time; likely well after the Salvation Army’s apparently rigid deadline of May 31, 2012. 
Despite Justin’s gesture in this regard, however, it isn’t good enough for many people, who wrongly believe he should do even more.

Justin's Money, Just in Time? 
Shauna Rae, a Saturday columnist with The London Free Press, reminds us of just how much money Bieber actually has, just so everyone knows he’s got more than enough to single-handedly save the Bethesda Centre. She notes he was recently named to Forbes magazine’s “top three most powerful celebrity category—his fame and social media machine racking up 55-million smackeroos” (London Free Press, May 19, 2012).

But Rae contradicts herself: On one hand she implies Bieber is being unfairly pressured to save the Bethesda Centre; on the other hand she says outright he should give the Salvation Army all the money it needs or wants, right now.

No Pressure, but Show us the Money

“Obviously no one should feel pressured to give,” Shauna Rae says (London Free Press, May 19, 2012). Here, she seems generous in her thinking, presumably alluding to unfair expectations many people seem to be putting on Bieber to cough up the cash to save the Bethesda Centre. 
But like many others, Rae also seems to be salivating at the thought of Justin handing over a large part of his fortune and giving it to the Salvation Army/Bethesda Centre: “Why doesn’t the kid just donate the money? Why doesn’t he just write a cheque, instead of making them (Bethesda Centre) wait until the final hour to see if the song he crafted sells enough…to save the day…Just cut them a cheque, Biebs, it’ll make you feel fantastic” (London Free Press, May 19, 2012).

Emotional Blackmail & Guilt

Many private citizens, including Shauna Rae in her newspaper column, shamefully and unfairly use the enormous power of guilt and emotional blackmail to get young Justin to feel responsible for saving the Bethesda Centre from threatened closure. 
Why? Because Justin is famous and wealthy beyond belief for someone his age, 18--the same age his mom was when she stayed at the centre and benefited from its support services while pregnant with him. 
Notably, Rae and others are implicitly trying to get Justin to feel responsible for the lives and futures of untold numbers of pregnant teenage girls he will never know; and for whom he is actually not responsible.  

And Justin's mother, regardless of any sentiment she might feel for the centre because of her own youthful experiences there, should be first in line telling these vultures to back off and leave her son alone.  

Abhorrent Tactics
Those who are trying to get Justin Bieber to save the Bethesda Centre are being unfair, unreasonable, and displaying abhorrent behavior in preying on him just because he is so young and has money; and just because these girls at the Bethesda Centre are--only because of their pregnancies--like his mom when she stayed there for a time while pregnant with him.

This is not Justin Bieber’s Dilemma

Ultimately, can any reasonable person really believe that Justin Bieber--who is only 18 years old, notwithstanding his wealth--is actually morally, financially, and/or emotionally obligated to bail out the Bethesda Centre just because his mom stayed there once while pregnant with him, nearly two decades ago?

If Justin still lived in Stratford, Ontario, where he was raised, and if he was not rich and famous, would anyone expect him to fork over part of his money—maybe from working at an ‘ordinary’ job with ‘ordinary’ wages, to help save the Bethesda Centre, just because the centre helped his mother when she was a girl?  
Because of the public campaign to get as much money as possible from Justin to save the Bethesda Centre, will all sons and daughters of every former teen mother who ever stayed there be on the hook financially, later in their own lives, to rescue the centre whenever it's having money troubles? 
Or will this happen only if the sons and daughters are young, rich and famous and presumed to be easy targets--just like Justin Bieber?