Charities
 

What's your view? Do you give, and to which one(s)? I personally find a lot of them quite pushy, but am usually persuaded to contribute, mostly due to carefully-handed guilt, so without question I'm being manipulated. But there are a lot of things that annoy or concern me about charities. Firstly, where exactly is your money going? We've had several scandals here where corruption has been revealed to be rife in the top levels of management of several charities, where directors were lining their pockets. Secondly, this "monthly debit" thing: it used to be you went into town, saw someone on a street corner rattling a box, gave them a few quid and felt better about yourself for a few seconds, and that was it. Now it's people calling to your door armed with direct debit mandates, asking for your email, wanting you to sign up for x amount every month.

The worst thing about this is that, no more than a month after you've signed up, they will always (and I mean always) call you up to try to squeeze more money out of you. "Oh, you signed up for twenty euro a month," they'll say. "Can you manage twenty-five? Only, we can get tax relief on contributions of over twenty-five euro." Now, first, I thought charities were tax exempt, so where is this coming from? Second, even if this is right, well sorry if I sound harsh, but I don't care if you get tax exemptions. What is that to me? How do I know that the money you save in tax is going to the needy? Maybe you're pocketing it. So no, I won't increase my monthly amount and please stop asking me, telling me it's only a fiver. I exist on carers' allowance of 210 euro a week. I can't afford another fiver, and anyway, you got me to sign up and give you twenty euro out of my hard-earned every month: why is that not good enough for you?

I dislike this idea of calling to your door, pushing pictures of starving children/mistreated animals/homeless/disaster victims/whatever in your face to try and shame you into signing up. It's a tactic I heartily disapprove of, and I also don't like signing up for anything at the door, whether it's electric, phone, internet or a charity. Let me look over the documentation and I'll make up my mind and get back to you. But no: it's all "can you sign now? Only take a minute." The hard sell allied to the soft soap: hard to say no, and I usually don't because then you feel like a **** for not helping.

The only charity I give to is Doctors Without Borders.

Hey, it's better than Doctors Without Training... :D
That's Medicine Sans Frontieres, yeah? Good cause, certainly.

Knocking doors is really ****ing cheeky if you think about it.

I've found that they leave you alone if you're a blunt dick about not being interested. It got the annual fund callers from school off of my case.

Right now I don't give to any charity, but I've given to many over the years. The two I'll probably return to when I start having any money again would be Amnesty International and Greenpeace.

I prefer volunteering for things because i have no clue where my money will end up when i give it to someone else.

What I hate is when they break it down into how much it is per day. That's usually cents, but add them all up and it's still maybe 20 euro a month. But they make it seem like "Oh surely you can spare (say) four cents a day!" Bastards. Oh yeah, and another thing: they keep ringing me up telling me (ostensibly) how my money is being spent. No offence, but I don't care if I've helped build a school in Poorsville or if Pasha Taswad is SO happy because now he has a brand new pot to piss in, or whatever. I really don't care. I guess if they rang me and told me the management had had a big party and all gotten pissed on my money, I'd be upset, but as I dont' expect to hear that, I really don't want the details. I do not care. Also, it's almost always a prelude to the question of upping your donation.
**** off. Really.

Every time I don't give money to a panhandler (which is every time I see one) I think about the fact that I really need to donate to a local charity that helps the homeless. I still haven't done it though so I feel like an ass. I do donate here and there to various charities though and I used to sponsor a child in the DR.

If I'm gonna help people, I'm helping people in my local community, the homeless and people at food banks. I don't know if it makes me a cunt, but I don't really want to donate to kids in other countries when there are people in my own city on the streets.

I always give when people ask if I can. If I can't I usually don't get the dirty looks I get from people that ask me for cigarettes. I don't smoke, don't give me that dirty look of entitlement you desperate bitch. I'd gladly give you a suicide stick if I had one.

I know what you mean. It's slightly OT, but still sort of charity in a way. Up at the hospital with sis, she in the ambulance heading into A&E (ER) and me going to reception to sign her in, I see this guy asking everyone if they have a charger for a mobile phone he can use? He has been stabbed and needs to arrange a bed for the night with one of the local homeless hostels. I happen to have a powerbank, so I loan it to him. He's delighted. But of course it charges slowly. I say "that'll be enough for you to make your call" (about 3%) but then he asks if I have a phone. Well, I wouldn't be carrying around a charger if I had no phone, would I, and after all the guy has been in a fight. He's quite big and I don't know how he'll react if I refuse him the use of my phone, so I say sure and hand it to him very warily, trying to stick close to him while waiting for my turn at the window to sign sis in (there's someone in real pain sitting down there so I'm not about to hurry them up).

Out of the corner of my eye I see him beginning to move away. ****, I think, and follow him, trying not to make it too obvious. Long story short, he gets through and eventually gives me back the phone. Relief. I ask for the charger, he says it's still charging up, can he give it back to me later? "I'm going to be here for a while", he says. I consider, remember I have another one and say "You know what? **** it: keep it." He beams, and asks me if I have a tenner? Luckily just then the other person is done and I can get to the window. "Sorry," I say, "we rushed out of the house when the ambulance arrived, and I have no cash on me. Gotta go."

Lucky escape, maybe. I didn't really want to give him the charger, but hell, it was the easiest option. Sometimes it just ain't worth it trying to help people.

One dude tried to get me to buy him alcohol. I was like, "no". And he's like "C'mon, dude I'd buy some for you" and I was like "I don't care" then I got on the bus.

That guy didn't seem like he had any shame. He wouldd have asked to live in your place for a year if you kept talking to him long enough :laughing:

Trolls

I guarantee you that guy deserved to get stabbed. Finding people he can take advantage of his bread and butter. Don't try to help those manipulative, self-serving aggressive ****s. Think about it. He was in a hospital with stab wounds. There's a entire infrastructure there designed to help him. You had your own **** to worry about. **** that guy. Those people are piece of **** predators. If you couldn't sniff out that guy's bull**** from the get-go you need to set boundaries up in advance. Give to a little bit to a good cause like the Red Cross. You can assume the money helps people and thought has been given to who receives the service. Don't get involved with some **** who says he needs this or that from another patient at a hospital. Those types are constantly looking for people to exploit. Don't be one of them.

Yeah but you could leave. I was in a situation where I was in close quarters with the guy and I couldn't just go.
Church, as I believe the kids say these days.
I understand. I initially only intended to let him use the charger, and thought that would be enough. Sure, I considered maybe I'm stepping into a huge pile of dog**** here and should stay out of it, but what can I say? I'm a nice guy. Nice guys finish last, I know. But I'd still do it again; I'd rather be someone who risks helping someone and gets taken advantage of than be one of those who just turn their heads and pretend whoever's asking isn't there. That old adage, do unto others ... then split! :) Seriously, yeah, I know, but I've always been one to help people. I'd rather be that kind of person, even if it gets me into trouble more often than not.

I don't pretend I can't see them. I look them right in the eye and say, "Nah" using voice fry. They already knew.

That's you. You probably have that kind of presence. I have a sort of "Please don't hit me!" thing going on, so more dominant personalities I guess are more easily attracted to me. Not in any way sexually, you understand, but if someone is looking for an easy mark, I think I have a target painted on my back.
https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net...20100108213226

You're a grown man. I think you have a tendency to post exaggerated self-effacements. If you feel like a target you should shut that **** down. Just because some c*nt mistakes you for a pussy doesn't mean you should get f*cked.