Please Give Generously
As any regular reader of this blog knows, there is a laundry list of things that annoy me. Yesterday, I was reminded of something that really gets my goat (sidebar: I have no idea what that phrase even means – I don’t have a goat. Or any other farm animals for that matter. Let’s move on.)
When someone stops me on the street with a clipboard and attempts to get me to donate money to a random charity, I really just want to donate my fist to their mouth.
I understand that everyone needs to earn a buck, but there must be better ways to eek out a living than that.
Yesterday, on my lunch break, I was bombarded by people with clipboards asking me if I ‘have time for sick kids’. Then when you say no, you sound like an asshole. I’m not an asshole – I’m just lucky if I get 15 minutes to eat lunch, so I’d like to make it to the food court without someone’s cloud of judgement hanging over me because I don’t have time for some anonymous sick kids.
Where I lived in London (Hammersmith), I’m not sure if it was an area known for the giving nature of it’s residents, but you could not escape the clipboard mafia. Between my house and the train station, I would be asked to save the whales, donate to AIDS research, contribute to finding a cure for cancer, adopt an African child for just £2 a month, preserve the rain forest, save some more sick kids and feed the homeless.
Do I look like Donald Trump? Exactly how much money do these people think I earn? It felt like all these charities were in competition and came out in force to prove a point. It was literally like running a gamut. The only way to get through it was to throw on some armor, keep your head down and charge through it. Do not look up. Do not make eye contact. Leave them with no doubt that there’s a big black hole where your heart used to be and a big hole in your pocket where your change used to be and just pray those bitches leave you alone.
When I’m in a position to donate some of my measly income to something I believe in, I will, but damn, can I breathe? Must I be accosted on the street, on a daily basis, by people who wish to part me from my moolah?
Tags: charity, homeless, money matters
