Tuesday, October 28, 2008

charity begins...

and apparently never ends, at the checkout counter.

At the risk of being accused of no longer being in a fabulous mood, I have a wee tiny little complaint to voice. Just an itty bitty one. I'm not even gonna tag this a rant, ok?

On my way home this afternoon I had to stop and do a couple quick errands, one of which involved going into Shaws for cat food and paper leaf bags. At the register, the young woman asked me if I wanted to donate a dollar to, I dunno, feed hungry children or some such. And because I had, no more than two or three weeks ago, been hit up for this (or some very similar-sounding charity) at the other Shaws I sometimes go to, I said no, I already had. I was the last customer in her line, so as I was leaving, she went over to bag for the other cashier and I heard her say, with a little sigh, "I feel bad, I've only sold ten of those." The subtext being, I'm sure, cheap bastard. Well, maybe I am, but I think if Shaws, with its huge warehouses full of food, were really all that concerned with hungry children, they could do something more direct about it than shaking down their customers.

And maybe I'm just being cranky about it because on Sunday I was asked at CVS to donate two packages of tissues to the troops. I kinda thought my tax dollars were already buying tissues for the troops, but maybe that's just tanks and MREs, and General Petraeus and the guy after him expect the soldiers to wipe their noses on their sleeves. I dunno. But, anyway, I donated of course. I'm not that much of a cheap bastard. But I ain't donating twice.

I think this whole giving-enforced-by-public-embarrassment thing is getting out of hand. Sometimes I just want to buy my cat food in peace, not save the world while I'm doing it, y'know?

xoxo

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know what I hate even more (and I do hate your examples, too...)

When the big movie theater chains decide to hit you up for donations for some charity or other when you're already in your seat waiting for the movie to start.

Talk about a captive audience! I refuse to donate just on principle: I hate that they're trying to make me feel guilty/ashamed in front of my fellow movie-goers... plus, they do it at the same theaters that already run commercials before the feature. I figure I gave them my eyeballs to sell, that should be enough. They can donate my marketing value benefit to their charity instead.

If they just had a donation box near the ticket window, I'd likely donate. But that captive coercive moment. Forget it.

I am also rather... amused... by those businesses that let me know they're "donating to charity" via TV/magazine ads that cost them far, far more than the amount they actually gave to their socially respectable organization. If they actually cared about being socially responsible they'd give all the advertising money to charity, too (I assume it's a deductible business expense, just like the commercials)... but the point, of course, isn't to actually provide some social justice... it's too burnish their own image as much as possible while giving as little as possible to the actual charity (cause the giving won't really gain them anything, while the better goodwill through the commercials will).

Like you said, Shaw's could give far more to hungry people right out of their own stores. The point is to make you feel "good" about Shaw's, not to actually help anyone at all.

"Shakedown", an apropos word.

Uncle said...

And there's no respite! Even the Lolcats hit you up for feline charities. Do they have some secret communication that makes your own cats behave badly?

malevolent andrea said...

That movie theater thing is, yes, another perfect example.

"You've got enough money to spend $10 to see Will Smith save humanity yet again, but you're too cheap and selfish to save cute little Billy from *cancer*? For shame!"

malevolent andrea said...

Speaking of lolcats, I suggest you all view the following that a kind person just sent me to take my mind off how much I hate being shaken down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAgCIvsbDdI

crispix67 said...

Well, here in Hotlanta (which isnt very hot this morning...but I wont bitch to you New Englanders about cold...lol) we have the joy of being hit up for money while pumping gas. Not from the people at QT...but the latest trend seems to be for panhandlers to solicit people pumping gas.

And, in my opinion...its not a good place to solicit money. Well,maybe now that gas is down to below $2.50/gal..but back when it was $4...I dont imagine people felt like giving much as their paychecks went into their tanks.

One week I was hit up 3 times. I yelled over my shoulder -in my very uneffective passive agressive way of letting people know Im not happy- that I just wanted to buy gas without having to feel guilty because I didnt have enough money to save the world.Oh, and I threw in "Why dont you go work 2 jobs like I do, then you wont need to panhandle!!"

Im sure they loved that one. :(

malevolent andrea said...

Yeah, being hit up at the gas station shares that same problem as at the supermarket or the drug store: you're already paying way more for things you *need* than your brain or wallet thinks is reasonable. It's not likely to put you in a happy, giving mood.

The topic of panhandlers is very complex for me, and worthy of its own blog. Someday. Today I've got places to go and people to see. :-)

Uncle said...

I'd add one more remark but I'm savin it for my own blog :P