(no subject)

[xp_blink]

you know, the older I get, the more I just want to punch the salvation army bell rings in the nose.

and it is really really hard to remember that violence is not the answer.

Comments

[xp_banshee]

Well, it's certainly not always the answer...

[xp_blink]

but man, sometimes it really is the answer.

[xp_banshee]

Precisely.

[xp_loa]

Ideally we could work to make them just not a thing, replace them with an organization that isn't shit, and cackle at their demise... but, man, I am also tempted when I walk out of a store and there they are ringing away.

[xp_blink]

I mean, yes, that is ideal in the long term.

but punching the bell ringers NOW would be great for short term satisfaction.

and hey, if you punch enough of them, maybe then people will stop volunteering to do it because it is dangerous and that will help hasten the organization's end!

[xp_darcy]

Every time they ask me to donate I cheerfully respond with the local (way less bigoted and hateful) charity of choice I'll be donating to instead.

[xp_blink]

ugh, so mature.

I hate it.

[xp_darcy]

They can't start shit if I'm polite! I mean, they can, but then they look a bit like they've lost the plot and I can have them removed for harassment. :)

It's a very calculated maturity.

[xp_blink]

yes, I get it, I just hate it.

you're not wrong. you're just not enabling me and are making me reconsider being immature and that's no fun

[xp_darcy]

Consider: stuffing their kettles with those stupid fake money tracts people like to "tip" with.

[xp_blink]

that's what alex said.
'
I think I need to do this posthaste

[xp_darcy]

Alex has great ideas, and that'll teach me to read all the new stuff first.

[xp_banshee]

Who're you donating to this year? There's a foodbank the mansion's not officially affiliated with, isn't there? I wouldn't mind helping them.

[xp_darcy]

There's that--a lot of my money gets split between the food bank and the Ali Forney Center (they help provide shelter and outreach to LGBT youth experiencing homelessness), and my time usually goes to event help with the Anti-Violence Project and college and financial aid work at New Alternatives NYC (they work to transition youth in shelters into stable lives). Immigration Equality's good too, I do a fair bit of pro bono work for them. It's not my specialty, but I can at least help people fill out the forms correctly instead of wasting their money on something that will definitely get rejected.

[xp_banshee]

Brilliant. I'll focus my holiday donations toward those this year, then. I have a feeling I'll spend my time at the foodbank, though.

[xp_spectrum]

That's the foodbank Tandy's uncle, the priest, runs from his church. I do a lot of volunteering there during holiday times when I'm not with my family - if you like, I can introduce you to Father Michael so you can talk about donations and fundraising and stuff?

[xp_banshee]

That'd be lovely, thank you!

[xp_darcy]

Thank you, I was drawing a blank with names.

[xp_havok]

You know those fake bills people will leave as "tips" at a restaurant with bible verses or whatever on them? Friend of mine in college bussed tables and got those a couple times, so he started making copies and putting them in the bell ringers' buckets. 10 cents a copy for a polite go fuck yourself to the Salvation Army

[xp_blink]

oh I like this. subversive.

[xp_changeling]

Bit of a shame, really. Old Sal used to be an important lifeline. This was in the days when any kind of welfare was extremely limited and they helped fill the gap for a lot of people. Put up with a sermon in exchange for a hot meal and a bed in winter was a pretty fair trade. As a kid during the Depression, I can remember the lineup of drunks and homeless around the block checking into one of their hostels with the snow coming down.

Unfortunately, like any church, doing good often takes a backseat to dogma when you're doing well.

[xp_blink]

I mean, back then, it was illegal to be gay anyways and women supposedly didn't have orgasms. Not that that excuses hateful behaviour, but it was accepted hatefulness. Now, despite recent attacks on civil liberties, it is not illegal and not acceptable to be hateful. So they just need to get with the times.

Also, their bell ringing is just ANNOYING.