stance on charity?

Anon4023 · 2016-08-12T18:16:23+00:00

Helping the less fortunate is showing weakness? Please tell me you're joking.

I have incredible respect for people who sacrifice (time, money) to help the poor/weak.

psyflux · 2016-08-12T15:05:55+00:00

Yes. Annual donations to Shriner's, St. Jude's, and Project Linus.

Do I walk around wearing a t-shirt? No, but I'll suggest any of the three to anyone who feels like they could be doing more.

Frigzy · 2016-08-12T15:13:04+00:00

I thought it was called taxes these days..

VasiliyZaitzev · 2016-08-12T15:27:54+00:00

I've participated in charity work over the years. I gravitate towards the work moreso than donating money, because I think the direct-service provides more value. I don't want pay towards promotional materials or T-shirts or anything like that. I gravitate towards causes for children, animals, the elderly, those populations who cannot always protect or provide for themselves. There's plenty of good one can do in their community without it turning it into some kind of perceived threat to their masculinity.

On the other hand, a past experience resonated with me. A family had their home destroyed by a hurricane and a group of us went down to build them a home. While we worked our asses off, the entire family sat next door, all day, in the A/C. None of them lifted a finger to help. A lot of us got the impression the family felt we owed them something. That's the type of scenario I guard against.

RPShitlord · 2016-08-12T14:57:43+00:00

For me, donating MONEY to charity is a red flag and shows ignorance of how these "charities" operate.

I don't care how much good a charity purports to do. When its president makes half a mil, and gives jobs to friends and relatives, and contracts other companies ran by friends and relatives to do work for them, that is GRAFT.

It's a brilliant plan by the charity scammers, but I won't contribute to it. The system is broken, but the system is what it is, and they know it.

onmyownpath · 2016-08-12T16:11:00+00:00

I support people who CANNOT support themselves. Like - people born with severe disability. The elderly.

It is not weakness to help the suffering. It is benevolence. Benevolence is manly as fuck.

Think of a good king running his kingdom - he will help the suffering who are truly incapable of taking care of themselves.

Cyralea · 2016-08-12T16:15:34+00:00

Charity should be limited to those who are in a position to give it, unless it brings you personal joy to do so. I give to charity but I have a sizeable income. Until you're at this point you're sacrificing from your personal growth. It's an opportunity cost that you need to consider, and weight it against any happiness it brings you in the interim.

brooklynisburnin · 2016-08-12T17:57:45+00:00

I have enough of my own problems to be thinking about other people ones, and I'm a pretty selfish person, so no, I do not do charity.

VasiliyZaitzev · 2016-08-12T18:24:30+00:00

Do you ever donate to charity or participate in charity work?

Yes. I donate money to causes with which I am familiar and where it will have a direct impact. As an example, there is a charity that is run by a long time friend of my deceased father. I send that guy a check each year. I have since discovered that my mother's former church (she is also deceased) supports various local charitable causes (food bank, soup kitchen, etc.), and so I cut a check to them around the holidays with instructions as to how it is to be divvied up and then they do so.

In my head I judge people who take pride in this, even if they don't do it just for validation.

That's another thing. I don't make a big deal out of it and, where I can, I ask for anonymity. For some folks it is more important "to be seen" as being charitable, rather than actually being charitable.

Another note: I am selfish as FUCK about my time. You will never see me in a soup kitchen or whatever, but on a couple of occasions, when I see what the net-net was collected from employee donations, I've been as much as 33% of it. /shrugs.

from_the_ashes_me · 2016-08-12T19:14:28+00:00

I do volunteer work and charity work. It has nothing to do with showing weakness. We've had family members who've gotten surgeries free of charge from Shriner's Hospital for Children.

You basically have kids in a hospital for months at a time, seeing their families only occasionally. There are tons of things you can do to make it more pleasant for them. Donate toys, see how your group can do social events or demonstrations for the kids. Very cool way to spend an hour a week. It can be anything, start a lego robotics group at a inner city grade school.

I was an electrician before I went back to school, and I'll donate time for Habitat for Humanity hanging fixtures, or wiring outlets for a couple hours on a Saturday. Bonus is that you meet a lot of people, network, and maybe even expand your social circle. Doing construction work around a mixed group of adults, men and women in their 20's, 30's, and 40's isn't a bad way to spend a little time.

Judge away, but really, who gives a shit? TRP is amoral. You do you.

SeekingTheWay · 2016-08-12T14:47:19+00:00

I am an extreme darwinist so in this regard, I don't support charity. I would put my life on the line for people who are important for me (friends, family, etc) but not for plain generic Joe who got the short end of the stick we call life. If you can't make it on your own, then sorry buddy, at least you won't degrade the gene pool.

Title	stance on charity?
Author	serious_bs
Upvotes	0
Comments	23
Date	August 12, 2016 2:28 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/4xdsdy/stance_on_charity/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/stance-on-charity.109626 https://theredarchive.com/post/109626

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