# A four thousand dollar trip to Europe for a fourteen year old? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 25, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939 "2015-03-25T14:11:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/41 "2015-03-25T17:17:47Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Kind of harsh coming from someone who thinks he HAS to buy a car just so his kid can learn to drive stick and somehow owes ten grand on a 9 year old vehicle. Ummm I don’t owe 10K - the wife does on her truck. As for buying a stick, I fully plan on paying less than $1000, having him get his 50 hours and then either keeping it as a backup or selling it. That last choice TBD if I can get her Commander resurrected. Every new driver should learn on a manual if possible. And I don’t recall begging anyone for money to get a car for my son, hence my lifelong desire that she get cactus-AIDS in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/42 "2015-03-25T17:29:26Z")
Manual transmissions are pointless. Using one is like navigating a ship with a sextant. Maybe learning the theory is useful, but actually doing it in practice is a waste of time. Come at me bro. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/43 "2015-03-25T17:33:09Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Manual transmissions are pointless. Using one is like navigating a ship with a sextant. Maybe learning the theory is useful, but actually doing it in practice is a waste of time. > > Come at me bro. Watch it. You’ve never experienced an ass whipping like an ass whipping from someone who knows how to use an abacus. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/44 "2015-03-25T17:36:16Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Manual transmissions are pointless. Using one is like navigating a ship with a sextant. Maybe learning the theory is useful, but actually doing it in practice is a waste of time. Not useless for a kid who needs to drive in Europe. Y’know, if anyone has a kid who’s going to Europe anytime soon for any reason. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/45 "2015-03-25T17:39:32Z")
Or Amazing Race Anyone who DOESN’T teach their kid a manual is guilty of child abuse and deserves to be raped in the ass by a syphilitic cactus ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/46 "2015-03-25T17:39:47Z")
> [@Kalea](#): > > What’s the topic of her film? Is it outlined in her Indigogo? 🆒 It’s called 2391 \*Short Summary 2391 is a short horror/thriller film based on the works of the SCP Foundation (various authors). The SCP Foundation works on the premise of there being a secret organization dedicated to finding supernatural and otherwise anomalous phenomena and keeping them contained away from the general population. This short focuses on a small research expedition into the titular object. The main team is composed of a research assistant and two D-class (“disposable”) personnel. \* ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/47 "2015-03-25T17:46:55Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > High school fundraisers involve the kids doing some kind of work, not sitting back and waiting for donations. Exactly. For a mother to apparently expect that random strangers would like to pay for her young daughter to go to Europe is mind boggling, but unfortunately that sort of thing has become more and more common due to places like GoFundMe. I’m 57, have never been overseas and wouldn’t even ask my _husband_ to pay that for something so frivolous! ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/48 "2015-03-25T17:57:53Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > It’s called 2391 > > \*Short Summary > > 2391 is a short horror/thriller film based on the works of the SCP Foundation (various authors). The SCP Foundation works on the premise of there being a secret organization dedicated to finding supernatural and otherwise anomalous phenomena and keeping them contained away from the general population. > > This short focuses on a small research expedition into the titular object. The main team is composed of a research assistant and two D-class (“disposable”) personnel. \* Do I get a tshirt or a hat if I help fund. ETA: I’d give $1 just so I give more to the movie than this vacation. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/49 "2015-03-25T18:06:06Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > My vacation plans this summer possibly involve seeing a 14 year old in Thailand. And its half the price! > > Please send money! Are you Gary Glitter? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/50 "2015-03-25T18:07:23Z")
No, his cousin Hairy Gether. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/51 "2015-03-25T18:07:44Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I just asked in the ABTMB forum if its allowed. We shall see. Loach says you’re [good to go!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18235996&postcount=68) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/52 "2015-03-25T18:10:14Z")
We donate to a variety of charities every year and take the tax deduction. A valid charity is one thing, but crowd sourcing is just panhandling under a different name. The whole notion of it just rubs me the wrong way. I really don’t understand anybody giving money so that somebody else can use it to leverage their start-up business (but not have to pay back the loan), let alone use this method to get money for frivolous activity like this trip to Europe. That this has become a ‘thing’ just astounds me. Who raises people this stupid? ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/53 "2015-03-25T18:16:48Z")
My wife’s friend did something like this for her daughter to go to D.C. We donated for that because 1: she’s is actually poor and no way she could pay for this herself. 2: I know the kid and like her. She was always quick to play with my daughter, meaning I didn’t have to pay(as much) attention. 3: The friend has invited us to her home for holidays, babysat my daughter during emergencies, and overall has been there for us. Mostly, it is because I know the kid and like her. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/54 "2015-03-25T18:20:46Z")
I didn’t think I “knew” [misstee](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=11978189)much from around the SDMB - before her begging thread, she hadn’t posted since 2014, and even then only three posts in the entirety of last year. Hardly a regular, so no we wouldn’t know her or her kid. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/55 "2015-03-25T18:28:14Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > It’s called 2391 > > \*Short Summary > > 2391 is a short horror/thriller film based on the works of the SCP Foundation (various authors). The SCP Foundation works on the premise of there being a secret organization dedicated to finding supernatural and otherwise anomalous phenomena and keeping them contained away from the general population. > > This short focuses on a small research expedition into the titular object. The main team is composed of a research assistant and two D-class (“disposable”) personnel. \* I guess I’m feeling Indiegogo spirit today. This and another movie potentially get my money! ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/56 "2015-03-25T18:37:07Z")
I don’t have a problem with it. I don’t feel any pressure to give, and to think travel is a valuable experience if you can make it happen. My high school graduation present was a set of tickets to Europe. I financed most of the rest from savings. I had a good (and surprisingly wholesome) time backpacking around, and it definitely built my confidence and independence. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/57 "2015-03-25T18:46:28Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > 2: I know the kid and like her. Exactly. Apparently my mom’s former employer gave her some cash towards my trip because they wanted to help us. I know my mom wouldn’t have asked, only brought it up in conversation. I wrote them a nice thank-you note. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/58 "2015-03-25T18:49:48Z")
That Europe trip thread doesn’t seem to me to be all that different from the homeless people I see in town, holding their hands out begging for money. The difference is that the homeless guys could actually use the money. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/59 "2015-03-25T18:51:26Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > My vacation plans this summer possibly involve seeing a 14 year old in Thailand. And its half the price! > > Please send money! See a seven year-old, knock.it down to 25% ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939/60 "2015-03-25T19:13:24Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I don’t have a problem with it. I don’t feel any pressure to give, and to think travel is a valuable experience if you can make it happen. > > My high school graduation present was a set of tickets to Europe. I financed most of the rest from savings. I had a good (and surprisingly wholesome) time backpacking around, and it definitely built my confidence and independence. You getting tickets as a gift for graduation has nothing in common with a stranger panhandling on the Internet to strangers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-four-thousand-dollar-trip-to-europe-for-a-fourteen-year-old/715939.md?page=4)