Every few weeks, there are a bunch of volunteers for Save the Children or Greenpeace or some such charity loitering around my office (in the Bryant Park section of Manhattan). These people are usually annoyingly hyper-aggressive to the point where they seem to be going out of their way to try and agitate people as much as possible. They will follow you down the street. Sometimes they will dart out in front of you or block your path. All the while chirping away about whatever it is they want you to sign or donate money to. Basically just trying to be as much of a pain in the ass as they can to people with actual jobs and actual places to go.
So what if I just punched one of them? I’m not asking about the legal ramifications (I know what those would be). But from a strictly moral and ethical perspective, would I be viewed as a hero who punched out an annoying jerk or a monster who just beat up some poor idiot just trying to raise money for a good cause?
If anyone tries to hit me up for greenpeace i usually tell them that i dont support terrorism. If its a save the (insert group here) ill ask how what % of the donations go to administration vs. helping someone in need, If they dont know i ask how they can expect me to donate money to a group that they dont know anything about themselves, and kindly excuse myself. In the few instances they DO know. ill cough up a buck or 2. needless to say, ive done that once.
First thing is, are they really representing the charities they claim to represent? It could just as easily be a shakedown.
OTOH, what is fit punishment for impeding one’s progress down a sidewalk for a few seconds? YMMV, but for me a punch in the face seems a bit over the top. A loud “Get out of my way, please” would be my approach, followed by a discussion with a cop, if one happens to be in the vicinity.
Anyway, you probably can’t win. Punching someone who’s ostensibly Saving Children will not be looked on kindly by most folks, except maybe in Philadelphia*.
Oh, man. I’m such a sucker for those guys. Usually they’re all shaky and nervous while they rehearse their spiel. I did a job like that for exactly two days before I quit and I’ll never forget what it was like being rejected time and time again.
So yeah, I’m a monthly donor to Greenpeace now. For pretty much no reason other than my need to cheer up some poor kid.
I though postcards’ link would be mace or a telescoping baton, but the idea of what was actually linked made me laugh out loud (and not in the cutesy internet way, but in the sitting here at my keyboard laughing way).
I’m a college student, we have a lot of those types on campus. Now, what I don’t understand is, why are they asking for money? In this day and age, very rarely do you find students with actual cash on them. You MAY find one that has a some spare change, but then, not very much. And if you do find someone with cash, they’ll have a $20 bill, and I doubt they’ll donate that.
My suggestion is that these sorts of organizations ought to invest in a credit card machine. Donate to [insert organization name]. No cash? No problem, we’ve got a card machine too.
Both my mother and I have canvased for the Heart Association, the Cancer Society and the Alzheimers Society for years and never received a penny for it.
I think some of them do accept credit cards. Not that any sane person would ever give their CC# out to them.
But why do so few students carry cash? I was in college not too long ago and I had the plastic but also the paper–I mean, just case, you never know, etc.
Well, I wouldn’t extrapolate to other campuses, but the university I go to accepts credit cards and student charge. Basically, every student has a student id, and anything on campus, food, books, coffee, etc. can all be student charged. Just swipe the card, and it shows up later at the end of the semester. I suppose most people use it out of convenience, and it’s fast. No fumbling for change and the like.
More like you just stick out a leg to trip them- it’s less effort and a metaphor for what they’re doing to you. It’s not physical pain per se, but it’s an annoyance that gets in their way and that they have to step over.
Or if they miss and actually DO trip- uh… that’s a metaphor for something else too. You can think of it while you run away in a panicky haste
Ethically, its wrong. After all, these are not telemarketers selling replacement windows - those you can ethically punch in the face. People representing charities may ethically only receive verbal assaults or you are over ethical boundaries.