Gay-Rights Groups Urging a Boycott of Contributions to the Salvation Army

[Errata]

I am aware of the limits of St. Judes religious affiliations but I don't give to any even vaguely religious organizations and a religious founder who names his charity after a religious icon is sufficiently religious to me. He could have called it Judes if he didn't want the religious tone. He didn't. Just like I am sure if I decided to call my charity Lucifer's Angels, even if it wasn't affiliated with Satanism, I could expect some sort of lack of support. (Hmm that's actually a pretty good idea for a charity name...)

I think it was more statement on the mission of St. Jude than a religious statement. I am 100% certain that St. Jude Children's Hospital has done more for hopeless causes than St. Jude the saint ever did. I don't think Danny Thomas ever did more than donate the money to build and maintain it for a short time, for which I guess you get the privilege of naming it. But then I've worked with them, and I'm a big fan. Of course, how religious can a charity be if it is mostly supported by Hollywood and sports stars?

But I admit to being beaten down somewhat on the whole religious issue. A: We don't have a lot of secular charities here at all, and B: You can only correct little old ladies who thank you by saying "that's very Christian of you" for 15 or so years before you just stop caring. I want to care, or more accurately, I want to want to care. I'm just done. On the other hand, I wholly support a charity being called Lucifer's Angels. Somehow I see the holiday red buckets being manned by burlesque dancers, and really how can that fail?

[Roy Corduroy]

Yep, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here :

[Ally]

St. Jude is not a religious based charity. It's called St. Jude because he is the patron saint of lost causes, and he was the Patron Saint of the guy who founded it, the actor Danny Thomas. But it isn't Catholic, and it isn't religious.

I am aware of the limits of St. Judes religious affiliations but I don't give to any even vaguely religious organizations and a religious founder who names his charity after a religious icon is sufficiently religious to me. He could have called it Judes if he didn't want the religious tone. He didn't. Just like I am sure if I decided to call my charity Lucifer's Angels, even if it wasn't affiliated with Satanism, I could expect some sort of lack of support. (Hmm that's actually a pretty good idea for a charity name...)

On the other hand, I don't give at stores either, because I don't consider it an afterthought. For those who do, fine. I also don't know the mechanism under which they turn over the funds. Yoplait had a thing where every pink lid you turned in, they gave $1 to breast cancer research, and they got millions back. They failed to mention that it topped out at $100,000 and since the recycled all the lids, they saved a boatload. After a lawsuit they do now put the limit on the carton in tee tiny letters.

Yep, I am pretty firmly against most of these "drives" and "pink things". I am sure they sell boatloads from cups to keychains to every stupid marketed "we can sell it if we slap a pink ribbon on it" crap and very little of the profit ever goes to the cause.

I forgot the one I used to get the worst looks on, even worse than St. Judes, the annual UNICEF drive at school. You might as well drive down any random crack town and throw fifty cents out the window for all the money that makes it from UNICEF to people in need.

[Robert]

I wouldn't mind, Stephen, but when I did go along to get a free bowl of soup (waste not, want not) they asked me if I was gay, When I said I wasn't they told me they were rebalancing their work and I could only come in if I was gay. I had to dye my hair mauve to get in there.

[Stephen Thomas]

These people are pests. I know I'm not the world's best dresser but five times this week they've stopped me in the High St and offered me a shelter.

Robert, you can be so FUNNY.

[Fleetwood Mac]

These people are pests. I know I'm not the world's best dresser but five times this week they've stopped me in the High St and offered me a shelter.

Is this a form of mugging? Pushing one's ideas onto the unsuspecting public?

I like 'em.

Is this the right thread for an EU rant? I detest that lot. Power mad scam artists.

[Fleetwood Mac]

Aye, well, if you're gay and you don't like it then just ignore it.

The Salvation Army does a lot of good work.

I like 'em, even if they are more conservative than I am.

[Errata]

The one I really get dirty looks for is St Judes, which usually comes up when I have some absolutely militant charity badgerer hassling me about contributing when they do one of their "Would you like to add a dollar, no, how about 50 cents, it's only 50 cents!".

St. Jude is not a religious based charity. It's called St. Jude because he is the patron saint of lost causes, and he was the Patron Saint of the guy who founded it, the actor Danny Thomas. But it isn't Catholic, and it isn't religious.

On the other hand, I don't give at stores either, because I don't consider it an afterthought. For those who do, fine. I also don't know the mechanism under which they turn over the funds. Yoplait had a thing where every pink lid you turned in, they gave $1 to breast cancer research, and they got millions back. They failed to mention that it topped out at $100,000 and since the recycled all the lids, they saved a boatload. After a lawsuit they do now put the limit on the carton in tee tiny letters.

[Robert]

These people are pests. I know I'm not the world's best dresser but five times this week they've stopped me in the High St and offered me a shelter.

[Ally]

Yeah I haven't given to the Salvation Army in ..well running up on decades now, because I don't give to religious organizations. I pretty much just assume that my money will be spent in ways I don't support.

The one I really get dirty looks for is St Judes, which usually comes up when I have some absolutely militant charity badgerer hassling me about contributing when they do one of their "Would you like to add a dollar, no, how about 50 cents, it's only 50 cents!". I finally stopped attempting to explain my objections when some guy would just not let it go and kept running the scale, "What if I just round your purchase up to the next dollar" and I finally just lost it and went, "Every time a little kid dies, I do a happy dance, why the hell would I want to save the little brats". The look on his face was so priceless, that's now my default to anyone who doesn't accept the first no, and it usually shuts them up. I realize that's wrong, but I get really tired of being hassled every time I want to just go buy some apples, or a tire gauge, or shampoo.

I have no problems giving to charity, I probably give more and more often than the average person but I give to charities of my choosing and don't appreciate stores attempting to force their charity selections on me.

[The Grave Maurice]

I didn't know any of this. I've sent annual contributions to the Sally Ann for some time largely because I read somewhere that they deliver a higher percentage of their income to the end users than most other charities, and I know that they do a lot of good work in our community. Still, I might now have to re-think where I send my charitable donations.

[Ally]

Hi Roy, the rules prohibit people directly copying more than five sentences of a news article due to copyright violations. Just letting you know, you might want to edit if you can or report yourself for editing. The news orgs are coming down hard on copyright violations because of reposting sites.

As for it being dangerous to be a Salvation army worker, er..okay. So one guy in the history of bell ringing has been killed and suddenly it's a dangerous job? Many of the bell ringers are being paid to do this, and they are far less likely to be killed than your average convenience store clerk.

[Roy Corduroy]

Reality Check

Not only do they do good work, but it's dangerous. This man was shot dead in front of his three children by robbers who took the collection money. Wheeling West Virginia paper Oct 30, 2010:


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I'm praying they all make it through this Christmas season okay.

Roy

[Ally]

They deny it. So, if they really are homophobic then they are diluting their message which would not be army-like.

No one ever said that the militantly religious couldn't be militantly hypocritical as well especially where their coffers are concerned. They are well aware that those little red buckets are filled by people of all faiths and beliefs and they aren't stupid enough to deliberately antagonize a source of revenue, especially considering support for gay rights is growing in this country by a significant margin. Their actions and their attempts at legislature speak a lot louder than empty words meant to pacify during their main collection season.

[Limehouse]

[QUOTE=Errata;200637] Evidently they try to avoid hiring LGBT bell ringers, and office workers.
QUOTE]

They possibly dislike Campanologists!