Monday - December 06, 2004

Scrooge Lives!!! (A Story About the Salvation Army and Other Charities)

Well, Christmas really isn’t my favorite time of year.  I get more and more annoyed at it earlier and earlier in the season.  Hell, fucking stores here started with Christmas shit after LABOR DAY!!  The mass commercialization of it really annoys me.  All this false pretending, everyone “acting” nicely as if trying to show Santa or God that they are “good” people while during the rest of the year they are shit heels.  It’s a mockery but that’s a subject for another day.

I’ve been called Scrooge before because I refuse to put up a tree, will not decorate my home, do not send out Christmas cards nor buy gifts (my son and his family get checks.) Those last two bits?  You should try it.  What a relief to not have to stress over what to buy so-and-so or “will Uncle Bill like this?” or “will Mom like that?” or “should I send a card to the Smiths?  They didn’t last year?” Again, another topic for a different day.

Anyway by the time you finish reading this you just might agree I AM Scrooge.  Or at least a good student of his. 

Yesterday I posted a humorous piece about Salvation Army bell ringers.  In a way I feel the same way.  Sue the bastards.  They are irritating.

Surely you’ve also heard about how Target is now under fire for not allowing these noisy, annoying bell ringers at their front doors begging money.

Now we have one of the head weenies at a Salvation Army asking people to give even more to make up for the locations where the bell ringers are banned.

This year I had a run-in with the Salvation Army and my experience was less than satisfactory.  I always thought of them as an agency that collected clothes and other items for giving or selling to those in need.  That is not the case, apparently.

My parents wanted to buy a new sofa and the old one, a sofa bed, was in perfect shape with the exception of a little cat scratching on one corner.  A slip cover put over the sofa would fix it.  Mind you, this was not one of those $150 sleeper sofas you find brand new at some discount store.  This was GOOD furniture.  Solid.  Good mattress.

So we called Salvation Army to come get it.  Hell, surely there was SOME family somewhere that could use a sleeper-sofa, right?  Even if they had to give it away.

Their response?  Nope!  Can’t take it as it is scratched!!

Again, I could understand not wanting a sofa stained with body oils and God knows what else (like I see in these stores---yes, I went there in order to test my theory) or whose cushions are so shot you sink in the middle or who’s mechanical parts don’t work right or whose upholstery is crap.  But this one just had some scratches on ONE side measuring about 4 inches by 10 inches.  Hardly far from usable.  Hell, I’d have taken it from my parents myself if I didn’t already have one.

They were not the only ones who refused.  Three others also said they’d not take it.  I can see some of you now, thinking, “hell Vilmar, surely you are leaving something out.  There HAS to be another reason they’d not take it.” But I am not.  Maybe the charity folks where you live aren’t so persnickety but in Hernando County they suck.  Hell, I even wrote the paper about it when they had an article about how the local charities were finding that donations were down this year.

So for that reason, these charities can kiss my ass.

Speaking of charity, you notice how agencies that collect toys now want nothing but new toys?  Yesirree, Bob, used toys are a no-no!  We can’t be giving USED toys to poor kids.  My God!  How would that affect their self esteem?

I firmly believe we have way too many toys given out at this time of year, anyway.  Way too many in relation to the number of poor kids.  My God, you’d think half the country is destitute.  Makes you wonder what the criteria is for getting those toys.  Do you just walk up and grab an arm full?  Is there some sort of means test given?  There should be. 

I won’t say this for food items but if you have such little pride that you will accept TOYS then you should have no problem proving you collect ADC, food stamps, live in sub-standard housing and are jobless.

After all, they ARE toys.  It might be a good thing for kids to not get anything every once in a while.  It won’t kill them.  It might even encourage them to break the cycle of poverty in the hopes that one day they can provide for their own.  But to just hand out toys like they are sheets of paper is to undercut one’s ability to cut the bonds to dependency and foster nothing more than a victi-crat society constantly demanding handouts.

So there you have it.  Scrooge lives in Spring Hill, Florida.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 12/06/2004 at 07:16 AM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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