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Oct. 17th, 2012 12:09 pmI'm not well today at all. I postponed everything outside the home and feel more than somewhat sorry for myself. Some years I get gastro illnesses in cycles that last for weeks. Every fifteen years or so only, but this is one of them.
It was not the right day for a charity organisation to ring saying "We work for Australia's great charity" without naming an organisation. I told them they had rung a workplace (which is true) and they said, blithely "This will only take a few minutes." This is when I could have said "I might put down the phone at any time and race for the bathroom, for I am ill." I didn't. I told them I was very busy and quoted my highest hourly rate at them. It makes me look like a stingy rich pig (I lack the riches for this, but I can pretend), but it means I got off the phone in time. So there. If they ring back, I'll ask them about a cure for the stomach troubles (which were getting better yesterday and I suspect are a combination of the earlier gastro and stress).
The more random calls I get from charities, the more annoyed I am. I only give where I know exactly the path of the money, for too often in my childhood I discovered big charity organisations that wanted to convert or demand the accepting of condescension as well as help. I try to donate to places that do the work without adding such baggage to it. I do not generally discuss it, for there's too much "Aren't I good - I donated to charity" currently, which is also just a bit condescending to those in need. One thing I truly hate is when someone who has received help at a time of need has to then thank an organisation effusively and publicly and prove they are the right sort of person. I know people who won't accept charity because of the humiliation factor that is often attached. I try very hard not to add to this.
If an organisation rings out of the blue and won't give a name and demands my time as if it's their right, well, I shall continue to react negatively. Although maybe next time I should get the telephone person to recite the principles of tzedakah back at me, so that I know we're talking the same language of giving.
It was not the right day for a charity organisation to ring saying "We work for Australia's great charity" without naming an organisation. I told them they had rung a workplace (which is true) and they said, blithely "This will only take a few minutes." This is when I could have said "I might put down the phone at any time and race for the bathroom, for I am ill." I didn't. I told them I was very busy and quoted my highest hourly rate at them. It makes me look like a stingy rich pig (I lack the riches for this, but I can pretend), but it means I got off the phone in time. So there. If they ring back, I'll ask them about a cure for the stomach troubles (which were getting better yesterday and I suspect are a combination of the earlier gastro and stress).
The more random calls I get from charities, the more annoyed I am. I only give where I know exactly the path of the money, for too often in my childhood I discovered big charity organisations that wanted to convert or demand the accepting of condescension as well as help. I try to donate to places that do the work without adding such baggage to it. I do not generally discuss it, for there's too much "Aren't I good - I donated to charity" currently, which is also just a bit condescending to those in need. One thing I truly hate is when someone who has received help at a time of need has to then thank an organisation effusively and publicly and prove they are the right sort of person. I know people who won't accept charity because of the humiliation factor that is often attached. I try very hard not to add to this.
If an organisation rings out of the blue and won't give a name and demands my time as if it's their right, well, I shall continue to react negatively. Although maybe next time I should get the telephone person to recite the principles of tzedakah back at me, so that I know we're talking the same language of giving.