-
guest 05/22/2012 2:40:00 AM
Hey everyone. I am a street canvasser right now, and yes I am a college student who you lovely folks thinks know nothing about anything and is trying to simply bother your commute or day. I absolutely appreciate your love and respect for us canvassers. I would just like to say that I don't know about the other charities, but I work for greenpeace, and we are technically working directly for the organization. only one cent out of every dollar goes to the administration, and I apologize to JenG for what happened in the past because I can tell you the canvassers I work with in my branch make a point to not chase down people and when someone says they are already a member, we thank them and tell them we appreciate their support. when some one makes it clear to me that they are not interested, I smile and say have a nice day. we know that you lovely folks are generous and do your part as best as you can, but just understand that as your jobs might involve you explaining your work to others in your business meetings, our job is to let the people know what we are doing. again I apologize for any past dilemmas that you may have had with a certain canvasser or organization, but don't assume we are all just after your money for ourselves, and no we do not make commission. It is an hourly job just like most of yours. There are also many of us who are adults, well into their thirties or even forties. I just wanted to throw that out there. Have a wonderful day everybody.
-
Rizzzod 05/16/2012 11:59:00 PM
Sam I think I love you. Well written.
-
05/07/2012 7:38:00 PM
And Pete, that's the exact problem that people have with these Chuggers (and I assume you're one of them, based on your pre-conceived notions of your targets, successful people): You think you know who we are, and you think that if we want nothing to do with you, that we're "just another cheapskate who could care less about anyone other than themselves."
Fuck you assuming you know me, and fuck you for telling me how to spend my time & money. Period, end of story. I'm under no obligation to speak to you, to tell you who I am, what I do, what I make, and how I spend it, and I'm certainly under no obligation to fund the lifestyles of the Chuggers & their bosses by handing out my hard-earned money on the street.
Not to mention that, why would I ever give money to a company that is hired by a charity, when I can give it directly to the charity myself? Successful people aren't stupid, we know that a huge percentage of the money raised by street level Chuggers doesn't go to the end user charity, but to the Chuggers & their bosses. Dialogue Direct alone is suspected of keeping over 95% of what it raises (or, giving less than 5% to the charity). Even if the numbers were flipped, and DD only kept 5%, why would I fund them as opposed to giving it directly to the charity & the needy, and let them keep 100%?
-
05/07/2012 7:29:00 PM
If you feel good about helping to educate, hydrate, clothe & communalize those poor children, you must feel great about helping the execs who own DD build additions to the mansions in Connecticut & the Hamptons thanks to all your hard work!!!!
-
05/07/2012 7:27:00 PM
They still are annoying, Dawn, but don't ever let yourself fall into their trap of justifying who you are or why you won't give them your money. F them, they have no right to invade my privacy. Once a Chugger (I agree, perfect name) called me out as "not caring" because I didn't want to give her money. I lit into her, and taught her a lesson about respect & privacy. The best part is, the crowd of people who gathered to watch applauded me when I was done, even though she was sobbing hysterically & apologizing to me when I was through. It felt good, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if another one of them was so bold as to say what she said to me.
-
05/07/2012 7:25:00 PM
Stefan, you just wrote a self fullfilling prophecy - you state that the easiest thing to do in the world is point at other people and pass judgment (implying that that is what people who work & have careers do when we see loser canvassers), and then you do exactly that, you point at people & pass judgment.
And if I were one of those kids that Dialogue Direct "represent," I would be happy with the dollar they raised for me - until I learned that for me to get that dollar, they "raised" $20 total, and paid themselves the other $19.
Finally, it's not luck, it's hard work. Some people are born with it, but the majority of succesful people in this country got that way through hard work & determination. Good for me for working my ass off to earn the right to sit in my luxury air conditioned condo & browse the web. And don't fucking ever tell me how to spend my time & money, it's the fastest way to get me to tell you to fuck off & go back to occupying whatever.
-
05/07/2012 7:22:00 PM
Stefan, you just wrote a self fullfilling prophecy - you state that the easiest thing to do in the world is point at other people and pass judgment (implying that that is what people who work & have careers do when we see loser canvassers), and then you do exactly that, you point at people & pass judgment.
And if I were one of those kids that Dialogue Direct "represent," I would be happy with the dollar they raised for me - until I learned that for me to get that dollar, they "raised" $20 total, and paid themselves the other $19.
Finally, it's not luck, it's hard work. Some people are born with it, but the majority of succesful people in this country got that way through hard work & determination. Good for me for working my ass off to earn the right to sit in my luxury air conditioned condo & browse the web. And don't fucking ever tell me how to spend my time & money, it's the fastest way to get me to tell you to fuck off & go back to occupying whatever.
-
05/07/2012 7:09:00 PM
MJ - who exactly are you to force your beliefs & feelings of guilt down the throats of total strangers? Who are you to tell me how to spend my time, much less my money? THAT is the issue that us, the working people who build & maintain the economy that you benefit from, have with maggots like you.
Sugarcoat it all you want, talk about how it's "just" this much $$, etc. People don't want to be told by some idiot kid what to do or feel. And I'm under no obligation to disclose to anybody, especially some future Occupiers on the street, how charitable I am.
But good for you for at least now working directly with the kids, as opposed to a cancer like Dialogue Direct. It's too bad that for every dollar your kids receive from sponsorship organizations, nineteen more dollars were actually "raised," but go to pay the solicitors & the executives who own the company you represented. It should make you sick that you spent all that time begging for handouts in the street in the name of "10 year old girls who have to sell their bodies to eat," when in reality, you were lining the pockets of the executives who owned those companies.
-
05/07/2012 6:55:00 PM
Eugenia, we do say "no thank you," and I've found, time & time again through personal experience, that if I acknowledge, respond with a polite no, or even look at these worthless solicitors, that they will hound me relentlessly. I've had you people step directly in front of me on busy Chicago sidewalks to force me to stop for you; I've had you people walk backwards in front of me as I'm walking down the street, in order to solicit me; I've had you people wait outside my building doors to pounce on people as soon as we leave work, and see you constantly harassing people getting off the bus. I've literally seen you worthless people corner people in bus stops, often elderly women, and tell them that something as small as a $50 "donation" will get them to leave the person alone.
This isn't fundraising, it's harassment, and in the case of cornering people & promising to leave with a "donation," it's extortion. You can attempt to justify it all you want, but at the end of the day, those of us who are doers, and work for a living, pay taxes, and fund the economy to your minimal tax paying ass benefits from, see you as the parasites you are.
The worst part is, I don't believe for a moment that you do it for anything other than to fulfill your own pocket. You get paid on a commission, depending on the company, it's either a rate based on how many people you sign up, or a percentage of the total that you raise. If you really, really did care about these causes, you would work directly for the charity as a fundraiser, which ensures that 100% of the donation goes to the cause. The last thing you would do is work for Dialogue Direct, which sends less than 5% of the money it raises to the charities it represents.
-
05/07/2012 6:44:00 PM
Jen G, I couldn't agree with you more. I live in Chicago, and there are several dozen of these people situated in the loop where I work. They aren't out in the morning when I go to work, but it's not uncommon for me to be approached by two or three every afternoon during my three block walk to the bus stop. Not to mention that they will literally corner people in busstops, knowing that they have a captive audience until the bus arrives.
I do the "no eye contact" thing, though they often will call out to me, and I've even had some walk directly into my path only a few feet in front of me. I will politely decline, but if they persist, turn into an a$$. I've lit into more than one of these idiot kids who know nothing when they've given me a response like, "You don't care about _____!" Screw them for telling me what I do or don't care about. Also, they all work on a commission, and if they really cared about the charity they "represent," they would work directly for it, not for Dialogue Direct or another similar company.
-
03/16/2012 6:26:00 PM
Those of you who are canvassers and think the rest of us are just selfish: imagine being approached by 3 or 4 people asking you for money EVERY SINGLE DAY. Sometimes multiple times per day, if you dare to leave your office. It's beyond irritating, and a "no thank you" or "I'm not interested" rarely works. I've been chased down the street by Greenpeace clipboarders even though I already donate to Greenpeace! (As an aside, I no longer donate to Greenpeace because of this.) Why do you assume that people who don't want to be bothered on the street aren't charitable? Plenty of us give what we can afford to the charities of our choice and can't give anything more. We don't want to be constantly harassed during our daily commute.
-
Fiona_here 02/03/2012 2:47:00 PM
The attitude of the chuggers is unbelievable! It's aggressive begging, and they've been banned in Westminster in England, with other towns trying to follow suit. I'm starting to think some of them may be brainwashed - they really think what they do is worth more than the person who does it as a VOLUNTEER, without the fuss and the self-appointed halo. They'll be pestering those who are stressed enough, who do good in their own time, WITHOUT making life that bit worst for strangers. Chuggers are ruining charities.
The fact that a chugger chased a doctor down the street to guilt-trip her is ridiculous! (Anyone chasing anyone down the street is harrassment!) She's training to (hopefully) save lives! What's he doing? Being paid to make people feel guilty!
The guilt-tripping they use is obscene. People do give to charities. If the chuggers REALLY wanted to make a difference, they'd be constantly hounding the super-wealthy and the corrupt; not their fellow humans in the street.
The marketing agencies which use chuggers are staffed, at the top levels, by people on very high salaries. You really couldn't make it up ....!
-
Eugenia Lamb 24 08/10/2011 5:41:00 PM
I am a dialoguer, or as I'd prefer to call it a professional talker. I chose this job after 9 years in restaurant/retail, which I made a decent living with, but was not happy. I found an ad online, and was hired.
I find it incredibly irritating when people do not acknowledge how intense and difficult our job is, and really wrap their minds around what it is we are trying to achieve.
Yes, everyday 30,000 children in this world pass away due to curable infections/diseases. Yes, there is a contribution I believe all of us are privileged to make to child here in the US who is living without running water, or to a child living in India that cannot attend school because her family has no means of transportation. This is not a guilt trip, this is simply making you aware of what is going on in the world. No one has to stop if they choose not to. All you have to do is say "no thank you".
Not one person that I have ever signed up woke up that morning and said to themselves "i can't wait to sponsor a kid with a stranger on the street". And how often does anyone hop online and Google charities?
This job is by far the most amazing and challenging one I have ever had, and also the most fulfilling. I love what I do. No, it is not for everyone, but it is for me. And, I am damn good at what I do :)
-
MJ 04/08/2011 6:31:00 PM
I canvassed for a variety of organizations in New York for years. Now I'm a full time volunteer actually working on the field with the children from sponsorship organizations. It's true that most of the donations to some really awesome organizations come from the people who sign up on the street. I know that I personally would have to take ten minutes to actually visualize the desperation of the children that I was raising money for in order to regroup after a business man in his forties screamed in my face that he didn't care or a woman laden with shopping bags listened to my whole heartfelt pitch and smiled and said, " I just don't feel like it." Those interactions happen every day. So, I'm sorry... once you've seen poverty, once you know what it's like to talk to and interact with 10 year old girls who have at some point had to sell their bodies in order to eat, once you even know about these situations being more common than not in our world, it's not easy to maintain respect for the people who won't even attempt to make a change. These kids on the street are asking New Yorkers for the equivalent of two packs of cigarettes a month, to make their quota, so they can keep there job doing something they believe in as opposed to making money for the big corporate machine that's causing these global problems. Yes, your paycheck most likely comes from the people who have instigated the lack of human rights and environmental degradation that we allow in this world in order to maximize our own comforts. So, hey, listen to the crazy kid on the sidewalk with a binder asking for your credit card. They're generally the kind of awesome, idealistic people that should be encouraged in this society. And for crying out loud sign up.
-
Sam Mandelbaum 03/27/2009 1:43:00 AM
I've worked for Dialogue Direct before. I lived in NYC for a summer while doing a play and it was the most exhausting, emotionally draining jobs I have ever had. The main justification for the pushiness is that it is effective. Makes sense to me; so what if you are annoyed, so what if we make you uncomfortable, nothing is going to happen if everyone stays in their little bubble of self-interest and comfort. It's worth it. Anyway, it is a hard job and so many people misdirect their guilt and self-anger at the canvassers instead of doing something about. People are so scared of having to look at the consequences of their actions. I quit b/c my team leader would take extra long breaks, it made me sick to see them take money from the company that was expecting her to be working not drinking frappecinos and txting on her backflip.
-
palau 10/22/2008 4:05:00 AM
In England we call them 'chuggers'(charity+mugger=chugger).
-
Keeg 10/15/2008 10:34:00 PM
Just experienced a Dialogue Direct solicitor in Portland OR for the first time. I, like many, resent the implication of guilt that because I'm not interested in giving to THIS cause right THIS moment, I'm selfish and without compassion. It's as simple as the following:
A) You are not privy to my financial situation, so don't assume I have $22 a month to decide to give on the spot.
B) You do not know the charities that I already choose to donate to.
C) I refuse to give my credit card and other personal information to someone on the street.
D) Just because your glossy binder tells me that you represent a reputable organization that handles its money fairly well (80% to the charitable activities) doesn't mean I believe it. I need to do my own research, thank you.
Which I did - as far as charities go, CI is a pretty solid sounding one. 3 stars out of 4 on Charity Navigator and I would assume that their contract with Dialogue Direct is factored into their fund raising expense, which overall does not seem unreasonable.
But now I have a bad taste in my mouth for having been made to feel inhumane for protecting my hard earned money by doing research first, and for having to take time to assess any additional charitable giving I may be able to do.
I have written both organizations to suggest they figure out a way to give credit to a solicitor when you sign up online. This may enable those solicitors to not have to resort to certain tactics and the "hard sell" if they can simply inform, provide some sort of identification number, and let the chips fall as they may.
-
Sarah 09/18/2008 4:17:00 AM
I'm surprised that people think that those who don't respond to the canvassers don't care about the environment/children/human rights, etc. That's just bull. I'm a biologist; I work more than full-time (two jobs) to pay off loans; I live paycheck-to-paycheck; I don't buy Starbucks, and I CARE, particularly about wildlife and the environment, so much that I have a graduate degree and a job in the field. I've forgone the big salary and fancy life and just barely get by. Similar to Liz, when I was in college, I was accosted by a Greenpeace canvasser who somehow got into my apartment building and would not get out of my doorway. When I said I didn't have $20/month, he said, well, how about $20 now? When I said I didn't have $20, he said, well, how about $5? Maybe people don't understand it - but sometimes when people say they don't have money, they don't have money. Or maybe they support 20 other charities, or volunteer at one, or whatever. Or maybe they're NOT INTERESTED in your charity - that's their right. I support 3 charities online and volunteer at 2 others. So stop judging us and back off a bit.
-
Liz 09/18/2008 4:08:00 AM
I'm accosted by canvassers basically any time I walk from my office to the Pearl District - a yuppie area full of shops and restaurants. Greenpeace canvassers are the worst. One day, I was stopped on my way to the bank and asked "Do you like polar bears?" I said I didn't have time, sorry, and heard "Don't be sorry!", and "We'll see you on your way back!", which they did. The same young man started on his spiel, and I started to explain that I used to be a member, but I don't support paying executives huge salaries for underwhelming results (not to mention my huge loans and state of perpetual poverty). He heard this as I *am* a member, and asked if all my dues were up-to-date. Desperate to get away from him, I just said "yes", and he yelled after me "Yeah, right! I find that hard to believe." I should have gone back and punched himn in the mouth. You know, sometimes people DON'T have the time, money, or interest in VOLUNTARILY giving money to your organization. Berating them, chasing them, of (good lord) touching them is WAY out of line.
-
Stefan 09/17/2008 1:03:00 PM
The easiest thing to do in this world is to point at other people and pass judgment. It makes it easy to standby and do nothing while millions of kids are prostituting themselves from not having access to life's most basic necessities: food and water; because as long as we have our pre-disposed notions of these "greedy selfish NYU activists" we can walk by and do nothing, blame one version of a solution to ignore the problem. It's a zero sum game, the reason why they have so little is because we have so much think about it. Think before you buy the next starbucks coffee we all "need" to get by the morning that many kids don't have a glass of water to get by the day. We've become zombies so complicit with going through life's motions that we don't stop to let the truth sink that THOUSANDS of CHILDREN die every single day from poverty and to ask ourselves what am I doing to help? I actually worked for this organization and was extremely disappointed with the way the article portrayed us. If I stopped somebody who told me they actively gave to charity and were doing what they could to help what can you say but thank you? The truth of the matter is that the people that already did help were the ones that signed up the most because they actually give a shit. I find it funny that so many people that find us annoying and can't spare 30 seconds to just listen could actually take the time to read an article like this online and comment on how annoying it is puts things into perspective. I wonder what these same highly opinionated individuals would be thinking if as luck would have it (because that's all this boils down to is luck) their children didn't have water while people have the luxury to sit in their air-conditioned apartments and browse the world wide web. What would your comments say if you were one of these kids?
-
Watchingu2 09/17/2008 5:07:00 AM
These people have a deep understanding of how people work. They are manipulating you. I've encountered this group once or twice in Union Square. They make eye contact and keep eye contact with you to draw you in. I get out of the BS by telling them "I'm taking a break with humanity". It's not really a joke, I am so done with people.
-
dawn 09/10/2008 1:34:00 AM
For the record, I don't drink eight dollar milkshakes (lactose intolerant), I haven't been to Union Square in ages (not my scene), I wouldn't be caught dead at a Starbucks (Folger's works just as well, if not better), I'm certainly not a yuppie (I call myself a cubicle punk), I'm not a cheapskate (I'm lucky if I can make my rent and utilities), I do give to charity (food banks, Goodwill), I'm not a liberal nor conservative (I'm registered to vote but I'm not of any party), and I'm a lifelong New Yorker. And the Chuggers (great name) are still annoying. End of story.
-
loopholelover 09/09/2008 12:49:00 PM
I just tell them I'm not a citizen and I don't hold a greencard. That has gotten me out of every of these solicitors.
-
David 09/09/2008 6:34:00 AM
It's a fine day in New York when liberal intellectuals are more worried about their chilled Starbucks beverages getting warm than children all over the earth dying in the most miserable conditions, though it's not surprising. I just hope the Village Voice doesn't expect us to take them seriously when they speak of issues such as global justice and poverty in the future.
-
SPEAKTRUTH 09/08/2008 9:45:00 PM
Truth be told, I once worked for this organization. The article is pretty fair, but what's not depicted accurately is the most important issue we're tackling: poverty. Yes, we are commission based, but that's out of the interest of generating more sponsorships. If this job was simply offering hourly wages, the daily sign-up rates would be cut in half if not more and the majority of DD's employees would be paid to stand looking at their watches.
...Our goal is to decrease poverty, not to hire apathetic college students looking for an hourly job. Yes, money does inspire our fundraisers to work to the fullest potential towards the goal of eliminating poverty. Annually, one sponsorship runs around $260. The commission rate of $50 is to encourage that fundraiser to be persistent...even after the 3rd person on the st has cursed them out (Or worse, asked them on a date in return for sponsoring a child). LOOK AT IT OBJECTIVELY, what job doesn't offer incentive to the hardest worker? Anyone with the slightest amount of economic common sense would realize the organization's success with a commission based wage.
Ultimately, I was able to survive at this job because of a barista, waitress or stripper that signed up out of conviction and sympathy for those less fortunate. Four months later, I can go to sleep knowing there are over one hundred children able to be educated, drink clean water, wear shoes and change their communities because a New Yorker defied the stereotype and actually cared. Thankfully, this job benefited me psychologically and lucratively...I was able to help pay for my own education (that is what most of these fundraisers are working towards).
Take a minute, if not for anything else: just listen.
-
SPEAKTRUTH 09/08/2008 9:37:00 PM
Truth be told, I once worked for this organization. The article is pretty fair, but what's not depicted accurately is the most important issue we're tackling: poverty. Yes, we are commission based, but that's out of the interest of generating more sponsorships. If this job was simply offering hourly wages, the daily sign-up rates would be cut in half if not more and the majority of DD's employees would be paid to stand looking at their watches.
...Our goal is to decrease poverty, not to hire apathetic college students looking for an hourly job. Yes, money does inspire our fundraisers to work to the fullest potential towards the goal of eliminating poverty. Annually, one sponsorship runs around $260. The commission rate of $50 is to encourage that fundraiser to be persistent...even after the 3rd person on the st has cursed them out (Or worse, asked them on a date in return for sponsoring a child). LOOK AT IT OBJECTIVELY, what job doesn't offer incentive to the hardest worker? Anyone with the slightest amount of economic common sense would realize the organization's success with a commission based wage.
Ultimately, I was able to survive at this job because of a barista, waitress or stripper that signed up out of conviction and sympathy for those less fortunate. Four months later, I can go to sleep knowing there are over one hundred children able to be educated, drink clean water, wear shoes and change their communities because a New Yorker defied the stereotype and actually cared. Thankfully, this job benefited me psychologically and lucratively...I was able to help pay for my own education (that is what most of these fundraisers are working towards).
Take a minute, if not for anything else: just listen.
-
SpeakTruth 09/08/2008 7:49:00 PM
Truth be told, I once worked for this organization. The article is pretty fair, but what's not depicted accurately is the most important issue we're tackling: poverty. Yes, we are commission based, but that's out of the interest of generating more sponsorships. If this job was simply offering hourly wages, the daily sign-up rates would be cut in half if not more and the majority of DD's employees would be paid to stand looking at their watches.
...Our goal is to decrease poverty, not to hire apathetic college students looking for an hourly job. Yes, money does inspire our fundraisers to work to the fullest potential towards the goal of eliminating poverty. Annually, one sponsorship runs around $260. The commission rate of $50 is to encourage that fundraiser to be persistent...even after the 3rd person on the st has cursed them out (Or worse, asked them on a date in return for sponsoring a child). LOOK AT IT OBJECTIVELY, what job doesn't offer incentive to the hardest worker? Anyone with the SLIGHTEST amount of economic common sense would realize the organization's success with a commission based wage. Ultimately, I was able to survive at this job because of a barista, waitress or stripper that signed up out of conviction and sympathy for those less fortunate. Four months later, I can go to sleep knowing there are over one hundred children able to be educated, drink clean water, wear shoes and change their communities because a New Yorker defied the stereotype and actually cared. Thankfully, this job benefited me psychologically and lucratively...I was able to pay for my own education (that is what most of these fundraisers are working towards).
Take a minute, if not for anything else: just listen.
-
Pete Sikora 09/07/2008 7:59:00 PM
Maybe some of you feel so annoyed because there's a little cognitive dissonance going on: you have this positive image of yourself as someone who helps people, but you're really just another cheapskate who could care less about anyone other than themselves. Of course, few people think of themselves that way - but go on, keep channeling that dissonance into annoyance at the canvassers! Or...
If you want to stop feeling so "annoyed" open your wallet and give away like 5% of your income to a bunch charities. Heck, you could even give some to the worthy and energetic organizations who hire street canvassers. Then maybe you won't feel "annoyed" - you will be able to tell canvassers that you already gave them money. This story is a cheap shot pitch to people's worst instincts. Lame.
-
Neil Elliott 09/06/2008 5:32:00 AM
I can't believe that New Yorkers are such weaklings and suckers that they let these kids push them around. We always hear that New Yorkers are tough guys. But apparently they're featherweights. What a terrible place to live. In Chicago if one of these punks stops somebody, we tell them, "Hit the road, asshole." And they'd better.
-
tiggyT 09/05/2008 11:00:00 PM
Hey Bruisers. Thought I�d check back to see if the troll took the bait. Your comments made me react precisely BECAUSE they were so dumb. You forced an interesting thread to degenerate into petty name-calling, directed indiscriminately at anyone who dared to comment criticising Chuggers. My response, wild? It was an appropriate riposte to your vile, inflammatory comments. Why are you so angry and judgemental? What personal disappointments have you had in your life that make you resent and disparage everyone else? Why do you assume that everyone who criticises Chuggers is rich? My whole point was that since I�m not rich and have to work hard for the cash I earn, I�m going to make damn well sure that anything I donate goes to a good cause with reasonable admin costs, not into some street-stalking professional asshole's pay packet. Oh yeah and if you�re dissing people who have moved to the city in the last eight months, who else are you dissing but immigrants? Fool. Clearly because you�ve lived there since 1959 you�re superior to everyone else who has made a home there more recently. For the record, you completely misjudged me. 1) I�m diabetic so I don�t drink those fucking milkshakes you�re so obsessed with (2) I don�t live in new york (3) I would rarely watch sex and the city because the humorous bits are outweighed by my finding carrie bradshaw annoying and insipid. Seems like you enjoy a bit of SATC yourself, since you�re the one referencing episodes. Hypocrite. Why not channel all that excess anger into something more useful than being another dickhead on the internet.
-
tiggyT 09/05/2008 9:46:00 PM
Hey Bruisers. thought i'd check back to see if the troll took the bait. What you said set me off precisely BECAUSE it was so dumb. My response, wild? No, it was a pretty appropriate riposte to your inflammatory, vile comment. An interesting thread degenerated into stupid namecalling, directed indiscriminately at anyone who dared to make a comment criticising Chuggers. Why are you so angry and so judgemental? What personal disappointments have you had that make you so resentful of everybody else? Why do you assume that everyone who disses Chuggers is rich? My whole point is that as i'm not rich and i have to work hard to earn my cash, i'm going to make damn well sure that any i give away goes to a charity with reasonable admin costs, not into some street-stalking professional asshole's pay packet. And yeah, by dissing people who are new to the city and have lived there for 8 months, who else are you are slagging but immigrants. Fool. Obviously living in the city since 1959 makes you feel you are superior in every way to those who have made a home there more recently. And for the record, you have completely misjudged me. (1) i am diabetic, i don't drink the milkshakes you are so fucking obsessed with (2) i don't live in new york (3) i rarely watch sex and the city because the humourous bits are outweighed by my finding carrie bradshaw irritating and insipid. Obviously since you're the one referencing episodes you like a bit of SATC yourself. Hypocrite. Why don't you channel all that surplus aggression into something more useful than being just another dickhead on the internet.
-
bruisers 09/05/2008 5:55:00 PM
Listen Tiggy, darling, I've got to go to work. It's been fun bantering at-er, um, with you. No more name calling, again, I apologize. Enjoy your milkshake, and feed a whale.
OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT! KEEP THE CRYPT KEEPER OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE! AND HER HUSBAND JOHN, TOO!
-
bruisers 09/05/2008 5:50:00 PM
Hey Tig, baby, Did you see the one where Carrie got an eight dollar milkshakes but wasn't allowed to take it into Yankee Stadium? She settled for a hot dog and beer. It only set her back forty bucks.
-
bruisers 09/05/2008 5:32:00 PM
TWIGGY, BABY, STOP DRINKING THOSE MILKSHAKES! The sugar is going to your head. I never said anything about IMMIGRANTS - I'm one, living here since 1959. But I touched a nerve, didn't I? Poor thing. Did you see the one where Carrie buys the Manholos, only to use them to step on a bum?
TWIGGY, BABY, NO MORE NAME CALLING, OKAY? I apologize. But the FACTS ARE THE FACTS. People are poorer than you.
-
bruisers 09/05/2008 5:21:00 PM
TIGGY, STOP DRINKING THOSE MILKSHAKES! The sugar is going to your head. I never said anything about immigrants - I'm one myself, living here since 1959.
Why did you respond so wildly to my post? I guess the truth hurts.
Go spend twelve dollars for a hot dog at the baseball stadiums only you can afford, Twiggy, baby.
-
BRUISERS 09/05/2008 5:15:00 PM
WOW. Hit a nerve with you, did I, Tiggy baby?. I didn't say anything about IMMIGRANTS. I'm one myself. Living in New York since 1959. If what I said was so dumb, why did it set you off so much. The truth hurts, doesn't it.
TIGGY! STOP DRINKING ALL THOSE MILKSHAKES! THE SUGAR IS GOING TO YOUR HEAD!
-
Emily 09/05/2008 10:58:00 AM
What I can't fathom why we look at people who spend their days on the streets, educating the masses, like scum. How else do we expect to be informed of environmental atrocities occurring right under our noses where the media obviously isn't doing the job? How do we expect to learn how we can do anything about it? Forget talking about handing down a chemical planet to our children; we're talking no clean water in 50 years. We're talking about how our government and the media is not giving us any opportunity to get involved and help. Of course, we fulfill the basic expectations of recycling, conservation, and using mass transit. But, active, yet otherwise helpless, passionate individuals like me and millions of others, are all proud Greenpeace members, who signed-up on the streets, who also had no other option.
We should be thanking the people who work on the streets for giving us the rare opportunity to act; literally, come out to actions, or use our voices as individuals to change legislation. My voice recently helped a New York City representative sign onto the Safe Climate Act in Congress, to help strengthen environmental policy Nation wide. What has your voice done?
-
Juan 09/05/2008 10:08:00 AM
One thing this article did not differentiate between is the difference between a canvasser that works for a for-profit organization like Children's International and the canvasser that works directly for the organization they fund raise for, such as Greenpeace. The latter actually pours hours of unpaid labor, involving organization, outreach, education, and activism which sometimes results in arrests into their cause, while the former guilt-trips their 'prey' into funding their bonus money. Oh, and by the way, Greenpeacers are free to speak their mind on the street, while the for profit canvassers have to recite a script. Keep that in mind as you saunter down the street as a fickle human interactionalist.
-
tiggyT 09/05/2008 5:46:00 AM
PS - if you want to avoid confrontation, the best way to avoid getting sucked in by a Chugger is to disarm them. When asked "Do you have a minute" just say "No thank you." It is your minute, you are not obliged to give it; adding the thank you makes it a polite but firm refusal, and reiterates that they are making you an offer rather than calling in an obligation. The Chugger will have no reasonable recourse to this aside from pulling out a more desperate manouveur too early in the pitch, which will give you justification to look at them with a somewhat alarmed/dismayed expression, as though they are mentally unhinged, and continue on your way. Do not say "Sorry" as this just empowers them - you have no reason to apologise for not donating your time to their efforts to line their pockets. Who the hell are they to judge you when their wages are diverting money from the mouths of starving children etc . . . ;) hehe.
-
tiggyT 09/05/2008 5:33:00 AM
BRUISER there was no need for this thread to descend into petty namecalling.
But since you made it happen, why don't you shut the fuck up yourself, you stupid selfrighteous prick. I've never had an eight dollar milkshake so screw you, your assumptions, and the chip on your shoulder. Hating on immigrants? Classy. Go take out your resentment at underachieving somewhere else.
-
tiggyT 09/05/2008 5:23:00 AM
I despise those charity muggers, Chuggers we call them over here. They are completely unethical, their modus operandi is to pounce on people and harass, intimidate or guilt-trip them into signing up. They are human spam clogging up the streets.
On principle I would never, ever sign up with them because i think is unethical for them to profit so much off donations given in good faith. Proponents of chugging say that a wider spectrum of people respond to personal interaction over traditional mailshots, so the sole argument in favour of these methods are that they bring in money that would otherwise probably not be donated. But Chuggers are generally given a flat per hour fee, or paid commission on each sign-up, and if employed by an agency external to the charity, the agency gets a fee too. Whilst it may be better than nothing, a totally unreasonable proportion of money donated is eaten up before the charitable cause sees a penny of it. Surely there must be lest wasteful ways of soliciting charity, it is completely ridiculous. Plus, how many Chuggers do you think are actually signed up to the donation programmes they're peddling? Very few, I'm willing to bet. Then they have the neck to take the moral high ground! Get a real job and donate some of your own wages or do some charity work FOR FREE; volunteer in your spare time, like genuinely charitable people do.
Please PLEASE don't line their pockets, there are worthier causes to donate to than wages of these aggressive, manipulative people who are out to make a buck rather than help the world. If you are inclined to give away money on the street, give it to volunteers with buckets who put in the time free of charge, or help out someone who is on the street due to poverty rather than by profession.
-
bruisers 09/05/2008 2:41:00 AM
you stupid yuppie pricks, just shut the fuck up. God damn. I watch you step over hungry people so you can go wait on line for an eight dollar milkshake in Union Square, claiming you're 'New Yorkers' because you've lived here eight months and own every episode of Sex and the City. Hope you all lose your jobs.
-
bruisers 09/05/2008 2:35:00 AM
Wow. If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was reading the New York Press. Wait a minute: I am!
-
dawn 09/05/2008 1:09:00 AM
"Are we really that annoying that if you stop for 30 seconds, we're going to ruin your day? What's the big deal?" Uh, yeah, you ARE that annoying!!! I live on the Upper West Side and I see these annoying people all the time. You just can't get away from them. I'm just trying to get from point A to point B and I have no time nor patience for these delusional idiots. I usually ignore them, but when it gets too difficult (and they do get really persistant at times), I just tell them either "Unless you plan on asking me out on a date, don't bother." or "Get a REAL JOB, you idiot!" or just give them the hand to back off. Forget the windsheild wipers, THIS qualifies as a quality-of-life crime. The crime being invasion of my space.
-
edward Arrocha-Eak the geek! 09/04/2008 7:52:00 PM
Ah, the canvasers! Often, on a beutifull sunny day, minding my own business, just enjoying the walk I would be bombarded by young, fresh faced kids... imploring me to give them money to save the world... The one time I broke down and did I ended up getting endless follow ups from the charitable organization asking for more.
Lucky for me, I have a ton of tattoos, including my face, so even though I look friendly, I can be a bit intimidating, to some... I even heard one tell me: " your tattoos were not cheap, please, keep a child from dying". Ah!
Ironically, I do miss them, I am out of the city on a temporary basis going to law school, ( talk about having no money...I am in my mid-forties back in school... wow... a real sacrifice)... hum.. they were part of the landscape... and ment well...
I do wonder how many of them are subsidized by parents... or understand how hard it is for most of us... non rich New Yorkers to be able to stay afloat... a... please..save a poor New Yorker... please... please... before he is pushed on the other side of the Hudson... now that I would buy! E
-
edward Arrocha-Eak the geek! 09/04/2008 7:52:00 PM
Ah, the canvasers! Often, on a beutifull sunny day, minding my own business, just enjoying the walk I would be bombarded by young, fresh faced kids... imploring me to give them money to save the world... The one time I broke down and did I ended up getting endless follow ups from the charitable organization asking for more.
Lucky for me, I have a ton of tattoos, including my face, so even though I look friendly, I can be a bit intimidating, to some... I even heard one tell me: " your tattoos were not cheap, please, keep a child from dying". Ah!
Ironically, I do miss them, I am out of the city on a temporary basis going to law school, ( talk about having no money...I am in my mid-forties back in school... wow... a real sacrifice)... hum.. they were part of the landscape... and ment well...
I do wonder how many of them are subsidized by parents... or understand how hard it is for most of us... non rich New Yorkers to be able to stay afloat... a... please..save a poor New Yorker... please... please... before he is pushed on the other side of the Hudson... now that I would buy! E
-
NoName 09/04/2008 6:03:00 PM
"Are we really that annoying that if you stop for 30 seconds, we're going to ruin your day? What's the big deal?"
Yes, most of you really are that annoying. I can't walk from work to the subway without being accosted by several different campaigns some days!! Maybe if you weren't a complete asshole more people would donate ... maybe if you weren't such an asshole people wouldn't have such negative views and memories of your charitable work ... maybe.
-
macb 09/04/2008 1:16:00 AM
Reminds me of a detail from one of my favorite movies, "Sweet Smell of Success," which was recently shown on TCM. J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster), the Winchell-esque columnist who makes and breaks people's lives and careers based on personal whim, employs two crooked NYPD cops to destroy people's reputations. In an important plot element, he uses an ambitious press agent, Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) to frame a young jazz guitarist J.J. doesn't like, and who is dating J.J.'s sister, by planting marijuana on the hapless hipster. After the phony evidence is in place, the cops make their move, in their characteristic fashion, with a signal from Falco. As the guitar picker is walking down the street, an unmarked squad car pulls up at the end of the block, and cop riding shotgun hops out, several paces behind the target. The car then pulls up at the other end of the block, in front of the guitarist, and the other smirking cop gets out, with the young guitarist (played by the pre-"Route 66"/pre-"Adam-12" Martin Milner) realizing too late that he is trapped in a dirty-cop sandwich. Not unlike the guilt solicitors profiled in this article.
-
James 09/04/2008 1:01:00 AM
If I met these people while I was relaxing with a drink in my favorite bar I'd probably sign up. As it stands, I never ever talk to them. And for some reason, they don't bother me. I confidently shake my head, "No", and they leave me alone. But these people are supremely annoying. Even though these people don't bother me, and even though their heart is in the right place, I wish they would go away and I hate that they feel entitled to disrupt me as I'm trying to free my mind from my daily toil. They want something too, to clean their conscious, which makes them just as selfish and self serving as the next person.
-
roots66 09/04/2008 12:59:00 AM
Reminds me of a time I was accosted by a clipboard guy working for GMHC on an East Village side street, maybe 10 years ago. He wouldn't let me just walk on by, insisted on my hearing his spiel in its entirety, then called me an asshole for wasting his time when I didn't fork over the dough. Excuse me, wasn't that my time being wasted? Yes, I felt guilty for being a heartless cheapskate towards those poor AIDS-ridden children, but the cussing was uncalled for, and sorry, it's hard to place your trust in an aggressive foul-mouthed street pitchman.
-
Rott635 09/03/2008 9:07:00 AM
Don't talk to them. Just keep walking.
If they get in your way, just run them over.
Fuck, the homeless aren't as pushy. Why should I stop for some NYU activist?
-
Bessiecar 09/03/2008 8:13:00 AM
LGBT people in England, Belgium, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands all have equal rights, including marriage. Society has managed to accept it and adapt.It's time for us to do something just like BisexualMingle.com.
