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Shriners, St. Jude & The SPCA

taykair

Active Member
I'm going to be tagged as a heartless ba$tard for this, but since I've been called practically everything else in my lifetime, I suppose I can live with it.

Let me set the scene:

You come in after a hard day at work. You grab your preferred libation. You flip on the tube, and settle down in your comfy chair to watch one of your favorite comedy shows. Your daily dose of crap that the world has forced-fed you since early that morning is over, and now you can forget about all that and just enjoy yourself for awhile. You're laughing at the same punch-line that you've probably laughed at a dozen times before (it's a repeat), but you can't help it -- it's just too damned funny. Life is good. The world -- and its troubles -- seem far, far away.

And there you are, in mid-laugh, and the screen fades to black. And then it starts:

"One in four of these cancer-ridden children will not survive the year."

"We found these poor, abused animals chained and exposed to the elements."

"Look at these children -- born without limbs, without help, without hope."

And the world comes crashing back.

"Aw, hell," you think, "and I was just starting to feel that life wasn't just a big, fat turd sandwich. And now this. All I wanted to do was have a beer, laugh a little bit, and forget that the world outside my door sucks like a Hoover vacuum. Crap."

I feel for you, buddy. I do. Of all the TV dramas and reality shows out there, why do these folks have to advertise their depressing (but necessary -- I'm not disputing that) charities right in the middle of comedy shows?

One of the reasons I watch comedies is so that I can forget about all the heartbreak which the world delivers on a daily basis. Hell, if I wanted to be depressed, then I'd just spend all day watching the news -- or visiting some of my relatives.

Is there anyone out there who agrees with me, or am I truly just a heartless ba$tard? (Not that those two things are necessarily mutually exclusive.) Do such tactics spur you to give -- or to react as negatively as I do?
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
I hate those commercials, too. I don't feel like looking at deformed, maimed children begging for money (that one kid in the Shriners commercial is just totally annoying, too) and the WWF and SPCA commercials are just depressing.
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
I'm going to be tagged as a heartless ba$tard for this, but since I've been called practically everything else in my lifetime, I suppose I can live with it.

Let me set the scene:

You come in after a hard day at work. You grab your preferred libation. You flip on the tube, and settle down in your comfy chair to watch one of your favorite comedy shows. Your daily dose of crap that the world has forced-fed you since early that morning is over, and now you can forget about all that and just enjoy yourself for awhile. You're laughing at the same punch-line that you've probably laughed at a dozen times before (it's a repeat), but you can't help it -- it's just too damned funny. Life is good. The world -- and its troubles -- seem far, far away.

And there you are, in mid-laugh, and the screen fades to black. And then it starts:

"One in four of these cancer-ridden children will not survive the year."

"We found these poor, abused animals chained and exposed to the elements."

"Look at these children -- born without limbs, without help, without hope."

And the world comes crashing back.

"Aw, hell," you think, "and I was just starting to feel that life wasn't just a big, fat turd sandwich. And now this. All I wanted to do was have a beer, laugh a little bit, and forget that the world outside my door sucks like a Hoover vacuum. Crap."

I feel for you, buddy. I do. Of all the TV dramas and reality shows out there, why do these folks have to advertise their depressing (but necessary -- I'm not disputing that) charities right in the middle of comedy shows?

One of the reasons I watch comedies is so that I can forget about all the heartbreak which the world delivers on a daily basis. Hell, if I wanted to be depressed, then I'd just spend all day watching the news -- or visiting some of my relatives.

Is there anyone out there who agrees with me, or am I truly just a heartless ba$tard? (Not that those two things are necessarily mutually exclusive.) Do such tactics spur you to give -- or to react as negatively as I do?

Netflicks or some other streaming service of your choice?
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I'm going to be tagged as a heartless ba$tard for this, but since I've been called practically everything else in my lifetime, I suppose I can live with it.

Let me set the scene:

You come in after a hard day at work. You grab your preferred libation. You flip on the tube, and settle down in your comfy chair to watch one of your favorite comedy shows. Your daily dose of crap that the world has forced-fed you since early that morning is over, and now you can forget about all that and just enjoy yourself for awhile. You're laughing at the same punch-line that you've probably laughed at a dozen times before (it's a repeat), but you can't help it -- it's just too damned funny. Life is good. The world -- and its troubles -- seem far, far away.

And there you are, in mid-laugh, and the screen fades to black. And then it starts:

"One in four of these cancer-ridden children will not survive the year."

"We found these poor, abused animals chained and exposed to the elements."

"Look at these children -- born without limbs, without help, without hope."

And the world comes crashing back.

"Aw, hell," you think, "and I was just starting to feel that life wasn't just a big, fat turd sandwich. And now this. All I wanted to do was have a beer, laugh a little bit, and forget that the world outside my door sucks like a Hoover vacuum. Crap."

I feel for you, buddy. I do. Of all the TV dramas and reality shows out there, why do these folks have to advertise their depressing (but necessary -- I'm not disputing that) charities right in the middle of comedy shows?

One of the reasons I watch comedies is so that I can forget about all the heartbreak which the world delivers on a daily basis. Hell, if I wanted to be depressed, then I'd just spend all day watching the news -- or visiting some of my relatives.

Is there anyone out there who agrees with me, or am I truly just a heartless ba$tard? (Not that those two things are necessarily mutually exclusive.) Do such tactics spur you to give -- or to react as negatively as I do?
While I feel for those situations, I do not feel for the organization itself. Not anymore.

I would probably go on a mission and find out just how the money is being used from those donations and to see how much they're outright lying to people. I also found it tacky and disgusting that people would put music to stuff like that. It does support your assertion that they do try to tug at people's emotions for the purposes of soliciting money. It's all they really care about anyways.

So no, I don't think you're a ******* for wanting to escape that crap for a while.

That's why I really don't watch television anymore. I stick with radio, gaming, printed media including the internet, and selected movies. I have full control now. Not them.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
I'm no fan of marketing suffering but I suppose it must work. I don't need to see images of children or animals suffering just enough to make me want to give money but not so much that I recoil in disgust and turn away.

If they want to get me to consider opening my wallet, use positive images of how they're helping little Suzy or Puddles.
 

lostwanderingsoul

Well-Known Member
My problem is that you do not really know how much of the donated money really goes to help children or animals. Some of these companies pay their executives big salaries and only give a small amount to the cause they are promoting. I am sure help is needed but there must be a better way to get help for those who need it.
 

Deidre

Well-Known Member
Shriners is an awesome organization but, their marketing is a bit cringey. It's almost like they're forcing the kids who have benefited from Shriners to be in those commercials (the one showing kids sitting around a table talking to each other like adults, plugging Shriners, just comes across very strange). I'm sure the children are beyond grateful that Shriners has helped them live better lives, but there's just something about those commercials that seems forced. (not on the part of the kids, but on the part of the corporate gurus who put those ads together)
 

Father Heathen

Veteran Member
How dare these children and animals ruin my beer time with their suffering. Someone should do a better job at hiding it so that we can forget about their existence.
 

taykair

Active Member
How dare these children and animals ruin my beer time with their suffering. Someone should do a better job at hiding it so that we can forget about their existence.

Not really what I said -- or what I meant. Perhaps reading the OP again might be helpful.

(Actually, this might be a good idea for me as well. I think I'll go back to just reading instead of posting.)
 
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Valjean

Veteran Member
Premium Member
How woud you propose these organizations fund themselves, or should they just shut down?
 
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