to vow never to collect for Christian Aid ever again.

[bogwobbit]

Nothing to do with the charity, which I think is an excellent one, but jeez people in this country are soooooooo miserable.
I can understand why people for various reasons can't or don't want to give to a specific charity and I can appreciate (especially after reading some other threads on this topic and by the way yes, all you people who complain about people daring to knock on your door collecting for charity, are unreasonable and imho quite selfish) that not everyone likes to be asked on their doorstep (very nicely in my case) if they would like to donate but why do people have to be so rude and smug and downright horrible about it. It's almost as though NOT giving to charity is some kind of positive personality trait. Funnily enough the nicest, most generous ones are the little old ladies who quite possibly can least afford it.

So after spending five hours of my time, trudging through the rain and the hail and the wind in freezing temperatures after a full day at work, never again!! Rant over but jeez, another nail in the coffin, for my faith in humanity :)

Trooping around door to door is hardly doing anything for charity.
Why don't you go visit some of these places the money goes and donate yourself. I hate people patronising me about my manors when the do zero for the charity they try and get me to donate to. Go live in africa for a year and help.

You should knock on my old dear she always comes home from a trip out with about 8 big issues. She collects for a catholic charity but people have money boxes in their houses and have agreed to collect through her church which is a good way to go about it.

I do donate myself- I don't have time to go to Africa. Every little helps.

Oops. Manners. Not my multitude of houses

It's the workplace hassling that really gets up my nose. I had someone do this recently who was raising money for her son's school - not a cause I would normally donate to!! But you just feel so embarrassed saying no that I gave her a tenner. Also really hate organised Comic Relief stuff etc, where you have no real idea where the money is going.

I give to 6 charities that I think are really worthwhile, a few pounds every month. DDs provide charities with regular income and are worth much more to them than random fivers every few months.

exotic - I am sure it does work - because it is realy hard for a lot of people to say "No" to a good cause presenting themselves on the doorstep.

Which is WHY I hate it.

slowest with all those manors I bet you can afford loads, you selfish cow

I'm selective now if I donate, the amount of money going into corrupt governments is dreadful. I'd never give to CA as I don't agree.

How can you possibly know how much 'compassion' people have?

This is what I hate about some of the cold callers I've had, that they make these assumptions.

How do you know what else I do with my money?

How do you know what else I needed to be doing with my time - in my own home?

I work at home. I donate to charities of my own choice, when I can afford it.

If you have the free time to go round knocking on people's doors, you're probably less busy and better off than most of the people you're hassling. Funnily enough, they might actually object to you assuming they're lacking in compassion.

Well, that's me put in place then. I'm a judgemental, sneering, narrow-minded beggar who needs to broaden her horizons. Oh, and I'm whiny and self-entitled as well. Lovely.
Firstly, I don't judge people who don't give to charity. That's entirely up to them. What I do judge, rightly or wrongly, are people who are rude. Secondly, I do not hassle people to give me money. I ask them once, politely, and that's it. I certainly don't pressurise them.
As for why I did the collection. Well, the simple reason was I was asked if I could help out. I wouldn't consider myself hugely religious, although there's nothing wrong with that, but I believe that Christian Aid is a very worthwhile charity that helps people who live in poverty that most people in this country couldn't begin to comprehend. I certainly didn't do it to make me feel good about myself (strangely enough being made to feel like a beggar both in real life and on here doesn't do that to me) or so that people would think I was a 'good person'.

Oh and Oakmaiden it really isn't hard to say no to charity. Imo about 75% of the doors I went to managed it just fine.

I don't really see how you can claim knocking on people's doors to ask for money is 'not hassling' them?

It is pressurizing.

In my manor ca with charity hats get short shrift. Get orf my land so to speak. Pitchfork is my weapon of choice. Wellies complete the look.

Your op wasn't really about just rude people. It was a touch smug n sneery.

Stratters had it about right.

bogwobbitt, if you are going to be rude enough to bang on the door of my home to ask me for money I am going to be rude enough to tell you to go away.

I'm sorry if it came across as smug n sneery. It wasn't intended to.

Bog, I think that you are just like the vast majority of people who collect during CA Week - asked by their church rep to do it and too embarrassed/guilted/other appropriate adjective to say no.

It doesn't make you feel good about yourself, in fact it is soul destroying, especially when people are rude and abusive. That's one of the main reasons that it gets harder every year to get collectors. When I started doing this, I had more than 30 people from my congregation that were willing to collect. This year, I had 10. Some have passed away, some are no longer fit but the majority just can't face it any more.

I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree about whether knocking (not banging) on someone's door is rude or not Wen

If you get 25% saying "yes have some money" then I would imagine a lot of them are doing it not because they WANT to, but because they find it hard to say no without feeling guilty. I can't imagine 25% of the householders who you speak to think "Oh fab - the CA woman. I have been wanting to give them my money, and here she is making it nice and easy for me."

I am not saying you/charities are wrong for doing it - but I am saying that I dislike it. And that by definition it is begging.

The flip side of the begging coin is that charity is virtuous....

OP, you seem to have taken the brunt of people being fed up with cold callers and previous bad experiences. I don't get many, luckily, but I did give to CA, partly because I live in a small village and know the collector personally.

You don't know when your catching people in, they might have had a dreadful day or you could be the fourth person that night. I would imagine you need quite a thick skin to do it, so if it gets you down to be told to bugger off then it's probably better not to do it.

bog, you missed my point. Knocking/banging/tapping on someone's door isn't rude.

Asking them for money is though. Putting them on the spot so they feel uncomfortable, some to the point of obligation, is doubly so.

stressedHEmum When I was asked last year, I was happy to do it. I didn't realise how soul-destroying it would be. This year, like you say, I probably was too embarassed to say no. How anyone could think that someone does it to feel good about themself is beyond me.

It does sound as if you had a rotten few days. But, you know ... maybe if you felt grotty afterwards that is a message that you were doing something you kind of knew was not really ok with most of the people you met?

I don't see why you'd say it's 'soul-destroying' unless you are still making a judgment about these people.