AIBU to beg, plead and generally grovel

[Fireandashes]

For someone to please, please, PLEASE explain the significance of "goats".

It's driving me insane!

I was wondering about this.

Think it's some sort of ironic statement about what people on benefits allegedly own.

Sort of like a generation game conveyor blet.

Flat screen tv
Swimming poll
Sky tv with all the channels
Furrin holidays
Cuddly toy
Goat

I believe it's to do with threads about benefits. When working people complain that not working people they know seem to have more disposable income, it annoys lots of people who then take the p out of them.

So they say Oh yes I bet they have a plasma tv and two foreign holidays a year and manicures and even a goat in the garden (ultimate middle class token)

I think that's it. It's really hysterically funny. Ahem.

Thank you! I can go to bed now.

Oh! I thought it was something to do with people expecting expensive gifts? You know, like couples getting married asking for you to give them £££s towards their honeymoon/new house etc, or friends/rellies expecting expensive Christmas/birthday presents; I've seen some MNers have suggested that they should shove their expensive expectations and to buy them an 'Adopt A Goat' gift instead - a bit like this > www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/oxfam-unwrapped/animal-lovers/goat-ou5028ls?pscid=ps_ggl_Unwrapped-Goats

I think that on a benefits bashing thread a poster said "It really gets my goat" and someone replied "at least you have a goat".

I didn't know that

Perhaps 'goat' has two meanings on MN? I don't read/join the benefit bashing threads, but I do read/join the wedding/'other' gifts threads. I think there were quite a few comments about adopting goats last Christmas - and I've seen goat comments on wedding threads.

I thought it was to do with the MNer who started a thread one Christmas, in AIBU, because FIL was buying her DC an "adopt a goat" Oxfam thingy and she didn't want him to.

Perhaps that's how the goat/gift thingy started, Robin?!

I thought it was to do with giving an oxfam type guft of a goat for someone in a developing country.

*gift not guft

It thought it came from netmums, I first seen it there.

I thought it was to do with troll posters making up threads about benefit claimants. As is the troll under the bridge and the billy goats gruff!

Poor OP - she went to bed happy in the knowledge that she had the definitive answer. Now she's got three theories to ponder

1. Benefit bashing
2. Gift giving
3. Trolling

I suppose it depends on the context of the thread, OP!

Hmmm. So to cover all goat-related bases, I need a thread started by a troll on benefits complaining that someone gave their DC an Oxfam charity gift for their birthday?

Yup - but then someone will come along with a 4th theory

True. It probably started life as an acronym for Greatest Of All Time, someone neglected to capitalise it and before we knew it, benefit-cheating charity-giving trolls had claimed it for their own.

Is nothing sacred? Will nobody think of the kids?