Saw a post on a local community Facebook page today where the organiser of a local carboot sale was bemoaning the lack of attendance and therefore the lack of community spirit in our area. I hadn't heard of the car boot sale before despite it being held down the road from me so there might be an advertising issue here. It was also on Halloween, a day when many people are busy organising costumes and trick or treating etc and don't really have time for another event unrelated to the holiday. They have had a couple of other under-attended car boot sales but I think timing might have been the issue with this one.
Some of the organiser's comments were very negative, insulting our area by saying if he had put up a sign saying he was selling drugs it would have got more interest! Yes there is a high crime rate here but there are a lot of good people too and you don't expect to see that on a page that is supposed to be supporting our local community. He also compared the community unfavourably to a stallholder who did show up saying she has more community spirit than anyone else in the area, then turned around and basically implied she is a quitter because she's not interested in attending the next car boot sale! Other people were commenting trying to cheer him up, saying we'd make the next one better etc. I was actually pleased to find there was a regular local car boot sale as I'd not heard of it before and said I would definitely attend the next one.
Then he massively drip fed that apparently there was this rich couple looking to sponsor a US style ''summer camp'' for underprivileged young people in our area. They were watching the car boot sale to see if the community pulled together to make it a success and because it didn't, now this couple are no longer interested. The car boot sale wasn't to fund this summer camp, they were prepared to do that but now they aren't because they don't think local people have enough community spirit. So now he's saying our community have thrown away a great opportunity (that we didn't even know about!) I don't understand. AIBU to think if this couple want to help local underprivileged youth then they should (and if they don't want to they shouldn't) instead of making it contingent on the outcome of an unrelated car boot sale? It's hardly the local kids fault the car boot sale didn't work out, they weren't involved in it. I was actually pleased to find out there was a regular car boot sale in my area and eager to get involved but the organiser's attitude is really putting me off getting involved in local events and TBH it has saddened me to read his criticism of our community, implying we are a bunch of uncaring druggies. Don't get me wrong, I do feel for him as it must be dispiriting to organise an event and there's a lack of interest but AIBU to think he is being overly negative, which is counterproductive and this stuff about a rich couple wanting to help local young people but only if our community make a car boot sale a success is strange?