Captain Tom - What's the fuss about?

[scampichips]

Okay I am not knocking Captain Tom at all, he is a brilliant brilliant man.

Although AIBU to wonder why our country has gone bananas over him? All he did was walk laps of his garden, people fundraise everyday and do a lot more! Think of all the marathon runners!

Whenever he is interviewed I think he also seems a bit confused why everyone is making so much fuss too!

I just don't get why our country has become obsessed with him??!

“All he did”? Think you need you a history lesson.

• ignore the extra “you”.

How much have you personally raised, OP?

There are some seriously miserable people on MN. Second thread I’ve seen today about this.

Have you raised 28 million£?! Have you?!

Very few people have. It’s pretty fucking impressive IMO.

Maybe because he raised £20 odd million at the age of 99/100. He is a symbol of the good you can do with a simple act.

Jesus, another one of these?

Yes people fundraise every day, hence why it's not news worthy normally. A 100 year old man fundraising is unusual so is news

I think he just captured the mood and everyone jumped behind him, as the whole situation is fairly hopeless for the general public, and this was something beneficial we could do.
It looked like a big garden and he was walking with a frame so at his advanced age it would have taken considerable effort to do 100 laps.

I'm sure he's bemused at how well this has taken off. At times of trouble I like to think the general public enjoy getting behind and supporting something positive. There's not much that is more clearly positive (and great for headlines, feel good factor etc) than a 100 year old war vet raising cash for the NHS.

All he did was walk laps of his garden, people fundraise everyday and do a lot more! Think of all the marathon runners!

I know, right? Lazy bastard. He could at least have done an Ironman or something.

I’m embarrassed for you 🤦🏽‍♀️

All he did?

Years in the military
Walked the length of his garden at 99 years old for raise millions for the nhs

Tell me op what have you done for your country?

Seriously we have some miserable fuckers on here, Some of you don’t like anyone doing anything remotely nice

Like I said, he's a brilliant man. But why did the country feel the need to donate so much money to him and not to others also fundraising? That's what I can't get my head around. Was is the media?

I must say I am with you OP. I like Michael Ball and You'll never Walk Alone but Capt Tom singing along really badly just messed it up and IMHO went a step too far.

Well, there are no marathon runners this year for a start. I still don't get what your issue is.

Have you raised 28 million£?! Have you?!

Well if the op donated then yes, they technically did. It's people who have raised the money, not one elderly man. Funny how people don't raise money until they get a performance to fawn over to do so though.

He is a symbol of the good you can do with a simple act.

A simple act, great PR and getting into the media at the right time. His idea was lovely, but as said on the other thread it's been blown out of all proportion.

He's a figurehead that the public chose to get behind at a time when we all want some positivity and see the need to support the NHS as much as we can. It could have been any one of the many other people fundraising who have something compelling about them, it just happened to be him. No idea why anyone would begrudge him it.

I doubt if people have stopped donating to other fundraising just because of him.

But in any case, it doesn't matter how charming people find him, they wouldn't contribute to his fundraising unless it struck a chord with them. If he was doing laps of his garden to fundraise for money to do something unpopular (culling invasive species or something) people wouldn't be donating.

Was it the media?

Well, yes. The fundraising page would jam every time he came onto BBC Breakfast etc.

I don't have an issue with it, I'm just a bit bemused by all the attention that's all!

It comes down to his age surely. Something like 0.02% of the population are 100 years old or older. The chances of being that old AND able to do any sort of fundraising at all are very slim. Whereas hundreds of thousands of young, fit, healthy people could run a marathon if they really wanted to.

Yes the Michael Ball song was a step too far!
Captain Tom just seems like a very humble man and I wonder if he is actually wanting all this attention.
FYI I did donate and I do shed a tear everytime he comes on the telly as he is a legend. I just find his new celebrity status quite baffling and can't quite get my head around it.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3894182-captain-tom?msgid=96051304

You might like this thread OP.

I agree OP.
Thousands of people fundraise. It is a bandwagon everyone has jumped on.
I don’t see how it’s any difference to a raise in tax or NI contributions.
How many who have donated could honestly say they wouldn’t moan about taxes or NI being increased? It shouldn’t be that we need a ‘national hero’ to raise money for our public healthcare service that everyone can see is on its knees.
I appreciate his efforts are amazing considering his age and service in the war. But thousands of people do amazing things all the time. I don’t get it at all.

He's only half a million off hitting £30 million! I hope he hits it for his birthday.

Rightly or wrongly he has become a symbol of positivity in a time where people needed something / someone to look to for something positive.

His supporters have done an awful lot of good by donating.