Getting annoyed at virtue signalling on Facebook local groups

[Floogal]

Ignoring the fussing questions everytime a police helicopter is on patrol or fireworks. Where I live it's usually the same thing. Always along the lines of;

" I've got a lot of old tat but want to donate it to charity"
" I brought the homeless guy on the high street a coffee and had a chat with him"
And, this " how many homeless people are there in town? My (photogenic well dressed) twin daughters want to give out Xmas packages" obviously hoping to appear on the local news or "and finally...' on ITV news. Usually the 'ooooh aren't you wonderful' gushing replies. Gives me the raging arsehole.

Does people delighting us with their musical talents on the local FB pages count as virtue signaling?

I used to live in a village that had FB piano lady.

Have clearly gone up in the world as the place we relocated to has FB flute lady.

no arrests have been made

@WorraLiberty

😂 made me laugh out loud!

@Coniferhedge

I’m a member of a few local history pages, where people post photos of the area and how it used to look. As sure as night follows day you get people moaning saying ‘it’s not like the old days’, making thinly veiled racist remarks about immigration and refugees spoiling everything and how it’s always the Council’s fault because they’re all corrupt. On more than one occasion I’ve explained how virtually anyone can put themselves forward to become a councillor should they so wish, and if it’s all bribes, backhanders and stuffed brown envelopes, why don’t they have a go? Get on that gravy train, Malcolm!

God yes!

“They weren’t rich but they were happy”

Argh! Infant mortality was horrible, women couldn’t vote (most men couldn’t until 1867), there was little social security apart possibly from an old age pension designed to kick in after most people died, no indoor sanitation for most people and limited employment rights along other things!! Grrrr

It's always white vans, isn't it? Because no one has every stolen something with a red/black/blue van

When I become a master criminal, I am going to have a red van, it was fool them because a) it is not white and b) it can be disguised as a postal van.

@Whitefire

It's always white vans, isn't it? Because no one has every stolen something with a red/black/blue van

When I become a master criminal, I am going to have a red van, it was fool them because a) it is not white and b) it can be disguised as a postal van.

Hmmm red, I'm going to go for blue, I mean blue could be sky blue, dark blue, navy blue, electric blue, they'd never find me!

@LittleBearPad

God yes!

“They weren’t rich but they were happy”

Argh! Infant mortality was horrible, women couldn’t vote (most men couldn’t until 1867), there was little social security apart possibly from an old age pension designed to kick in after most people died, no indoor sanitation for most people and limited employment rights along other things!! Grrrr

That boils my piss too. All these romanticized ideas piss me off... Of pre mid 1900s being so lovely and cosy and romantic, and everybody was so happy and all the families were close and tight knit. This Waltons family bullshit is always peddled out, along with 'It's a wonderful life' and 'Meet me in St Louis.' BIG cosy families, with a lovely snuggly big house!

As you said, for most people , especially the working classes, life was tough, infant mortality was high, disease and famine was rife, hygiene and health & safety was almost non-existent, medical and dental care was very poor, people lived in cold houses, life expectancy was barely middle age for some, and women and girls had shag-all benefits in life. They couldn't vote, many were denied an education, and many were kept in penury.

I remember speaking to a few elderly women when I was in my 20s (1980s) and they were born between 1900 and 1910, and they and their mothers and grandmothers (born 1870s and 1850s) had anything but easy, carefree, happy lives.

They struggled financially, they had no money of their own, no job, no independence, no freedom to speak of, and they knew a number of women who had died in childbirth, and a number of women who had babies out of wedlock, and had the baby taken away from them as soon as the baby popped out.

The few women that did work, did hard, fast, sometimes brutal work, that left them physically exhausted, with bruises and blisters on their body/hands/feet. Many of them looked 10-15 years older than their age by the age of 35-40.

Not in a million fucking years would I want those days back. Covid is shit, and so are the Tories, but I will stay in this time period ta!

We have local filter lady and filter family. All glammed up to the max handing out some really awful crap tat to the local embarrassed “needies”. The glam fam are so filtered that a local wag commented on the picture (first) that they must be a new family as no one in our village looked like these wonder givers. It set the whole tone and Glam fam were furious that they didn’t get the “well done huns”.
Do something nice because you should not to make people think you are better than you are,it’s embarrassing. I work in a DV shelter and we have to be very very careful with this because we absolutely cannot risk any photos of our residents getting onto local FB pages. We provide lists of items on our website that we need and have loads of amazing people who quietly get on with helping and don’t make a song on dance for FB.

we have a local "Dave" the photographer in our village group. I am only still on the group because its handy when random 4 way temporary traffic lights go up with no notice (happens a lot).

I live just outside a town where the seedy arsehole MP lost his job for sexting constituents, his ex wife then got his job and has since proved he raped her. The FB groups went NUTS over that one! (Totally outing where I live!)

For a small market town in the midlands its been an interesting couple of years!

Oh and I should say that FB was split between "Good for you, go hun" and "She is a lying spiteful bitch who hated him cheating. You cant rape your wife anway"

We have two Dave photographers. Unfortunately neither are capable of snapping an image that isn’t out of focus or poorly composed. They announced today they are collaborating to launch a Christmas card next year and did anyone have any advice. I desperately wanted to say “night classes”.

Everyone on my local FB goes a bit nuts over the local big issue seller. Endless posts by people claiming to have the latest update on his personal circumstances. ' I spoke to him last week and he said he's had a bad few weeks'. Followed by 'Yes I spoke to him and there's been a problem with his benefit application '. It's like a competition between posters desperate to show they care the most about this poor chap. Just buy the magazine and be done with it.

I've just remembered a few years ago someone posted on the school FB group 'does anyone know anything about this (pic of van) because it was parked outside the school at pick up time and a man was in it'

I replied 'yes, it was a dad, picking up his child'

I mean WTAF goes through peoples minds?

@Flyingbymypants the problem with this, and so much of the other Facebook posturing, is the complete lack of respect for the privacy or dignity of the person you're saying you are 'helping'.

I absolutely hate it. It's dehumanising IMO.

People in poverty deserve respect and privacy the same as anyone else. They're not in a zoo for people to visit when they need to feel good about themselves.

Also - Having managed charities in my time - PSA- swanning in at Christmas for one day of volunteering is very rarely helpful. By the time you've been given equipment, told where things are, what the rules are, where the loo is- you've wasted otherwise productive time for the organisation and you won't be qualified to do anything critical anyway.

Regular volunteers are the lifeblood, people who come regularly over long periods of time. People who are worth training because that experience stays with the organisation. People who will take time to respect and understand the culture and ethos of the organisation, and the bigger purpose.

Rolling up on 25 December to hand out bread rolls while taking photos of yourself before swanning off to post about it on Facebook is not helpful. When I see it on Facebook I always want to click the angry face reaction and ask where they plan to be the other 364 days of the year.

[quote DifferentHair]@Flyingbymypants the problem with this, and so much of the other Facebook posturing, is the complete lack of respect for the privacy or dignity of the person you're saying you are 'helping'.

I absolutely hate it. It's dehumanising IMO.

People in poverty deserve respect and privacy the same as anyone else. They're not in a zoo for people to visit when they need to feel good about themselves.

Also - Having managed charities in my time - PSA- swanning in at Christmas for one day of volunteering is very rarely helpful. By the time you've been given equipment, told where things are, what the rules are, where the loo is- you've wasted otherwise productive time for the organisation and you won't be qualified to do anything critical anyway.

Regular volunteers are the lifeblood, people who come regularly over long periods of time. People who are worth training because that experience stays with the organisation. People who will take time to respect and understand the culture and ethos of the organisation, and the bigger purpose.

Rolling up on 25 December to hand out bread rolls while taking photos of yourself before swanning off to post about it on Facebook is not helpful. When I see it on Facebook I always want to click the angry face reaction and ask where they plan to be the other 364 days of the year. [/quote]
Absolutely!! Well said!

Rolling up on 25 December to hand out bread rolls while taking photos of yourself before swanning off to post about it on Facebook is not helpful. When I see it on Facebook I always want to click the angry face reaction and ask where they plan to be the other 364 days of the year.

@DifferentHair very well said, great post. I just quoted one piece there. I mentioned upthread someone locally who was going to make sandwiches, a day or so before Christmas Eve, but 'couldn't bring them into town teehee, small kids' and so on. And subsequently made a snide comment that the people she apparently offered them to, 'seemed to have plenty'.

The people she offered them to, work, on a voluntary basis all year round helping homeless people with food, clothing and basic necessities. They start gathering stuff together for Christmas, months beforehand, while still providing the everyday support and necessities.

Ugh, she really annoyed me.

@WeDontTalkAboutBruno

We have two Dave photographers. Unfortunately neither are capable of snapping an image that isn’t out of focus or poorly composed. They announced today they are collaborating to launch a Christmas card next year and did anyone have any advice. I desperately wanted to say “night classes”.

I think I love you 😆😆😆

DD1 is studying Fine Art & Photography at university and her work is so beautiful. When I see the efforts on our village FB it makes me wince in sympathy.

I only keep nextdoor because people are good at letting each other know when pick pockets are about locally and updating each other on local roadworks.

I cannot take them seriously otherwise, it's bullshit bingo for every type of post mentioned above and after The Fireworks Fight. A complaint developed into the usual for and against bunfight... then the older lady who made the original complaint post started in personally on a younger man who had disagreed with her. He had been a bit blunt, yes, but she automatically lost the argument for me when she told him he ought to "mind and respect his elders and obvious betters" .

@peaceanddove ah good luck to your daughter! I did graphic and digital design at university but in my last year I specialised in a graphic photography style.

I get what they are trying to do, there are photos of Christmas lights which they are trying to get the bokeh effect on, but they don't really know how to achieve it.

It does annoy me though, these people buy a fancy camera and think they can suddenly shoot weddings and portraits.

Ours has regular 'To the driver of the blue Kia in Main St at 0800 this morning, your driving is dangerous'

Never in the history of Social Media has anyone read those and though. FFS that was me, she's right I DO drive too fast. God I'm going to change my ways immediately

The other one (also car related) 'Does anyone know who owns a Red Clio reg A123BCD they hit my car & drove off

Ohhhh if only there was some kind of organisation who investigated road accidents AND had a magic computer that told them who owned a car. That'd be great!!!

This is what is on our local FB page today, and I'm quoting word for word

Bags of fabric of cut various shapes and sizes
Would like to donate to a charity

Honestly - what charity would want a bag of old rags?

I get annoyed by similar posts and also posts where someone has found a phone/ bank card/ jewellery and posts on FB to find the owner. What if they’re not on FB. Really annoys me. Take to local police station or send bank card to the bank! Always seems to be someone wanting a bit of glory for doing a good deed but not thinking of the best way to actually get an item back to its owner.

Not all of us have local police stations or banks nowadays! This would take me an hour round trip plus paying for parking. Might as well post on local Facebook group,

I know someone that endlessly puts her horrible old tat on a free site because she 'can't bear for it to go to landfill' properly broken/ dirty rubbish.

Virtue signalling? My SIL is world champion.

Worst one I saw was someone posting a VIDEO of her helping an elderly lady across the road and up the stairs of a building she had to go to. She got so much praise for it but I was disgusted that she filmed and posted it to try and make out she was a wonderful person.

She’s recently been sent to jail for drunk driving and left a young son behind, whose dad died from a drug overdose. So yeah she is an arsehole.