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.

My local council has created a shop local Mastercard that gives each household with a qualifying postcode £15.00 to spend at any shop within the county. Every day the Facebook page is full of people saying "Is there a list if the shops I can use it in". Every day there are 46 million posts from people saying "You can use it in any shop that takes card payments". Every single flaming day someone will come on and start a new chat asking this question . Since covid most people shop using a card.Just point the card at the card machine, it will beep, take your purchases and carry on with your life.

This thread has prompted me to go back on nextdoor 🤣

My own piss-boiling moment on our local midlands village FB, has been the pile on the local vicar for collecting gifts for Afghan refugees because 'we have our own people in need' - but without any sense that they themselves could also do a collection for the cause they believe in.

No. It's much better to simply judge what other people do.

(I wouldn't be the vicar for all the £££ - he trieds so hard to do nice community things and there is always someone whinging at him for not doing it right.)

We have a local page which seems a good idea in theory, basically people advertise items for free to help out people in need. Anyway you do get a lot of people just trying to get others to come and take away their junk but some do offer some quite valuable (ish) clothing etc that they no longer use. Anyway there's one woman who comments on every post with something half decent saying "Yes please" - she obviously spends loads of time on the page checking it etc, but the items she supposedly needs are always so random, for example one day she snapped up a load of size 20 clothing, then the next day she wanted some designer size 8 stuff, then some teenagers clothing, then some brand new with tags baby outfits etc. It is so obvious she is collecting it all to sell on ebay or whatever! She can't possibly be both a size 8 and a size 20. Plus I know she doesn't have all these supposed children of all different ages either because her main profile is totally public! Anyway it is so annoying to watch, as a lot of the people on the page think they are genuinely giving pretty decent stuff away to those in actual need!

Funniest one though was the co op staff posting on Facebook about how busy they were when the dam was at risk of breaking in The nearby village they ran out of stock because they were the closest shop open apart from near Stockport, the main road was Totally closed, people evacuated, they really were the only shop around and they were utterly shit.

they took ages to order more in and obviously things were sorted by then, people allowed back to their houses, Tesco open etc. So then they posted about how the stock they ordered was going to go off properly passive aggressive!

Obviously people were really pissed off about the lack of food and the attitude of the staff and posted about it on the Facebook page. Also the helicopters going over to sure up the dam pissed people off in neighbouring villages, as if they should just let the reservoir take out the entire village we don't live there now but it still makes me laugh looking at the Facebook page!

I have a lovely lady (she really is) who constantly posts lost/stolen/found dog posts on hers. Good for her, but most of them are the other end of the country and once,in America.
When the various bombings happened my dd did that thing when it flagged up if you were safe. Cue my dsis messaging to ask when she’d gone to Paris, London etc. But Dd didn’t think to post one after the Manchester bombing, despite her living there and working close by.

If someone donates to charity at the end of it, I don't care whether they post about it or not. In fact research by charities shows that people posting about donating will encourage others to donate.
Scroll past the post if it bothers you. I actually think it's quite nice to see how many people aren't selfish and mean-spirited. Yy charitable giving is supposed to be it's own reward but I think there is something beneficial about normalising giving to charity, doing volunteer work, etc.
If people only put complaints and mean spiritedness on social media, people will start to think that's all life is. I think it's better it represents the full gamut of life.

Fucking Fur Babies.

@emsmar

Is Tesco open today?

Is the tip open?

What time does the x19 bus come at?

Google it ffs!

The virtue signalling is desperate too.

Yes this. Definitely seen far too much of this. Ultimately its lazy. Often it seems to be those who want to start a conversation online, because surely its quicker to Google local tip opening hours, than to type a whole screed about the items you want to take to the tip today if anyone knows if it's open. Same as bus times, if you can use Facebook reasonably well, you can probably decipher a bus timetable. Oooh and theres an app for buses and tips where I live. As for Tesco >>>>insert supermarket of choice, they are pretty much open the same times year round. Granted bank holidays may be different but all my local shops have had a board outside listing opening hours this Christmas for about 2 weeks. Plus Google.

I did once find an iPhone and posted on a local group, it was back with the owner by teatime.

Sometimes there are quite lovely threads. Like the guy who posted saying he was struggling with depression since losing his job. So many nice guys posted offering support and advice. He posted again a couple of weeks later saying he'd
accessed therapy and was on trial for a new job all because of his post. It was great. And all the people who might be in a similar situation who are too shy to ask for help will hopefully have seen it too.

We also have some along the lines of look I hate to ask but I've run out of food. I'm ok for a day or so but or would be amazing if someone could help out with milk and cereal for the kids. And the responses are appropriate, low key, non judgmental and actually offering what she's asked for rather than trying to take over her life.

I have posted asking for donations of clothes for someone in the community who had escaped an abusive relationship with just what she was wearing and I was so impressed with the response. Had a lot of private messages from people offering money, vouchers or to shop for her, so kind. One woman dropped off a gift bag of beautiful toiletries with a card saying, "I've been where you are and I promise you it gets better". I thought that was so kind and thoughtful.

This prompted me to check the latest on ours - some helpful info about how you can have your (old) Xmas tree collected for free on 27th Dec!

You'd have to be super keen to get rid of Christmas to have all decs down for collection on the morning of the 27th, I reckon

@CrapDrawer

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.

Our “local” police station is miles away and actually advises using social media as they no longer record lost property due to lack of manpower (I went there when I lost something). Returning a bank card to the bank a) costs money for an envelope & stamp b) is no help to the person who has lost the card because the bank just destroy the card. Years ago pre SM I found a card and rang the bank - they told me to destroy it! They weren’t even interested in taking the owners details.

I found a bank card just Easter weekend one year. Within an hour it was back with the owner who hadn’t realised he’d lost it. He was able to check it hadn’t been used and didn’t have to cancel it and wait (probably a week because of the bank holidays) for a new card - which is always an absolute PITA.

"If you are the person who hit my parked cat last night on XX Road , it's on CCTV and we have your reg. You have 24 hours to come forward or we will involve police"
At least half a dozen of these on various sites each week, despite commenters informing Op that the police do not investigate minor vehicle scrapes 😅

For some people I don’t mind whom I’m not in touch with and who’ve actually used the same pet rescue charity to donate money to rather than send Christmas cards.

I got sick and tired of one of my ex school friends one year saying how she’s helped out with the homeless at Crisis most Christmasses (why post this?!). This same woman when I had a charity birthday on Facebook then donated £50 to it, realised after a couple of days she didn’t want to donate so much or couldn’t afford it and asked me for the money back! She’s not poor either. I refunded her the money but should have told her to go away. Funnily enough I spoke to another friend of mine who works near where she works (central London) who said, yes, she had worked at Crisis but didn’t anymore and apparently she was a bit condescending when working there which might’ve been a reason she didn’t go back.

* parked car, not cat 😑 😒

I just thought of another one! Same place (don't live there now) drunk driver took out 15 parked cars on the way home as there is very little off road parking in the village, local village police man posts on the group 'does anyone know anything please call 111 and quote blah blah blah'

Nooo.. cue 16 comments of 'was that blah blah? I saw him get him his car after being in x pub and having 8 pints but it's non of my business., '

He's banned now

This prompted me to look at the groups this morning. Apparently there was a chicken on the loose last night and someone before Christmas had a wrapped pack of jelly tots thrown at them by a Santa on a motorbike. The fun never ends round here.

@Georgeskitchen same! However they post the cctv and usually someone says 'oh that's Y and then tag them in the post'

We had:
"I have just been followed by a suspicious looking black male whilst out for a walk with my newborn, his hood was pulled up so I couldn't see his face but he was wearing a grey jacket and black joggers, just to make people aware."
Response: Err that was me on my lunchtime walk, my hood was up because it's cold. Sorry for being black

@blessedbethechocolate hahaha!!!

@Notinhampshirenow

Yes. 1000 x yes. I send cards every year as I’ve not got a huge family and love sending good wishes. The old ‘will be donating to charity’ post is pants. A) I believe it when I see the receipt and b) the whole thing just tells me you think cards are a hassle and cant be bothered. Actually if I was I was running a charity I would set up a website where you could send a virtual Christmas card in return for the donation……

I agree with most of the posts but this is one that applies to me.

a) I always show a screenshot of the donation and b) I DO think that cards are a hassle, a waste of paper and indeed, I can't be bothered.

Ah the helicopter. My fave was Christmas morning when our local coastguard flew Santa over our town. They do it every Xmas day, kids go out to wave at Santa.
Cue the oh my God, why is the helicopter circling? Is there someone missing on Xmas? Omg Hun!
I just didn't have the energy.

A few months ago a helicopter landed in the fields next to our house at 3am. Huge speculation as to what/ who with videos of it taking off. The conspiracy theorisys abounded, people in white suits had been seen running from it. They were wearing masks!
The sad reality was it was the air ambulance in an unmarked vehicle attending my friends dying mother. She was devastated.

We also have the self proclaimed angel who is all over FB and local press collecting for local kids charity, imploring folk to donate brand new toys. For the kids. Her huns share with 'help x help the kids'!
My work collected lots of new toys for her/ charity. We ran out of storage space so asked if angel could take them. Ignored completely. Emailed charity....ignored completely. We sold them in the end.

@Lairymary that's bad. We had the same with 'this car is always driving round the village and I don't know what they're doing'

Following response was 'christ that's me! My baby won't sleep unless I'm driving because we have auto stop and he wakes up, so I just drive round the village for 3 hours because I need a break. Sorry!'

@sweetbellyhigh

Sometimes there are quite lovely threads. Like the guy who posted saying he was struggling with depression since losing his job. So many nice guys posted offering support and advice. He posted again a couple of weeks later saying he'd accessed therapy and was on trial for a new job all because of his post. It was great. And all the people who might be in a similar situation who are too shy to ask for help will hopefully have seen it too.

We also have some along the lines of look I hate to ask but I've run out of food. I'm ok for a day or so but or would be amazing if someone could help out with milk and cereal for the kids. And the responses are appropriate, low key, non judgmental and actually offering what she's asked for rather than trying to take over her life.

I have posted asking for donations of clothes for someone in the community who had escaped an abusive relationship with just what she was wearing and I was so impressed with the response. Had a lot of private messages from people offering money, vouchers or to shop for her, so kind. One woman dropped off a gift bag of beautiful toiletries with a card saying, "I've been where you are and I promise you it gets better". I thought that was so kind and thoughtful.

@sweetbellyhigh - agreed some are lovely but some are not.

I’m not on local FB sites anymore due to do much bitching and virtue signalling. You always get people asking for donations to homeless people but some who have a sketchy story.

I don’t mind and have given away brand new clothes to 2 women who’d fled domestic violence and a brand new toy to someone who was asking for one for their child near Christmas.

We had a FB group set up in our area last year which encouraged lots of people to post brand new gifts and good quality second hand gifts for free on the group. The generosity was lovely but blatantly virtue signalling in some cases. You just knew that most of the donated items would be sold on marketplace a week later! Some of the people were outed for reselling.