AIBU?
To wish people would donate to charity rather than laying flowers for the Queen
Butterflyfluff · 10/09/2022 09:44
I realise people want to ‘do’ something but laying flowers and teddies outside royal residences etc is such a complete waste of money
It wouldn’t matter what charity they donated to instead - it would be a far better way of ‘doing’ something
Am I being unreasonable?
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Sidisawetlettuce · 10/09/2022 09:48
Agree completely. I think flowers at funerals are a total waste of money as well and when my mom died a few years ago, we asked for charity donations instead of flowers. I can understand that people want to make some kind of statement but once they've put the flowers there, some poor bugger has got to come along later and clear them all up.
SirSamVimesCityWatch · 10/09/2022 09:49
I dunno about that. Lots of charities waste money, or spend it on things that do fuck all good.
No-one expects the flowers they lay to do anything. The laying of the flowers is the doing in of itself. Humans need ritual, it's part of our psyche. We might in the past have lit a candle for the queen in church but with most of us no longer believing in God, we need a ritual to mark this event.
silverclock222 · 10/09/2022 09:51
It's up to them how they spend their money though. It makes them feel like they're a part of it I guess so it's a bit deeper than just buying a bunch of flowers. Disclaimer - won't be laying flowers or donating to charity in her name.
GodspeedJune · 10/09/2022 09:51
I just wish people were taking them out of the plastic wrapping before laying them down so they could be composted afterwards instead of sent to landfill.
Londonnight · 10/09/2022 09:53
I wish they would take the plastic wrapping off before they laid flowers.
Butterflyfluff · 10/09/2022 09:54
The only winner here is the florists - the rest is just a waste
ClocksGoingBackwards · 10/09/2022 09:55
YABVU.
There are plenty of things we do in life that could be considered a waste of money because they aren’t essential, but people do them anyway because they want to. Like you said, people want to ‘do something’, which is understandable because the Queen’s death is a big deal, and taking flowers to lay allows people to come together and witness this moment in history.
If people want to donate to charity then I think it very much does matter which charity is chosen. If it’s done in memory or out of respect for the Queen, then it should be one of her chosen charities. Otherwise it’s just making a random donation to your own favourite charity, nothing to do with the Queen.
Harriet0101 · 10/09/2022 09:59
I like the flowers but like others have said, the plastic wrapping is awful!
duvetdrama · 10/09/2022 10:00
@ClocksGoingBackwards yes but donating to any charity will help someone, somewhere...that has to be a better option than laying a bunch of flowers to then be composted/put to landfill?
MadameCholetsDirtySecret · 10/09/2022 10:04
People can spend their money as they wish. I do wish however, that if people lay flowers they would remove the cellophane
BathshebaKnickerStickers · 10/09/2022 10:04
I’m in Aberdeen any my colleague went out on Thursday night with the last flowers from her garden.
they have been in almost every picture I’ve seen from Balmoral
ClocksGoingBackwards · 10/09/2022 10:09
duvetdrama · 10/09/2022 10:00
@ClocksGoingBackwards yes but donating to any charity will help someone, somewhere...that has to be a better option than laying a bunch of flowers to then be composted/put to landfill?
Yes, but it will be completely irrelevant to the Queen. People shouldn’t need an excuse to donate to their own chosen charity and it just seems like virtue signalling if they donate to any charity and claim it’s because of the Queen.
babba2014 · 10/09/2022 10:11
This is a good point.
When people pass away, sometimes relatives and friends rally together and donate money towards something for those in need, such as building a well, the distribution of educational books, feeding the poor and so on. They do it with the intention of the reward going to the deceased for the next life.
Imagine if people did the same on behalf of the Queen, even if they did not believe in the afterlife. It would feed so many people.
I also remember seeing a documentary on the BBC about the flower industry and it wasn't even highlighted as a bad thing but they showed a flower 'farm' set up by a British couple. They used the water from a nearby lake which was used by wild animals. Because of their flower business, the lake dried up.
But nowadays it's like most care about sustainability etc on the surface but really, not that much.
Butterflyfluff · 10/09/2022 10:12
it just seems like virtue signalling if they donate to any charity
Lol! Laying flowers is the epitome of virtual signalling!
Agrudge · 10/09/2022 10:14
Butterflyfluff · 10/09/2022 09:54
The only winner here is the florists - the rest is just a waste
The other winner being the CEO of the charity the money would be donated to.
The money is better in my bank rather than the florists/charity CEOs pocket
Snowiscold · 10/09/2022 10:15
The royal family have asked people not to send flowers to royal residences.
Butterflyfluff · 10/09/2022 10:16
The money is better in my bank rather than the florists/charity CEOs pocket
That wasn’t my point though.
If you feel the need to ‘do’ something then I don’t understand why you’d chose to waste it on flowers that will just end up in the bin.
bolleauxnouveau · 10/09/2022 10:17
YANBU what a wonderful gesture it would be to actually do something constructive in her name rather than contributing to more landfill.
Plant a tree....(outside the palace😁)
Stichintimesavesstapling · 10/09/2022 10:18
GodspeedJune · 10/09/2022 09:51
I just wish people were taking them out of the plastic wrapping before laying them down so they could be composted afterwards instead of sent to landfill.
Agree, it would looks so beautiful with just the flowers but all the plastic is awful.
RaininSummer · 10/09/2022 10:24
I don't know why the font lay 1 flower if it's important to them and donate the rest of the money to charity. Seems so wasteful. Florists must love a famous death.
DontCallMeBaby · 10/09/2022 10:28
Agree on the plastic. DB and SIL have proudly posted their bouquets (plural - why??) on Facebook and someone has commented on the plastic. Not me, I’m just eye-rolling. Next to them is a bunch entirely wrapped in opaque patterned plastic with a tiny bit of greenery poking out the top. It’s idiotic - you buy flowers like that for someone who’s going to take them out of the wrapper and put them in a vase.
Cyberworrier · 10/09/2022 10:29
Wouldn't it be lovely if lonely older people (or anyone isolated I suppose, but I'm thinking of older women like the queen) could be given a bunch of flowers each instead?
ErrolTheDragon · 10/09/2022 10:32
Butterflyfluff · 10/09/2022 10:12
it just seems like virtue signalling if they donate to any charity
Lol! Laying flowers is the epitome of virtual signalling!
And like a lot of 'virtue signalling', not actually virtuous in the least.
I'm a bit surprised that - afaik - there isn't some suggested list of charities to donate to if people want to make a contribution instead of flowers, same as everyone I know IRL has had when they die.
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