Are we all greedy?

So a friend of a friend is trying to help raise money for their baby's cancer treatment on gofundme. Part of me wants to help, but then I remember my bills, debts and the new phone I'm saving up for. So honestly, I probably won't give anything. But I accept that, because I know most people that see the fundraiser won't help either, even the government or the hospital because they are not insured.

Am I alone in this feeling? How do you guys act when confronted with a situation like this or similar?

Damn can't throw $10 bucks their way? Whoah setback on the road to your dreams. Get rid of facebook

bundee1 said:

Damn can't throw $10 bucks their way? Whoah setback on the road to your dreams. Get rid of facebook

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I mean, I could post their gofundme? But I'm not sure what the rules are on this site regarding stuff like that. That way we can both not give.

VILEPLUME said:

I mean, I could post their gofundme? But I'm not sure what the rules are on this site regarding stuff like that. That way we can both not give.

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Not my acquaintance. Damn is $10 going to break you?

bundee1 said:

Not my acquaintance. Damn is $10 going to break you?

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$10? Probably not. But I'm trying to find out, why as society in general, we don't care? You bringing up "not my acquaintance", it's interesting because if we are not related in someway to the person in need, then the blame falls to the people who are.

At just a quick look, I saw 10 other children in similar situations on gofundme. It is heartbreaking, but why am I not pushed to sell all of "non-survival" possessions to help save the lives of these children? Is even a small amount of greed that powerful? These children's lives are literally in our hands, but I'm not selling my t.v so I can donate $500 to them.

Obviously lazy liberals that can't pull themselves up by their own boot straps. If they pray to the orange jesus all their problems will be solved,with a small donation.

captainmorgan said:

Obviously lazy liberals that can't pull themselves up by their own boot straps. If they pray to the orange jesus all their problems will be solved,with a small donation.

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No lazy conservatives? Hope you never have to deal with a sick kid bruh.. See how hard you pull those boot straps then. smh

edit: sorry, the sarcasm escaped me initially.

I'm already taking care of my POS father in law and I donate regularly to goodwill and the red cross. Anybody else is on a case by case basis.

blowincherrypie said:

No lazy conservatives? Hope you never have to deal with a sick kid bruh.. See how hard you pull those boot straps then. smh

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He was being sarcastic.

bundee1 said:

I'm already taking care of my POS father in law and I donate regularly to goodwill and the red cross. Anybody else is on a case by case basis.


He was being sarcastic.

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I agree with your sentiment. If it was a neighbor or family friend or something I would throw them a couple bucks. I would also bring over a meal or two or offer to watch any other kids or something that I see as bringing more value than the small donation I could afford. If I dont personally know the person though I dont even give it 2 thoughts. Kinda like.. I might buy a homeless/beggar a cpl items off the dollar menu but wont give them 2 fukn pennies.


I have ASD so sarcasm in text is one of the things I have problems with. My apologies and this is why I stay away from the politics section lol.. Carry on

bundee1 said:

Not my acquaintance. Damn is $10 going to break you?

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Good point. Still, it all depends on the situation.

If they were part of my social circle, if I knew the kids and knew it would in fact help them avoid debt due to the expense of the birth and all the associated baby baggage, a hundred bucks or more would be discussed with my wife. Gofundme makes it easy so I see that as irrelevant. OTOH, family first. The donation would come out of my budget for donations and not the budget for clothes, food, shelter, bills budgets.

If I didn't know the kids then probably not. It might then depend on their story and how I felt about my connection to the person doing the asking.

If Vileplume is concerned about the morality of saying no to giving money to somebody they don't know, then I'd ask where do they draw the line? It seems to me that the request would mostly concern those who were somehow connected to the couple. Nothing wrong with saying no.

Babies with cancer should have their treatments funded by the Government, in a country with so much wealth its is absolutely disgraceful that this innocent should suffer, and possibly die, through poverty.
The cost of a presidential trip to Mar a Largeass would pay for it many times over.
Vote for socialised medicine, free care from cradle to grave, America can easily afford it, imo

Trip to mar a lago $3,600,000

Average stay in US hospital for an infant with cancer $40,000

I don't believe OP actually has friends, so none of this is probably true.

abandonconflict said:

I don't believe OP actually has friends, so none of this is probably true.

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Good point, he starts his story with “So”

VILEPLUME said:

So a friend of a friend is trying to help raise money for their baby's cancer treatment on gofundme. Part of me wants to help, but then I remember my bills, debts and the new phone I'm saving up for. So honestly, I probably won't give anything. But I accept that, because I know most people that see the fundraiser won't help either, even the government or the hospital because they are not insured.

Am I alone in this feeling? How do you guys act when confronted with a situation like this or similar?

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Reply with compassion and help, we can't help you with your conscience, you either have one or you don't.

If you're interested in such questions and would like a firmer moral and ethical foundation, as well as clarity, I would suggest you practice mindfulness meditation. You will react to such situations with compassion instead of the fear you are exhibiting and make the situation better through your efforts, it's not just about money either. It is normal to feel fear in such situations, most people do, one way to build strength of the spirit and soul is to meditate daily. It's an exercise like any other and it makes compassion stronger through connecting us to our bodies where feelings and empathy arise. With regular practice you also build out the areas of your brain that process emotion and shrink the amygdala that causes us to feel fear. The brain is the most plastic organ in the body, it responds to the experience of our lives and sculpts itself accordingly, mindfulness practice moderates this sculpting process. If your older cannabis use can aid this sculpting process.

Here's how:
University of Wisconsin
http://www.fammed.wisc.edu/mindfulness/research/

Why do you think it's not greedy to try and get other people to carry your load, but it's greedy if you refuse to carry theirs?

Wilksey said:

Why do you think it's not greedy to try and get other people to carry your load, but it's greedy if you refuse to carry theirs?

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An infant is involved, an innocent and helping overrides ideological considerations, practice due diligence for sure, but help those less fortunate, unless you want to live in a Hell hole. Compassion should override fear and greed in normally socialised human beings, this is not morality, but evolution speaking here, humans survive through cooperative effort and mutual support.

Nobody is talking about being a sucker, just a decent human being who can live with their decisions.

I try to give more than I take

VILEPLUME said:

So a friend of a friend is trying to help raise money for their baby's cancer treatment on gofundme. Part of me wants to help, but then I remember my bills, debts and the new phone I'm saving up for. So honestly, I probably won't give anything. But I accept that, because I know most people that see the fundraiser won't help either, even the government or the hospital because they are not insured.

Am I alone in this feeling? How do you guys act when confronted with a situation like this or similar?

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I think it would be more advantageous to society overall if we spent our time and effort demanding the system change so children don't need a gofundme to get lifesaving medical treatment...

But maybe that's just me dreaming.

SneekyNinja said:

I think it would be more advantageous to society overall if we spent our time and effort demanding the system change so children don't need a gofundme to get lifesaving medical treatment...

But maybe that's just me dreaming.

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I figure Trump will help you get a publicly funded single payer health care system much quicker by destroying the republicans and splitting the right for a decade. Where I'm from in Canada such things are covered by the health care system, sometimes people ask for public help with experimental treatments, travel and lodging for family in the US etc, though these are not common circumstances.

Right now a child needs help and the support of a family and community of humans, social change takes time.