Trick or... hey, have you donated to charity lately?

[smeddley]

So two separate groups of girls just came by and gave the same schpeal: "Hi, we're from Fellowship Baptist Church and we're collecting canned goods for the homeless."

Well, that's nice. But you know what? This is Halloween. I am giving out candy and toys to the kids who dress up and traipse around the neighborhood. This isn't exactly a night of charity, you have to work for it. Some kid just came to the door dressed as a cowboy lugging a giant inflatable horse around his waist. Now THAT is dedication to the art of Halloween.

Look, I realize charity is a good thing. But you know what? We get it shoved down or throats at every opportunity, at EVERY holiday (I swear I'm about ready to throttle those Salvation Army Bell ringers - they are EVERYWHERE all Christmas season. I purposely try to shop places that don't allow them, as I have been very rudely hounded by them in the past. Look, I'm sorry, I really don't carry cash. It's a check-card world, woman.) and up until now, Halloween was a nice break. Other than giving away the candy (though you usually get a fair amount of amusement in return) it's been a lovely guilt-free charity-free event.

Even if I'd really had much in the way of canned goods (I think I have a can of French Cut Green Beans, a single can of soup and some Tomato Sauce and Paste) I wouldn't have given it to you. Because that's not what Halloween is about.

Comments

[oneworldvision.livejournal.com]

At least it's not UNICEF. I remember several attempts to guilt me into giving up my candy in favor of going trick-or-treating for pennies. Seriously, can't we raise paltry sums of change in a way that doesn't interfere with childhood fun?

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

You could probably just send kids out to grocery stores and parking lots to collect that amount of change! Have kids store up 'found money' throughout the year (seriously, if you pick it all up it can add up to several dollars!).

I agree, we really need to let kids have fun. :(

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Did you actually turn them away, then?

I agree, kids need to have fun, and Halloween can be enjoyed as a totally kid-centric, secular holiday (wait, that also sounds like Christmas nowadays). We couldn't even have trick or treating tonight because Wednesday night is 'church night' and that's when there's choir practice and confirmation classes, etc., so our town altered the night. Isn't that horrible? And kids were only allowed to trick or treat from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Too much civility in my opinion.

The SA ringers around here don't hound people, but those bells do a number on my head, when I'm already rushed, overwhelmed, and busy shopping, they're anything but joyful, celebratory, or the least bit pleasant. I'm tempted to ask if a donation can be exchanged for 5 minutes of silence.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Well, I gave them candy, but like I said - I don't really have much in the way of canned goods, and I certainly didn't feel like digging through the cupboard for them (the one thing this kitchen doesn't have is a good pantry, so things are hard to get at). The dog was barking her fool head off, too.

I put the candy right next to the door for a reason - I need to nip outside and hand it out! I really can't have the door open because of her.

I turned off my light at 9 - MOST of the trick-or-treaters came after 7:30, since DST hasn't ended yet and it was light (when I was a kid, you had to wait until it got dark to head out). Also, I'd be REALLY annoyed at anyone who started at 5:30 - excuse me, I need to get home and have dinner first.

I was walking next to (luckily, they were my 'buffer') a person who seriously got accosted by a bell ringer. She made a comment when he walked by, something along the lines of, 'don't you have nay spare change?' and when he said, no, he didn't, she started yelling after him and half-following him into the parking lot, 'Not even a NICKEL? C'mon you have to have SOMETHING! You have some, just give a LITTLE, JEEZ!'

That pretty much put me off them altogether, because that was seriously uncalled for.

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Oh, well here, the whole point of the 5:30-7:30 time is because it would be uncalled for children to be out in the dark. *gasp*

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think we're 'protecting' kids to death these days. :/

[revoked-soul.livejournal.com]

I'm with you! I certainly wouldn't be handing out canned goods on Hallowe'en.

I went to Catholic school, and they used to give us UNICEF boxes before Hallowe'en with the expectation that we would return them with money in them.
Then, when the Catholics decided UNICEF was the big bad, we didn't have to do it anymore. Since then, no Hallowe'en charity for me!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I remember that some people started handing out change after the Great Razorblade Scare of 1983, but growing up non-religious I never collected anything for anyone except myself! YAY SUGAR!

(I also sent the church a curt e-mail, high as I was on the indignation of the moment - but I didn't use my mail e-mail address, so...)

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

I hate Australian people who traipse around neighbourhoods, demanding candy for a holiday we don't fucking celebrate.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Why don't you celebrate it? I'm not actually sure how many countries do. But, if enough Australians do it, you will be celebrating it! ;)

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

It's primarily an American and Irish thing.

I... think it's a dumb holiday.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

But it precedes the Day of the Dead! How can you not like a Zombie Day? O.O

Actually, that kind of surprises me, since it's all about dressing up and eating candy - what's not to like? Oh, and the haunted houses, if you go to good ones they're pretty cool (since you liked the Saw movies I figured you'd like those - they're not like the cheesy haunted houses of before, these are... well, you just have to see them. My favorite part of one of them - besides the giant slide - is the misty forest. Basically it's a HUGE indoor room with fake trees and rocky walls and it's FULL of mist. You can wander around in there for a really long time before you find the exit).

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

I don't actually like candy very much.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Ah, but do you like spooky/scary things? Dressing up?

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

No. Other than the Saw series I've only seen maybe 4 horror films*. (I only went to see the first Saw because it was Australian, and then it just became a tradition with my friend.)

*Couldn't sleep facing my TV for a week after The Ring.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Oh. Somehow, I didn't expect that.

*chews over the 'new penchaft' in my mind*

How odd.

*is baffled*

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

I suppose it's not so much that I refuse to see horror movies, I just haven't. Like how I haven't seen 4.5 of the Star Wars movies.

(I found the first Nightmare on Elm Street difficult to take seriously due to dated hair styles, heh.)

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I found Nightmare on Elm Street difficult to take seriously because of the stupidity! Between that and the Friday the 13th movies... ugh.

I haven't seen a truly scary movie in... years. Not much really scares me, though (yeah, The Ring? Boring!). The last thing that disturbed me was... the scene in Braveheart where they slit her throat. I don't know why, but that bothered me. Maybe because it was so casual and understated. I dunno. But I gave up my search for a scarey movie after my last horror-o-thon that was a total bust.

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

Well the only thing in Saw that has ever truly terrified me was Lawrence (and then Detective Erics) being locked up, in the dark, to starve to death.

I... I couldn't shake it. It horrified me. You really can have no idea how relieved I was to find out that Amanda went back to suffocate Lawrence.

And the thing with the chick from The Ring? My TV at the time was actually big enough for a small child to fit iniside. It was a box. And although logically I knew a creepy Japanese child couldn't and wouldn't come out of the TV and drown me, I could just imagine her coming out of the television.

I creep pretty easily, and I work myself up to it.