So tonight I was eating dinner with my parents, some delicious rice pudding if I may say, when the discussion of charity came up. A piece of the conversation went somewhat like this.

Mom: "So I got a call from Unicef, they're asking for money, again..."

Dad: "Honestly it's like they expect people to be able to constantly pump out money for charity"

Me: "How much were they asking for ?"

Mom: "1000 ISK"

Me: "Well that's not so bad, it's less than an hours wage even for me"

Dad: "That doesn't matter, people just can't expect others to be able to constantly contribute, I already donated 1000 ISK this year, they can ask someone else now".

Mom: "Indeed, I also saw another charity selling keychains for 1500 ISK, I'd maybe buy one for 500 but not more."

Me: "Maybe the recession has been hitting major contributors badly and they need to be more forward in promoting their cause."

Mom: "Maybe but that still doesn't mean people can contribute more often, don't forget that we're experiencing the same recession the others are experiencing.


Then they went on to watch their newly bought (for 290.000 ISK) 46 inch plasma TV which they hired a man to configure the internet on because they couldn't do it themselves or wait for one of their more technologically adapt sons to come and help them after school/work.

:facepalm: :banghead: :facepalm: :banghead: :facepalm:

Does anyone else know people who are so glaringly blind to their own words. Honestly I thought about pointing out the irony in complaining about a recess just after buying a new TV but I've been unable to reason with them on many occasions so I decided it wasn't worth the effort.

So share your own stories of such people or even if you have a case of yourself having said something that went completely against what you did (I probably have a few of those but don't remember any ATM) but keep in mind not to get overly disrespectful especially not against anyone remotely likely to read these forums, sometimes we just don't notice it if we think one way but act in another.

Spending money on yourself is different than giving it to someone else though...I mean I can understand your parents. Also, you could have used a currency most of us would be familiar with. $ or Euros.

When I was younger I used to tell my sister:

I'm not touching you, look I'm not touching you.


Does that count?

I have the impression that many people is like that, complaining over calls from charity organizations like amnesty or greenpeace or local,similar organizations and the current "crisis" in the economy.
The same people I know,relatives mostly, have no issues with several holidays abroad a year,a cabin in/at the mountains to spend their other free time at,they get there in a SUV,the same SUV takes them to the ocean for a boattrip when they don′t are abroad,or at their cabin.

Over here every bigger city have a magazine which is sold by people at the bottom in the society,partly made by them as well and it cost 50.00 NOK = 8.84084 USD,so those people can earn a honest living,those people with the vacations,cabins,boat/s and SUV′s don′t buy that magazine.Ironic that those people in the "having stuff" often talks loud about forcing unemployed,homeless,disabled and what not, to take honest works, only not at the expence at them self :facepalm:

I understand wanting to spend money on yourself rather than someone else too but that TV is so out of proportions for anyone using the recess as an excuse not to do something.

It's easy to find currency converters, here is roughly 1000 ISK in different currencies.

USD = 8,5
GBP = 5,4
CAD = 8,43
DKK = 46,21
NOK = 48,28
SEK = 57,23
CHF = 7,47
JPY = 652,47
EUR = 6,21

And roughly 290.000 ISK in the same ones.

USD = 2.466,41
GBP = 1.565,54
CAD = 2.444,99
DKK = 13.401,12
NOK = 14.002,23
SEK = 16.597,05
CHF = 2.165,80
JYP = 189.171,96
EUR = 1.799,46

But the difference in 1000 or 299.000 should show even without knowing how much it actually is

Response to the poster below in the spoiler, didn't want to make a whole new post about this since it would derail the thread even further

To be fair, in the US the period (.) is used to indicate the decimal, not the thousand indicator (which is the comma). So here it would be 299.000<1,000<299,000.
When I first read your post it appeared to me as though they got a really great deal on a TV.

I can see the logic behind it. I mean if they'd given that 1000 isk, or whatevs, whenever they were asked, they couldn't have afforded the plasma TV or the installer. (yes, I overexaggerated a bit, but that's what their logic is based on)

The problem isn't give a couple bucks to a charity. I can do that, and I do. Mainly a few bucks here and there to charities that help the community I live in. The problem is every where you turn there's someone asking for a donation to this or that, trying to make you look like a dike if you don't donate. I go to the grocery store, standing at the door is some guy asking for donations to some charity, then at the register they ask if I want to donate to something, then walking home I pass by another stall set up asking for donations.

Lets not even start at the myriad of causes people try to get donations for up at the university. You think I have money to throw away after paying to be here? I'm not far away from qualifying for these services you want me to donate to.

It's definitely something that bugs me. I make a point not to contradict myself, especially in my writing. I'm sure if I pored over everything I've ever written I'd find some inconsistencies, but for the most part I think I'm pretty good about being true to my word. I hate it when people(particularly religious people) spout hate for other people because of their lifestyle choices. Like their lifestyle is the RIGHT lifestyle, and everyone else is doing it wrong.

An example of a contradiction that I freaking hate - My step-dad is very religious, and to his credit, he does not force it upon me or my mom, but sometimes he's just kind of blunt-headed about things. He, and his kids, will sit there and tell dirty jokes all day, but me listening to rock music/techno is bad? What the hell?!

Edit - Got another one! A friend of mine is very feminist, and she absolutely hates people who put themselves in "gender boxes" (meaning they adhere to what society deems suitable for a man/woman). And I agree with her, people shouldn't limit themselves like that. So when I tell her "Hey, I really like My Little Pony now!" I didn't expect her to get all uppity about it being a girls show, and how it's weird that I watch it.

Another contradiction for ya - People who say they are open-minded, but they are actually close-minded. Liking obscure things, and hating the mainstream is not the same as being open-minded.

I know a similar case, it's just a bit different, she is constantly talking about how people are berating her for doing boy stuff like playing video games (=.= still amazes me when I find people who look at video games as a boy only thing yet they exist out there) when she's a girl yet she freaked out about me watching MLP:FiM

Edit:



I should probably elaborate further, hiring that guy to set up the internet connection cost her more than 1000 ISK, yet I could easily have done it and I'm even studying computers in college which involves all sorts of networking, and even that kind of knowledge is not needed to set up something designed for your average person to set up. If she can waste money on basically 'nothing' just like that then she could easily donate to a charity. Yet despite that she would argue the recess was making her too poor for it...

Every politician on Earth and its surrounding star systems.

Oh, and just about every pompous 'green' celebrity on Earth.

Then again, outside the US, that's a full stop, and a period is- er, something else.

"Charity creates a multitude of sins."

- Oscar Wilde

You have to learn the difference between paying someone to earn it and paying it for granted. I'm with your parents in this.

I came from the age where earning money has its meaning, you probably came from the age where the number is the only thing that matters. Can't say which one's better. You earn a lot less if you cares about how you earn you money, but if you cares only how much you earn, you are moving a way from humanity a bit more.

what the [censored] is ISK? :confused:

Charities asking for money? What is this world coming to!?!?

Seriously, though, that's what they do. If someone doesn't want to donate then they don't donate. :shrug: If they don't solicit most people aren't going to take the initiative on their own, although some do. If they don't want to be contacted they can ask to be taken off their leads list. I mean, it's not like they hire people to scrutinize each entry in the list and make a judgment call as to whether or not the person on said list is likely to be receptive to the call. They just call everyone on the list.

There's nothing wrong with not wanting to donate right now, but if you don't want to be contact then tell them so. Simple as that. People donate to charities to make themselves feel like they're using some of their good fortune to "make the world a better place for the less fortunate," right? It's not like they're working you over for protection money.

Icelandic currency. i.e. where the OP is from.

Oh ya... My older brother..

He listed one of his pet peeves as "I hate people with quick tongues" meaning he hates it when he says something, then people point out what was wrong with what he says. He says it makes him feel dumb and it is demeaning.

Then he goes around and does the exact same thing. Mostly to me. He makes my blood boil to the point where I would be legally dead if I stuck a thermometer in my mouth...

i thought they just used snowballs and icecubes for currency?

I'm with FreakLore444. Not only does every politician contradict themselves, but their avid followers maybe even more so. I've literally heard people complain about certain social issues, and then, in the same breath, say "That's why I'm voting for _______!" when in actuality ________ is the worse offender of said issue. It boggles my mind the hypocrisy of some of these sheeple.

That's Greenland.

Giving out money is different than spending it one yourself. Not really hypocrisy.

I'm surprised it took this long for a form of the word "hypocrite" to be used.

I remember when I was younger (I'm assuming the OP is younger than I - though of course people still do have dinner with their parents even if they've left school and moved out of the house) I used to hold people to much higher standards than I do now.

Now that I'm older, have a child of my own, and have done the whole wage-slave slog for a time, my viewpoint on a lot of things has changed. Frankly, complaining about a recession while still owning an expensive TV doesn't strike me as at all hypocritical. The thing to understand is that you just can't always be a perfect human being with pure ideologies. No one's that perfect. And you also have to treat yourself.

My wife and I work very hard to provide a nice home not only for our son, but for ourselves as well. Often, that includes having some nice things. It's all a matter of budgeting. We still give to charity (probably not as much or as often as we could, or maybe even should.) And we also set money aside for nice things like a new bed, new television, furniture, etc. We're grateful that we can afford to have these nice things while in the midst of a poor economy.

The fact is that we don't put in all these hours at work for charitable purposes. You have to treat yourself once in a while - or you go crazy. I mean, what's the point otherwise? Just to keep going, year after year - you have to be working towards something. And if a new television set is what works for the OP's parents... well, I certainly can't begrudge them that. :shrug:

You beat me by a good 14 years


True perhaps for the TV itself but you have to admit calling someone to configure it (and this isn't the first time she gets impatient and calls some form of IT experts to help her when she has help at home) is like burning a bill with a lighter.


I can see the point in that


I guess it can be a matter of personal opinion though. And situations can vary, My parents in particular just tend to be pretty bad when it comes to doing the whole "I'm so poor"*goes out to buy expensive item X* thing.

But that is not what this thread is about, I've gotten more charity related posts than posts that are actually about people contradicting their words with their actions. Even if I made a bad example of it that doesn't stop you from making a good example of such a scenario