Comic Relief - am I just being cynical?

 
So how much does it cost to fly a group of D-list 'celebrities' to Africa to walk 100km in 5 days for charidee? And more to the point, who cares? Does it really encourage anybody to put their hand in their pocket?
 
And what about the camera/sound crew, caterers and the rest of the accoutrement necessary to capture the 'raw emotion' of these pampered pillocks - do they all work for free?
 
Oh yeah, and then there's the hire of a feckin' helicopter to film their arduous task from above - I wonder if that came free.
 
And dear old Lenny (Stranglers lyric - bonus point for naming the song) Henry - am I right in assuming he's actually now only 'famous' for being on Comic Relief? I know he did a stint in Othello and advertises cheap hotels, but he's certainly not funny anymore. Mind you, at least his presence tonight means that we won't have to put up with Dawn French any time soon.
 
Don't get me wrong - the cause is very deserving, and they get a decent donation from me. But that's in spite of the backslapping, self-adulating luvvies who are wasting valuable screentime tonight (and have been for the last few weeks) not because of them.
 
However, what Comic Relief (and it's alternate annual telethon Children In Need) really rely on, is for Joe Average to part with some of his hard-earned... and/or sit in a bath of baked beans all day. My 11 year old daughter has raised over £30 off her own bat by taking part in a sponsored silence at school today - for a further personal donation of a pound, members of her class were allowed to go to school today in their pyjamas!
 
Those more cynical than I might even suggest that the target audience for this type of appeal belies the fact that it is, as in the case of the National Lottery, little more than an (albeit) voluntary tax on the poorer members of society.
 
Oh well, my apologies for the scepticism - I'll donate another couple of bob to make up for it
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

bapu


I'm of the opinion the ones who silently donate far out weigh the "look at me donating" crowd.

It's what we do when no one is looking that really counts, IMHO.

What HE said!

bapu


I'm of the opinion the ones who silently donate far out weigh the "look at me donating" crowd.

It's what we do when no one is looking that really counts, IMHO.

+3.141592653589793238!

cynical or not, I completely agree with you. 

when you spend that much on the "show" to make everyone see you do this then your rewards are already given to you right there. 

obviously you're not doing it for helping someone if you make such a big production for the world to watch you do it.

SteveStrummerUK


 
So how much does it cost to fly a group of D-list 'celebrities' to Africa to walk 100km in 5 days for charidee? And more to the point, who cares? Does it really encourage anybody to put their hand in their pocket?
 
And what about the camera/sound crew, caterers and the rest of the accoutrement necessary to capture the 'raw emotion' of these pampered pillocks - do they all work for free?
 
Oh yeah, and then there's the hire of a feckin' helicopter to film their arduous task from above - I wonder if that came free.
 
And dear old Lenny (Stranglers lyric - bonus point for naming the song) Henry - am I right in assuming he's actually now only 'famous' for being on Comic Relief? I know he did a stint in Othello and advertises cheap hotels, but he's certainly not funny anymore. Mind you, at least his presence tonight means that we won't have to put up with Dawn French any time soon.
 
Don't get me wrong - the cause is very deserving, and they get a decent donation from me. But that's in spite of the backslapping, self-adulating luvvies who are wasting valuable screentime tonight (and have been for the last few weeks) not because of them.
 
However, what Comic Relief (and it's alternate annual telethon Children In Need) really rely on, is for Joe Average to part with some of his hard-earned... and/or sit in a bath of baked beans all day. My 11 year old daughter has raised over £30 off her own bat by taking part in a sponsored silence at school today - for a further personal donation of a pound, members of her class were allowed to go to school today in their pyjamas!
 
Those more cynical than I might even suggest that the target audience for this type of appeal belies the fact that it is, as in the case of the National Lottery, little more than an (albeit) voluntary tax on the poorer members of society.
 
Oh well, my apologies for the scepticism - I'll donate another couple of bob to make up for it
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yes, you are cynical and right.

I guess it's all about the number of ppl that watch the "show" and adverts?

I listen to Chris Moyles show on BBC1 in the morning (it's on Sirius-XM) because I've gotten hooked on Carpark Catchphrase and need a daily fix. 

It's been amazing the last few days, listeners to the show raised over £1 Million for Comic Relief. I hope it truly goes to good efforts and not a lot of skimming for 'admin costs' and what have you.  (Incidentally, it's why I don't give through the American Red Cross, their cut off the top is way too much).

Perhaps you whould stop watching TV Steve

I've ony had TV for about 4 of the last 11 years, never missed it. Some people think that's weird,
but now I find it very difficult to sit passively watching something I have no interest in.

And iPlayer + 4OD are free, no license required for those either.

Strangely I thought the annual Comic Relief puke-fest was last week.
See how good life can be without it

well it has raised £74.3 million last night and probably nearer £100 million once all the donations are in...so i guess even with a budget of a couple of million it is worth it.

And i agree, it seems strange to invite Take That and not the CHB...

And dear old Lenny (Stranglers lyric - bonus point for naming the song)

Er..... No More Heroes.

They were excellent as always in Cambridge Thursday night BTW, with the exception of Relentless from Suite XVI and Freedom as yet unreleased the whole set was from the first 10 albums. Classic stuff. Having said that I think Suite XVI is up in my top three Stranglers albums. Looking forward to their next.

May catch them at Norwich on Monday as well, finances permitting.

FastBikerBoy

And dear old Lenny (Stranglers lyric - bonus point for naming the song)

Er..... No More Heroes. 

You weren't allowed to enter!
 
 
 

SteveStrummerUK
 
...My 11 year old daughter has raised over £30 off her own bat by taking part in a sponsored silence at school today - for a further personal donation of a pound, members of her class were allowed to go to school today in their pyjamas! 

I don't get the sponsored-silence thing.  Or the "donate a dollar and you can wear a red t-shirt and blue jeans on Friday" type of sponsored things.  Businesses are doing these things more and more these days for all manner of charity events from breast cancer to obesity.
 
What are we, five years old?  Please, leave me alone to do my job.  I'm happy to wear a shirt, tie, and slacks.  Or even a suit.  I'm not a child, and I think I look GOOD when I dress up.  Why would I pay anybody anything in order to wear a certain article of clothing?  Are we really that devoid of self respect and personal dignity?

But on the subject of donations in general, I am already growing weary.  Financially weary, but also emotionally weary.  I know what you're going to say even before you say it.  "The need is great."  I am happy to be working, yes indeed.  But my house needs fixing and my tax bill last year could have bought somebody a CAR.  That's just wrong.
 
I'm thankful that my company no longer gets in our faces about donating to the United Way.  I think they received a lot of complaints about the ethics of the pseudo-forcing of donations to that organization.  But slowly, employers are becoming more and more intrusive and just plain nosy with the donation pleas and such.
 
My feelings of trepidation are compounded by the fact that anytime you make a donation, you subsequently get inundated with pleas for more money, especially if your donation is trackable, such as from a credit card or check payment.  I made THAT mistake with the American Red Cross via credit card payment several years ago in response to the 2004 Christmas Day Tsunami.  The moment the payment posted to my account sometime in early January 2005, that's when the real fun began. 
 
A couple times each week I'd get an email from the Red Cross.  Once each week and sometimes more often, I would get US Postal mail from them, asking for more and telling me how the "need is so great"...
 
Due to the risk of identity theft via the US Mail system (I lived in an apartment at the time; not the most secure mailbox arrangement), I needed to get the solicitations turned off.  It took several letters and calls to the American Red Cross to get them to stop soliciting me.  The strategy that finally worked was when I got a manager on the phone and told him that I was tired of endlessly trying to "opt out" of their spam.  I got angry.  I didn't swear or call names or anything, but I told him quite directly that if I received even one more mailing, I would never donate to the American Red Cross again.
 
It took a month for them to stop.  Must have been several in the pipeline.  By then it was September-ish, 2005; nine months.  I think a whole tree had been completely consumed by that time just for the mailings to me!  Anyway, it was all quiet until about two weeks ago; when I got a fresh mailer from the American Red Cross.
 
Sometimes I think the church collection is the way to go.  Cash in the basket.  Not traceable.  No spam penalty for one's generosity.  Unfortunately, I just can't tolerate sitting through a sermon.