Listen—I know your plight.
I’ve defended you to my friends and coworkers for years. I’ve made the case that you work for righteous causes, that organizations like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU need to scrap for money however they can, that the urbanites who resent you striking up conversations in public (gasp!) would be the first to panic if the organizations you’re working for were to shut down for lack of funds.
But I can’t defend you anymore. You guys are like kudzu: everywhere, aggressive, invasive.
There are swarms of you nowadays—not just a sprinkle in front of Nordstrom like in the old days—but packs of you roaming downtown sidewalks, in neighborhoods at every major intersection, outside every damn grocery store. Your vests change depending on the charity of the day and there’s a different stack of paperwork on your clipboard, but your tactics are constant. “Do you have a second for the environment?” you ask in a friendly lilt. But then you don’t take no for an answer, you stalk people as they walk, you hector them from down the block, you become petulant if we don’t stop.
To be honest, I do have a second for the environment. I give money and time to Environment Washington—and to Planned Parenthood, PIRG, the DNC, and the ACLU. And I used to be a door-to-door canvasser myself. But the scores of mercenary canvassers—the ones who work for firms that simply switch uniforms to suit the charity of the day (red vests for the children, blue vests for the whales, green vests for MY MONEY)—who hassle me on the street aren’t getting another penny from me. So, actually, I do have a second for the environment; I just don’t have a second for you.
I don’t mean to be rude. You’re just doing your job. But there’s a reason you’re dubbed “chuggers” (charity muggers): Your increasing aggressiveness feels predatory. No means no—so stop asking. And to the folks at the charitable organizations that hire these canvassers: This fundraising tactic, the relentless street harassment, is now a liability to your own cause.
I’m done. And now when you approach me, street canvassers, I’m going to hand you a card.
Based on a similar card in Portland, it will explain why I’m not talking to you. We went ahead and made a .pdf of the cards so you could print them out at home (and we printed them in every copy of The Stranger) so folks can cut them out, carry them in their wallet or bag, and hand them to you. We mean well. And you do, too. But we’ve had it, street canvassers. Just stop. 
But I agree that the cards are a bit much. I’d feel weird when it came down to handing one out. Don’t think I could do it.
Street fundraising is cost effective way for NGOs and charities to build up a base of sustainable donors. Unfortunately, there are some fundraisers who aren’t professional. Thankfully, they don’t last long.
That being said, not every canvasser works for the same fundraising consultancy. There are several different organizations in Seattle that fund raise on the street level. Not every consultancy pays on commission. There are fundraisers who genuinely love the charity they represent.
The whole shebang is more complicated than it looks. A lot of time and effort is spent training fundraisers – we work closely with the charities because we love them. We love what we do.
What’s more is that there may be dozens of us, but there are thousands of you people that we have to deal with daily. 99% of the people putzing around Seattle are amazing. The people who are completely and perpetually miserable are few and far between. I am a big advocate of reminding my coworkers to not push people or take anything personally. You never know what kind of day someone is having; the person who just told me to go get fucked could have just lost his or her job, or had a death in the family, etc.
Further, we help people out all of the time. I’ve returned wallets full of money that people have dropped, cell phones, given people directions, etc. I’ve witnessed a homeless man getting stomped by some awful person and given a police report. I’ve also been spit at for saying “Hello!” to someone, had disparaging remarks made about my body, had coffee thrown on me, and lots of other extra lame stuff.
Saying that you get “accosted” daily is a gross exaggeration of some personal slight that you’ve managed to conjure up in your paranoid little brain. If anything, canvassers ACTUALLY get accosted. That’s not the point.
It’s egregiously unjust to pigeon hole fundraisers together. We’re not all bad. Most of us are pretty awesome. Our work actually does have a direct impact on the world, and that’s our biggest motivator to do this daily.
Fnarf, you actually have no idea what goes into fundraising on a person to person basis. Generally, canvassing is an extremely cost effective way for charities to generate funds. Consultancies are a part of preexisting fundraising budgets. Every charity has one. When you sign up on the street, every penny of what you give right there goes to the charity. Every penny. I’d go further into detail but I doubt that you’d be able to understand it.
So, anyway, Seattle. Stay fresh. Y’all are wonderful, entertaining, and provide so many amazing conversations and experiences. If you’ve had a sour experience, I apologize on behalf of the fundraisers who strive to be respectful. Cheers! 🙂
Street fundraising is cost effective way for NGOs and charities to build up a base of sustainable donors. Unfortunately, there are some fundraisers who aren’t professional. Thankfully, they don’t last long.
That being said, not every canvasser works for the same fundraising consultancy. There are several different organizations in Seattle that fund raise on the street level. Not every consultancy pays on commission. There are fundraisers who genuinely love the charity they represent.
The whole shebang is more complicated than it looks. A lot of time and effort is spent training fundraisers – we work closely with the charities because we love them. We love what we do.
What’s more is that there may be dozens of us, but there are thousands of you people that we have to deal with daily. 99% of the people putzing around Seattle are amazing. The people who are completely and perpetually miserable are few and far between. I am a big advocate of reminding my coworkers to not push people or take anything personally. You never know what kind of day someone is having; the person who just told me to go get fucked could have just lost his or her job, or had a death in the family, etc.
Further, we help people out all of the time. I’ve returned wallets full of money that people have dropped, cell phones, given people directions, etc. I’ve witnessed a homeless man getting stomped by some awful person and given a police report. I’ve also been spit at for saying “Hello!” to someone, had disparaging remarks made about my body, had coffee thrown on me, and lots of other extra lame stuff.
Saying that you get “accosted” daily is a gross exaggeration of some personal slight that you’ve managed to conjure up in your paranoid little brain. If anything, canvassers ACTUALLY get accosted. That’s not the point.
It’s egregiously unjust to pigeon hole fundraisers together. We’re not all bad. Most of us are pretty awesome. Our work actually does have a direct impact on the world, and that’s our biggest motivator to do this daily.
Fnarf, you actually have no idea what goes into fundraising on a person to person basis. Generally, canvassing is an extremely cost effective way for charities to generate funds. Consultancies are a part of preexisting fundraising budgets. Every charity has one. When you sign up on the street, every penny of what you give right there goes to the charity. Every penny. I’d go further into detail but I doubt that you’d be able to understand it.
So, anyway, Seattle. Stay fresh. Y’all are wonderful, entertaining, and provide so many amazing conversations and experiences. If you’ve had a sour experience, I apologize on behalf of the fundraisers who strive to be respectful. Cheers! 🙂
Then there’s the tactic of shuffling along in your old clothes, hands in pockets…. when you’re approached by a canvasser, ask ’em for some spare change. If there are three of them, you’ve got three shots at it.
If you’re going to hand out cards, make them directions to a nearby homeless shelter. Give them to chuggers and panhandlers alike. If you want to hand out a sandwich at the same time, no harm done.
Why not just carry pennies? When you get a particularly obnoxious chugger, hand him a penny and keep walking. Then he can’t hassle you for refusing to donate.
True Ladies and Gentlemen always strive to make others feel comfortable. It’s a total breach of etiquette to introduce oneself to random strangers on the street. I just glare at canvassers who offer to shake hands like they are being classless, tacky and presumptuous. They leave me alone.
I used to treat chuggers with the same respect as I’d treat a homeless person, but that was back at the start when they were still a rare sight. Now you would be hard pushed to walk 30 minutes across London without being accosted for three or four causes, and the level of aggression is far higher.
So now I treat them the same way I treat street scammers – the people who claim to have ‘lost their wallets’ but who curiously seem to manage to lose them every friday and saturday nights. London has a lot of them too, and they don’t get eye contact, they don’t even get their existence acknowledged – I just step around them, like dog dirt.
@45 OH GOD, did I laugh!!!
I hate this guy too!! He stakes out one of the courners right outside my building, can’t even get a smoke in edgewise! Though not as much as I hate Fake-Irish-Accent douchebag. You must work downtown like me. No matter how many times I talk to that douche, he never remembers me. And I see him nearly every day. *BARF*
Speaking as a former canvasser, I think there’s an issue missing here.
The progressive world has not institutionalized the critical importance of making quality entry-level jobs available to passionate young people, so as to not lose them to jobs that will suck away their passion in the corporate world. (Conservatives have done this extremely effectively; it’s part of the right-wing explosion over the past few decades.)
Canvassing jobs are always available in abundance. Progressive young adults with a heart flock to them as they’ll make more than Starbucks and they’ll get that “I believe in what I do” feeling, even though truthfully, the vast, VAST majority of canvassers (in my experience) would jump at the chance to get a stable office job with benefits or a compelling fieldwork opportunity, actually doing the work instead of asking for the money to do it.
Most of our organizations are chronically underfunded and would not survive without doing everything in the book to try to bring in the bucks. There are many ways of fundraising, and where I work, we use almost all of them – not canvassing, though, but it’s actually on the table as a possibility.
How I wish we had a few more angel billionaires in the mix who committed large amounts of money to awesome NGOs on the condition that it be used specifically to create new entry-level positions to give the graduating generation a stable door into the world they want to serve.
As it stands, looks like we’re stuck with people spending five hours straight asking for money and trying desperately to make quota, while inspiring all kinds of complicated, frustrating emotions in the people who avoid them or turn them down.
My job filled me with constant panic, but it was the best door in to better work that I had at the time, plus I made some of the best friends of my life there. I was also utterly surprised by the generosity of some people. I did actually have the experience of knocking on a door, being welcomed, and apparently being exactly the right person to give the woman I spoke to the final push to sponsor her fourth child (big giver). It was kind of amazing and unforgettable.
That said? Now that I have a stable, awesome nonprofit job with benefits, I would never, ever, EVER go back to workin’ the clipboard. But it’s only stable because we do every damn thing we can manage to raise money, and yeah, so long as any method actually works, we and other NGOs will go with it.
Standing with TB here. I haven’t seen the Seattle chuggers, but I worked for one of the better canvassing outfits in Raleigh for a few months because I couldn’t get anything better as a fresh college grad in November 2008.
Maybe most of your canvassers are white, but let me tell you, most aren’t middle class. 20% of the canvassers I worked for were homeless. Canvassing is the best paying job you can get around here without a permanent address. Plus, since some fraction of your coworkers really do give a shit about the issues, you can usually find someone who’ll help you cash your paycheck at a real bank or let you store your good shoes in the office so they don’t get stolen at night.
It isn’t cushy, either. Every canvasser has a quota. Fail to meet your quota 3 days in any month, and you are fired on the spot. Even if you miss your quota because your team leader misread the damn map and set you canvassing in the middle of Tea Party turf, where you not only get insulted, but also spit on and kicked. Most canvassers make $8/hour for their work.
The kids with college degrees are put in salaried “leadership” positions with an effective wage of $5.10/hour. These folks can be required to move across the country at 1 week’s notice and their own expense, according to the whim of the company. Regularly moving canvassers with college degrees is an established tactic to prevent canvassers from building up support networks they might use to resist.
So why are there so many more canvassers lately? Cause there’s a lot more people without jobs, taking the best thing they can get.
Canvassers know that their organizations divert a significant fraction of the donations into executive salaries, but can’t admit it or they get fired. They know you don’t want to give them money. They wouldn’t give themselves money if they were you. But they have got to do anything they can to get you to give, or else they don’t make the rent.
Best way to get a canvasser to leave you alone is to offer them a job, or even a job lead. I would have flung my clipboard on the ground on the spot.
Otherwise, save your condescending cards and keep walking. They already know.
@9
That’s an inane experiment. Just because they take the food or bus tokens doesn’t mean they wouldn’t prefer cash to get wasted with. If that’s all you’re offering, why the hell not take it?
Next time, give them a choice between food or money. Or booze or bus tickets. Get back to me on that.
At the very least, if you give them a bus token, and instead of going and getting on the bus they stand there and ask more people for cash, well, that’s your answer.
@29
When you enable street crazies and addicts by giving them money on the street, you’re taking money out of the pockets of real charities that actually help the homeless and substance abusers. Serious harm.
People who give money to panhandlers are perpetuating a culture of phony charity that fuels addiction. I’d be fine with a law that punishes the givers as much or more than the panhandlers. It’s a major social problem, after all, and maybe drastic measures are called for.
But if all we’re doing is complaining without intending to do anything (it is the Stranger after all, where doing nothing about problems is a way of life), I’d much rather complain about the ones that stink and hear voices in their heads than the ones that don’t.
@39, 54: We don’t like you. You and the company you work(ed) for drains money parasitically away from the causes we support and offer little in return.
Non-profits existed before this job, and they’ll exist when they’re long gone, with far less annoyance for all involved.
We all understand why you work(ed) there, but you’d have to be stupid to not understand why it’s so disliked.
Last time I was at TJ’s in Ballard there is a sign outside that says something along the lines of “We don’t allow canvassers or solicitors outside Trader Joe’s. If anyone approaches you, it is not rude to ignore them”. My favorite part of that sign was that it was in the funny TJ’s font.
Also… is there not a rule against pan handing in Seattle? I can’t go to Broadway Market without chuggers and bums harassing me. I mean, there is usually a fat cop sitting right inside the store not doing a thing…
Having to choose to not talk to people who approach you on the street is such an awful problem to have, isn’t it, you bunch of spoiled whiny little bitches.
@68: There is, it seems to be enforced either selectively or serendipitously. Three steps after exiting a drug store I was asked by a man, standing two feet away from a large sign reading ‘This area is under 24 hour surveillance’, for money. I was about to tell him the location of the nearest food bank (one block east then one block north) when a Seattle Police patrol car stopped in the parking lot. Two officers emerged from the car to talk to the panhandler.
Passive-aggressive much? If you don’t have the backbone to physically say “no thanks,” then you have a problem greater than being annoyed at canvassers.
Just to clear up confusion on how much money goes to the charities in street-canvassing operations: Charities hire canvassing groups on contract; they pay upfront to the group which is paid to the individual canvassers hourly. All (that is 100%) of the money that they collect from donations by the canvassers goes straight to the charity.
@69: I wish the blessings of a million telemarketers upon your house.
It’s dealable, and most of the people in this thread *do* ignore them or tell ’em to fuck off. I don’t know why people say this as if it’s a magical idea that’s not already in use. They’re annoying, telling them to fuck off does not make them less annoying.
@71: “All (that is 100%) of the money that they collect from donations by the canvassers goes straight to the charity.”
This is not universally true.
@44 I use that one too, can’t sign your petition, can’t donate to your (political) cause, etc, I’m Canadian.
That said, I have a confession to make – until a few months ago, I was a numbers monkey (otherwise known as a quant marketing analyst or, simply put, a statistician) for a large nonprofit. A VERY large nonprofit. Big NFPs do a fair bit of numbers work. Not as much as they should (personal opinion) but a lot.
All channels for acquiring donations cost money. Issue marketing and brand marketing costs money, too. Welcome to harsh reality; it may be distasteful but it’s a greens fee. If you want to do something, you need money to do it, and if you want money, you need to get it from somewhere.
I don’t know what the profit-to-expense ratio for street canvassers is. Not my side of the house. If it’s anything like other channels, it’s probably somewhere between 35% (someone’s getting fired) and 75% (you get the steak knives). 10% seems like it’s not worth the risk to the nfp, unless it’s on spec. And even then probably still not worth it.
Last but not least, I do donate to street canvassers. Not frequently, but yeah, I’m an easy mark. I think I did it more when I was living downtown in Big Canadian City; clearly the suburbs have warped my brain.
Can we get The Stranger to stop dumping thousands of invasive papers where they are neither wanted nor needed? I might otherwise enjoy reading this paper.
@63
I worked as a door-to-door canvasser for a major national environmental organization in the early 90’s and it WAS my entry level ticket to a non-profit career.
I too cringe at the tactics of many street canvassers, but have empathy for them.
Also, the purpose of canvassing programs is not so much to raise a ton of money on the spot but to identify donors for direct mail and major gifts campaigns. Non-profits have to constantly identify and cultivate new donors in order to survive and do their work. That’s reality.
It’s too bad so many idealistic kids get chewed up and spit out by these canvassing operations and burn-out before their ever able to do any actual fieldwork.
Some dizzy bitch covered in shitty tattoos tried to hand me a card today, but defeated the purpose by engaging in conversation.
TSK! TSK! TSK!
It’s kind of demoralizing to see that an article like this was written in one of the most philanthropic cities in the country. However, if you think that something as ignorant and negative as this article will stop us, you are sadly mistaken. If want us off the streets…stop…listen…and stand up against the injustice that is plaguing our planet. The fastest and most effective way to be rid of us is to eliminate these problems. I await the day that I don’t have to go out there and talk about these issues!
ISSUES:
*22,000 children die every fucking day from some preventable, treatable disease. (I hope you all are appalled by that figure)
*Seattle is the #1 port in this country for sex trafficking! (Do you have any sisters or kids? Imagine them being put into a brothel at the age of 9 and being abused to the point of death.)
*The junk mail distributed in the U.S. accounts for nearly 30% of the worlds mail! (…FUCK…)
>>>WAKE THE FUCK UP SEATTLE! Even if you don’t appreciate the work we do, I guarantee you that your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren will be grateful for US taking action.
P.S. YOU ARE WELCOME!!!
TSK! TSK! TSK!
It’s kind of demoralizing to see that an article like this was written in one of the most philanthropic cities in the country. However, if you think that something as ignorant and negative as this article will stop us, you are sadly mistaken. If want us off the streets…stop…listen…and stand up against the injustice that is plaguing our planet. The fastest and most effective way to be rid of us is to eliminate these problems. I await the day that I don’t have to go out there and talk about these issues!
ISSUES:
*22,000 children die every fucking day from some preventable, treatable disease. (I hope you all are appalled by that figure)
*Seattle is the #1 port in this country for sex trafficking! (Do you have any sisters or kids? Imagine them being put into a brothel at the age of 9 and being abused to the point of death.)
*The junk mail distributed in the U.S. accounts for nearly 30% of the worlds mail! (…FUCK…)
>>>WAKE THE FUCK UP SEATTLE! Even if you don’t appreciate the work we do, I guarantee you that your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren will be grateful for US taking action.
P.S. YOU ARE WELCOME!!!
If money could have solved these problems they would have already been fixed. Their issue is less with money, and much more about being a slave to it.
You guys do realize that the increase in number of street canvassers is almost certainly the result of the recent cratering of the job market? Some of these people would be assholes regardless of where they were, but a lot of it is probably desperation.
I donate money online, so I can research who it’s going to and make sure it’s actually going directly to them. I don’t see any reason to pay a middle man; if the goal is finding employment for these people, there are better ways of doing it (like investing in infrastructure). But if printing up cards to hand out seems easier than saying “not interested, thanks” and moving on, maybe you need to work on your personal assertiveness. It’d be a lot more effective to call the charities directly and explain to them that you’re not donating because they use street canvassers.
@81 Nothing’s for free. Campaigns have to be paid for, websites designed and maintained, donors serviced, direct mail sent, and so on. Staff and managers (including me, cough cough) like to eat. Marketing and administration take their share of any dollar.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t donate to a NFP. You should do so, absolutely, and the world would be a better place if more people donated more money, more often. And sometimes a high administrative and marketing ratio is necessary to get the dollars in the door and the job done. Judge the NFP based on your personal circumstances, how much and why you agree with their social mission, and their ability to execute that mission.
@ 82: Eh? What does any of that have to do with my comment? I don’t expect the organizations I support – Planned Parenthood, the EFF, the ACLU, etc – to have zero administrative overhead. But using street canvassers is not an effective way of getting me to donate, since I don’t know for certain that the person approaching me actually works for the cause or organization in question, I sometimes am not familiar with the cause or org, and if they’re annoying they can actually sabotage that cause or org. This isn’t limited to street canvassing, the ACLU lost my money one year because they hired a really obnoxious telemarketer.
Alright, I’m not sure how everyone is so misinformed but I will attempt to set things straight. First off, as far a the breakdown of a charity’s budget goes, not a single one has a 90% overhead like everyone is ranting about. It’s not even considered a non-profit unless the overhead is smaller than 75%, and every single charity you see on the street is far more effective than that. To see more about a charity’s fiscal responsibility:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/
While it is true that some fundraisers out there can be overly aggressive, please remember that it is actually illegal for a canvasser to follow you more than 10 steps without consent. It is stalking. If you encounter such a canvasser, don’t hand them a card, call the police and their head office.
I think it should also be mentioned that there isn’t just one fundraising company in Seattle. There are several, and each focuses on one, perhaps two charities at a time. There is no “charity of the day,” and I have no idea who thought that up. Many of us take a lot of pride in who we represent and spend a great deal of time outside of work researching our charity. Also, many canvassers actually donate to the charity they represent because it does make a difference. We are out there because it is the most effective form of fundraising.
I like my job. I talk to awesome people and I help make a difference in the world. A lot of people do care about what we have to say. We don’t pressure people, we empower them to make a difference.
Bottom line: saying no isn’t hard and neither is being nice about it. Smile everyone; it makes you feel better. If being spoken to makes you that awkward or upset or uncomfortable, then don’t go outside.
Oh yeah, that card wastes paper anyway. Don’t you have a second for the environment?
If the chuggers just stood there, fine; but they don’t. They’re exceedingly aggressive, as aggressive as some downtown panhandlers: they stand in my way, try to corral me with their hands. They try to engage me with provocative one-line teases. Do the charities these chuggers are acting on-behalf of know how their agents are acting, offending the very people they want money from?
In downtown, at every block, I am put in the position of having to say no at least 1 dozen times. There is no need to make a distinction because they are a charity. It is irrelevant how much the chuggers pocket and how much goes to charity. If 90% went to the charity, I would be no more charitable to the chuggers. They’re tactics are offensive. Chuggers, leave me the fuck alone; get out of my fucking way.
Now, I tell them to get their fucking arm away from me and other bon mots. I wear a scowl on my face that implies to the them I should be the last person that they should want to stop. I walk next to the curb to avoid them. Chuggers, again, leave me the fuck alone; get out of my fucking way.
Chuggers, leave me the fuck alone, the onus should not be on me to say a damn word. If I want to engage, I will.
Chuggers, stay the fuck away from me, stay the fuck out of my way. You have been warned,
Chuggers, douchy little cards, and piles of hobo shit. I learned so many new things today.
Once I was walking down Broadway and was stopped and asked if I wanted “to help kids in Africa.”
I replied. “No, I beleive in euthanasia.”
The chugger replied, “We help kids in asia too.”
Dominic Holden, you are an asshole. Obviously you have a sour taste in your mouth due to the fact of being harassed by the douchebags who spoil it for the rest of Seattle’s do-gooders. But look at what we canvassers have to go up against: “Sorry!” “Thanks” “I don’t have time.” I am fucking GENUINE about what I do, and I do not employ the aggressive canvassing techniques like some individuals in Westlake and elsewhere (not naming names) do. I WEAR THIS GODDAMNED VEST for a reason. I genuinely care. It is sad that our city has to be so turned off by street fundraising, because some idiots spoil it for the rest of Seattle, given the fact that we’re supposed to be the most philanthropic city in America? Sad fact, considering the claims against the genuine individuals. I do my DAMNEST to ensure that I am doing my part to better humanity. My co-worker nailed it on the fucking head. Wake the FUCK up Seattle. There’s a reason why few exist to hold up the majority of humanity. And if not me, then WHO? I am the change I wish to see in this world. Yeah, it might not come about in my lifetime, but I’ll be fucked if I don’t do my part to engage in actual CONVERSATION with my fellow human beings. Communication, communication. Hear that fucktard? Strong language is all that is necessary at this point in time. Our society is perpetuated by the worldwide web, and a reliance on convenience. “Oh, I’ll just go to the website!” How many more excuses must one genuine person endure before the awful realization sets in? That our society is gravitating towards a downward spiral. YES, to all you assholes, genuine or not, going about your merry way on your cell telephones. I wasn’t born yesterday. We have excuses, we make excuses. Look at me! I’m not some goddamned robot, or a slave to the masses. I can’t be, else I would be a hypocrite. No, the light is few and far between. 5 motherfucking percent. Yes, ME, in red, 5th and PINE, five days a week.
Speaking of which, how LEGITIMATE do we have to be to get our fellow Americans to stop? One can only do so much to be “official”.
I’m not employing a woe-is-me tactic. No, quite the contrary. It’s just the ridiculous, innate nature of human beings with all of our petty excuses, enough to make one’s hair stand on end. If we want to better our species, it sure as fuck isn’t going to come about as a result of apologizing and going about our merry way when we obviously come across someone who is genuine and non-aggressive. Otherwise, what’s the fucking point? Should we just throw everything out with the trash every single time we reject a do-gooder? “Sorry, see you later!” No, no, that shit doesn’t fly. It doesn’t initiate real change. I know for a fact that I sure as hell would rather delight in conversing with someone who actually knew what the fuck they were talking about speaking on behalf of the organization they are working obviously very tirelessly for. And that is the whole thing, Dominic. ‘Scuse the fuck out of me for saying it like it is, but your narrowmindedness just makes you a pisspoor representation of progressive Seattle.
yes, they get paid! They get paid to to get people to sign up to worthy causes. What does everyone else do on here? Work in a bank, or for the government, or for a newspaper. Give up your day job and volunteer full time for a charity, then you can give out to these people or give them a little card…
Although well intentioned, a survey of the above comments misses the point of the article.
The above comments/arguments posit: Whether chuggers get paid or not, whether commission is high/low, whether the cause is worthy/not worthy, it’s a hard job, blah blah blah ad nauseum as justification for chuggers horrid aggressive public behavior
The above arguments both for and against chuggers commit informal fallacy of the Kettle type: using multiple inconsistent arguments to defend a position.
The main point of the article, which some of the comments miss, is the aggression of the chuggers. Some of the comments imply that because the chuggers are doing charity work, all is fair game in how they do their job. They can block my way, they can corral me, they can impede my traffic by whatever means they deem necessary because it’s for a noble cause, because chuggers have to work too, blah blah blah. And this most incoherent argument from above: chuggers have the right to intrude into my personal space on the (all knowing and incorrect) assumption that I have white collar job. WTF?
Chuggers, your egregiously aggressive approach violates the social contract of basic decent behaviour in a public space: do not harass one’s neighbors. Set up a fucking table. Stay out of my way and leave me the fuck alone. Keep your limbs to your fucking self and out of my fucking face.
Again, Chuggers, leave me the fuck alone
stay out of YOUR way? outside is our office, chief. YOU’RE in OUR way.
@94 What a dumb fuckin response, no wonder you dipshits can’t find a real fucking job.
Let’s not lump all street canvassers into one category. Not all are aggressive and invasive. If you plan to use the douchey card, don’t hand it to just any canvasser. Use it wisely.
Thanks to the writers of 55, 63, and 76 for your thoughtful comments. I highly doubt these former canvassers were the type that everyone is so pissed off about here. I wasn’t either.
@43: So you’re offering to house and care for all of the mentally ill on the streets of Seattle? What a big heart you have!
@63 and 64: That’s nice, but you seem to be missing the reason why most of us carry disdain for chuggers. You may be just barely meeting your quotas and your organizations may be struggling to stay funded, but that does not negate the fact that they are essentially taking money away from the causes they claim to be champions for. No amount of desperation in the person working a job would make it any less disgusting to passersby. Sorry.
@96: Yes, it’s always someone else, isn’t it?
UH, I don’t need no stinkin card. I stomp Broadway daily and I just ignore them. Easy squeezy, lemon peasey.
@69:
Your comment about this being a problem for “spoiled whiney bitches”, while seemingly clever is self-riteous and misguided. One could argue that by using aggressive tactics to garner support, street canvassers are hindering their potential by creating a negative connotation with their cause. That is a problem worth complaining about. Also, they are being tasteless and ill-mannered. Traits that are the root of some of the gravest problems facing humanity today.
Boo fuckin hoo. Go buy a latte.
I canvassed door-to-door for many years and ended up being a canvass director for 5 years after. I enjoyed the work and made my non-profit bones that way. True, a lot of money went into the administration of the canvass, very little into the pockets of canvassers. This was all better than a decade ago.
But here’s the deal–we identified a huge number of people who became actively engaged as volunteers and advocates for environmental, consumer and tenant-landlord issues. We also talked with people who eagerly gave more and larger contributions over time, effectively changing the administration-to-issue work ratio dramatically. If I observed people being rude or intimidating, they were fired on the spot. If I got a complaint from someone we canvassed (our contact information was on every piece of paper we handed out), I gave the canvasser an opportunity to tell his or her story, and then decided how to handle it. My rule was that if a canvasser got more than three complaints in a month, they were fired. I never had to enforce that rule. Complaints were very rare. I got perhaps two in the course of an average year.
I can’t stand street canvassers. I just do not ever engage with them, no matter the issue. But if someone comes to my door, they get a drink of water, the bathroom if they need it, a quick and professional critique of their rap, and some cash if I agree with their issue. I have money to contribute now, and I love the look on a canvasser’s face when you contribute. Door-to-door canvassers are a different breed–bold, observant, friendly, more thoughtful and usually more knowledgeable about their chosen issue.
Maybe I’m just old school.
@103: “But here’s the deal–we identified a huge number of people who became actively engaged as volunteers and advocates for environmental, consumer and tenant-landlord issues.”
Yeah, there’s absolutely no interest in or structure for motivating and mobilizing people from street canvassing.