Poll of the Day > Coworker posted a gofundme to benefit their kid...

(+) Yeah! (+)

Someone I worked with posted a gofundme to their socials, and has caught some flak over it. Here's a rundown:

Kid bought a car and overpaid for it. Week later, car gets totaled in a hit-and-run. No one was injured. Car was parked and unoccupied when it was hit. They didn't have gap insurance, and are now on the hook for some $6000+, plus being out a car. Gofundme was created to generate several thousand more than that, presumably to pay off the loan amount that insurance wouldn't cover, plus help as a down payment on their next vehicle.

Some are poo-pooing this gofundme. They're sympathetic to the kid for his unfortunate situation, but the general concensus is that this is a tough life lesson and the kid should eat the cost and learn not to buy something he can't afford, and/or to look into gap coverage next time. The coworker is calling naysayers rude and saying if people don't want to donate then fine, but getting upset at people pointing out the lack of gap coverage and holding their nose at the asking amount. It's been a few weeks and they've generated less than $100 in that time.

I don't have a problem with it. It seems superfluous to me, and I don't intend to donate, but as far as I'm concerned people are allowed to use gofundme however they wish, as long as they're not scamming people or doing something illegal. I did not chime in with my thoughts on the matter one way or another.

Curious how you sexy folks here at the prestigious institution that is GameFAQs Poll of the Day message board would interpret this.

Maybe. I usually dont even have much money, so I usually dont donate. But I might. I dont really have a problem with it. At least they are honest about it

I think the people who are being rude to your coworker and telling the kid to take it as a life lesson are assholes. People dont have to donate if they dont want to and they also dont need to chime in and rub salt in the wounds with pointless hindsight observations. Personally I wouldnt contribute to it and would send nice cheap thoughts and prayers, but there is no point in being rude to someone experiencing a stressful situation like this.

If it got funded then OBVIOUSLY people think it's a good idea

I wouldn't donate, but I also wouldn't chastise them about it. Bad idea, yes. But I understand it. I did it, albeit with beaters that I drove until they litterally fell apart on the highway. I probably wouldn't have been able to afford college if I didn't.

That said, if it was a gofundme because the kid had a serious medical issue and the family needs help with the bills, hell yea I would donate.

LinkPizza posted...

At least they are honest about it

I think this is the big thing. They're being up-front about the situation so people can decide for themselves whether they want to donate or not, rather than lying or otherwise trying to manipulate people into donating when they otherwise wouldn't. I wouldn't donate, but I'm also not going to give them a hard time for asking. They made a mistake, now they're looking for some help fixing it, and that's not inherently a bad thing as much as a lot of people are so wrapped up in the ideal of rugged individualism that they want people to suffer for making mistakes.

GameLord113 posted...

I think the people who are being rude to your coworker and telling the kid to take it as a life lesson are assholes. People dont have to donate if they dont want to and they also dont need to chime in and rub salt in the wounds with pointless hindsight observations. Personally I wouldnt contribute to it, but there is no point in being rude to someone experiencing a stressful situation like this.

Pretty much this.

People need to learn to mind their own business when it is something that isn't harming others. Just don't donate to it

lol kinda sad/hilarious that theyre asking for thousands but havent hit a hundred bucks yet

When I was a deputy one of my fellow deputies posted a gofundme to go on his honeymoon. He was asking for 12k. He drove an Audi and made 100k a year. He made 0 dollars and was teased, but no one told him he shouldn't have done it. I'm not sure how to relate that story to this in a ore meaningful way, but I thought that dude was a clown, so I found this a good time to tell the story.

Good day.

ASlaveObeys posted...

When I was a deputy one of my fellow deputies posted a gofundme to go on his honeymoon. He was asking for 12k. He drove an Audi and made 100k a year. He made 0 dollars and was teased, but no one told him he shouldn't have done it. I'm not sure how to relate that story to this in a ore meaningful way, but I thought that dude was a clown, so I found this a good time to tell the story.

Good day.

Sounds like someone who probably grew up rich and entitled

I wouldn't donate, nor would I say anything to them about it. I do find it distasteful to make a crowdfunding request for such a thing, but I would keep that to myself.

never lease a vehicle without getting gap coverage

I think its unethical to solicit for anything at a job. I wont even ask if anyone wants to buy my kids Girl Scout cookies unless its outside the work setting.

GameLord113 posted...

I think the people who are being rude to your coworker and telling the kid to take it as a life lesson are assholes. People dont have to donate if they dont want to and they also dont need to chime in and rub salt in the wounds with pointless hindsight observations.

Depends on the circumstances.

Presumably the person going around soliciting donations is going to ask why people don't want to donate if they say no (in an attempt to potentially change their mind). If the person says "Yeah, I'm not donating because of X, Y, and Z", that's not really rubbing salt in the wound as much as it is justifying your own position. That's not asshole behavior at all.

Doubly so if the person asking for donations are themselves becoming somewhat belligerent and pressuring when people say no. In that case, they're the asshole. At which point, they kind of deserve to have people throw it back in their face or give them shit for it.

I'd say people refusing to donate are only being assholes if they're going out of their way to criticize or be a dick about it without being prompted. Like if someone comes over without even being asked to donate to voice their opinion about how the kid should suck it up and how they shouldn't be asking for donations, etc.

Basically, context is key - and we're not really getting proper context hearing about the story third-hand in a single post on a video game message board.

This wasn't a direct solicitation to coworkers. It was a general solicitation through social media. Only people who follow this person, or follow someone who shared the post, saw the post.

I haven't looked at it since it went up, save to check the link to see how much money they've raised. I don't think a single coworker said anything negative.

And to be clear, no one said anything as blunt as "you shouldn't have made this gofundme". But a couple people (not coworkers. I would assume they are friends with the coworker) did mention that the kid should've had gap coverage. The person asking for the money took this unsolicited advice as rude and told them to take their comments somewhere else.

I wouldn't personally say anything but I also don't disagree with people telling them what they don't want to hear. You really shouldn't be asking for a handout for this sort of thing. Don't be stupid and have some self awareness

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Basically, context is key - and we're not really getting proper context hearing about the story third-hand in a single post on a video game message board.

it sounds like theres enough context here, just no evidence to back the presumptions you want to make

JigsawTDCII posted...

it sounds like theres enough context here, just no evidence to back the presumptions you want to make

Considering I said "Depends on the circumstances", that's pretty much the literal opposite of everything you just said.

And no, there really isn't enough context in the first post. The second post (after I posted) adds more context, but still doesn't really alter the fact that we're hearing about the story third-hand and may be missing crucial details that would alter the narrative. Is the soliciting co-worker generally an ass around the office and thus people are predisposed towards being an ass back? Are the coworkers trying to kindly suggest gap coverage in a helpful "here's how to prevent this happening again" sort of way rather than being judgmental or sarcastic, and the person is taking it wrong (because they're obviously stressed)? Is Farq's own understanding of the events accurate?

It's easy to just knee-jerk say "Oh, those people are totally assholes!" without caring about context or actual facts, but that in itself is kind of asshole behavior. And that mentality is a large part of why the court of public opinion has kind of become shit in the modern age.

I don't think anyone is being an asshole in this situation.

I think the person who created the gofundme did so with noble intent - to look after their kid and help them through a stressful situation.

I don't agree with the course of action they took, and would've handled it differently were I in a similar situation, but I don't begrudge them handling it the way they are.

And the people saying the kid should've had gap coverage aren't being assholes for saying so. It's the truth. I would say they could've worded it a little better, and I can see how it could come off as rude given the context. But I also think the original poster's bias has a lot to do with the perception that it's rude advice.

I do agree with others that have pointed out that not every opinion needs to be voiced, and I think a measure of discretion could've gone a long way here in avoiding ruffling any feathers. Just donate, or don't. No need to make comments on things.

Far-Queue posted...

Curious how you sexy folks here at the prestigious institution that is GameFAQs Poll of the Day message board would interpret this.

The situation sucks and all but I wouldn't pay for someones bad luck in most cases and this is one of those cases. Now if it were for medical care or something serious I possibly would but not this. With that said it's a choice to donate to something and your coworker who set up this isn't doing anything wrong so fair enough.

Nada. Gotta look after myself.