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Chuggers
Posted by Sam (Sub-Editor) from Cardiff - Published on 14/09/2009 at 00:00
- Tagged as People, Topical
But there is one aspect which I wish to vent my spleen over, the "Chuggers" or "Charity Muggers" otherwise known as “fundraisers” that stalk Queen Street. It is a rare trip into town that doesn’t involve looking twenty metres down the street, employing the body swerve through the crowd or if a potential trapping is imminent, the judicious use of the vacant stare and if escape becomes futile, the shake of the head, the forced smile and the raised palm to fob off the attention of the clipboard wielding kooks.
Of course charities need to raise their profile and acquire donations, but do they have to hire people to badger individuals in the street? And yes they hire people to don their brightly coloured bibs, as gaudy and artificial in colour as the forced joviality of the chugger. It is this falseness that grinds, if they were volunteers rallying behind a cause they believed in I would have a smidgen more patience with them. But they are paid to harvest your credit card details.
Which leads me on to this question, who on Earth gives their credit card details out on the street? We are increasingly careful with our details with internet scams multiplying like rabbits (how many times have you won the Nigerian lottery?) so why would a berk in bib alter this stance?
There is an interesting relationship between privacy in public and privacy on the internet. We open ourselves up on the internet, the splurge of social networking sites are a testament to this, yet increasingly in public we shut ourselves off, employing iPods to limit our involvement with the outside world, a personal barrier not to be crossed.
And chuggers add to this malaise. To combat young people with earphones firmly implanted, they’ve evolved increasingly infuriating tactics to attract attention, the sudden leap into your path, the patronising wave, the stare that attempts eye contact. It borders on harassment and it’s detrimental to the public sphere.
Perhaps I’m still irked by the time a chugger for an animal charity addressed me as “madam”. I remonstrated in my deepest and manliest voice. It put me off bears for months.
To ban charities from operating on the streets of Cardiff would be an over-reaction, but I believe the methods (and the people) they employ are injurious to their brand and they should look to change. What was wrong with handing out leaflets, old ladies rattling collection tins, a rickety table with a petition and a couple of badges? Take note of the unobtrusive Big Issue sellers (who just aren’t as trampy as they used to be) that line the city centre.
Engage with those who wish to engage and leave the rest of us alone.
2 Comments – Post a comment
Scattered
Commented 32 months ago - 14th September 2009 - 14:21pm
Ha ha! Loving this. Berks in bibs indeed. I've seen the ones pushing makeovers going with young people to the cashpoint to part with their precious pennies.
DeadAngelLover22
Commented 32 months ago - 15th September 2009 - 11:24am
Yeah, god it's soo annoying when they do that, have you noticed that the Big issue guys make such a big issue, lol sorry couldnt help making a joke :)