Fundies on Facebook- asking for stuff

[Wolfie]

I think that if they had something like a Freecycle network going on, that would actually be really smart - there's a lot of stuff getting outgrown that could be reused - but that's not what's going on here. It's not about "let's reuse what's already out there," it's about "me, me, me."

Yeah, but there are a lot of people who use the local freecycle as a "me, me, me" thing too. Ours is constantly flooded by the same people repeatedly asking for stuff- "my kids want legos, does anybody have any" "does anybody have a big trampoline for their yard" "does anybody want to give me a pressure canner" "our DVD player died, does anybody have one" " My kids want a Wii" and so on.

[shesinsane]

If you do help fundies, they will thank god not you. There is nothing wrong with thanking god but some fundies make it sound as if god directly gave them help with no earthly assistance.

One reason that fundies get help is because people feel bad for their kids.

My church in Iowa used to have guest speakers. One speaker told how her father always tithed no matter how difficult their financial problems. She described a situation in which her siblings needed shoes. Magically, shoes were given to the family by god. She made no mention of gratitude for the actual person that provided their family with hand me down shoes. There was also no acknoweldgment that pity might have driven the giver to help the family.

That day I told my husband that we would not tithe anymore. I wanted my kids to have new shoes not hand me down ones.

I think it's a way to show how extreme your devotion is. There was a National Geographic special where they went with some doctors to North Korea to do free cataract surgery (there's a lot of nutrion deficiency related blindness in North Korea). After surgery and recovery time, all the patients were gathered and one by one the doctor took of the bandages. Without fail, every patient ran past the doctor (who had repaired their sight) to a portrait of Kim Jong Il and thanked him for restoring their vision. That's just how hardcore the cult of Dear Leader was, anything good was his result.

Some of the fundies have the same beliefs, but instead of all good coming from a God-on-earth, everything good comes from the Christian God and everything bad comes from ignoring Jesus and/or Satan. It does make it easier to have an evil entity to blame your problems on. If you're a crappy employee and get laid off because you can't do your job, much better to blame the devil than your own suckiness. Or even better, pretend that getting fired is God's way of putting you on a better path (must be better because that's what God wants).

Somehow, when someone leaves a bag of clothing on your porch because you've got so many children you can't afford to dress them all, it's not charity, it's God's way of providing and telling you you're doing the right thing.

[emmiedahl]

I have lived in places with what I call a "hippie economy". That is, very little is thrown away and very little is bought brand-new; instead people with extra items let it be known in their circle that they have one X if someone else needs it, and people who need certain items let it be known that they need them in case someone has an extra. I really like this system and have both acquired and given through it. But the credit is given to the individuals and the community rather than to God. I mean, there is a lot of talk about serendipity but in general, I think the main purpose is ecology (not throwing away useful things even if you personally have no use for them) and social bonds. Nor is it an entitlement. No one *has* to give you shit, and a person who does not contribute to the best of their ability gradually is left out of the circle. Welcome to the commune :)

Real life example: I trade hand-me-downs with a relative and this batch was a little odd, to the point where I was considering just putting it most of it into the mud clothes drawer and buying some decent clothes for the child in question to wear when we are in public. Some of my facebook friends know what I am talking about when I say "odd". It ends up that most of it was bought when they lived in another country with different sensibilities. And I was discussing it with an IRL friend. It ends up her sister-in-law has a few boxes of clothes in that child's size that she was intending to give to goodwill and just never found the time. So emails were made and I picked up the clothes, thanked her, and she saved time while I saved money. That could, I guess, be seen as God providing but really, it is basic concern for each other and hippie economy. And I am so grateful, because she had no obligation to me.

I also have a friend who paid for a plane ticket for me with her airline miles. Things like that are amazing but I cannot imagine asking for them.

I guess that is the difference: gratitude being given to the giver, resulting social cohesion, and a lack of entitlement on the part of the receiver.