Wow...I feel like some of the posts in this thread are extremely disingenuous and self-satisfied. It seems like some folks have an active mission to not understand where people are coming from, so that they can tout an "ERA is awful and you all are bitter and cynical" type of line.
Let me address a couple of things:
"You won't donate...? Why not? Do you want him to die?" -- Is this really that hard to understand? Let's say someone accosts you on the bus, maybe they simply mock you or insult you, maybe they say something racist, sexist, or deeply cruel. Then you hear them talking to their friend on the phone about how their medical bills are so high and they might not be able to afford them. Is your first instinct to turn around and open up your wallet/write the guy a check?
If it is, that's great. Sure. I believe you. You do you. But I think it's wild that you simply CAN'T understand why somebody
wouldn't do that, or that you think somebody who wouldn't do that is an "irredeemable asshole".
There are thousands and thousands -
millions - of people around the world who can't afford their medical bills. All of us, every single person in this thread, chooses not to spend every single penny they have to help those people. Do you want all those people to die...? Instead, you spend your money on your rent, food, clothes, entertainment, kids, and so on. If you have extra for charity, you choose causes that you care about, whether cancer research, LGBT support, women's health, men's health, etc.
Heck, you might even donate to a stranger's Gofundme. You come across two Gofundme accounts: one from a person who doesn't express any views one way or the other, and one from a person who has covered their page in white supremacy messages.
Which do you choose? You only have enough money for the minimum donation to one.
Maybe you look into your heart and say, "Wow, I'm going to uplift this white supremacist's life with my money, and maybe he'll change." Well. Okay. Sure. You do that. But can you really not understand why somebody
wouldn't?
Let's look at a few test cases:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/prominent-us-'gay-conversion-therapist'-david-matheson-divorces-wife-and-comes-out-as-gay.95641/
David Matheson was a gay conversion therapist...I hope we can all agree that this was a deeply harmful, awful, terrible role to play in society. Now he's sick and needs money.
Do you contribute? If no, why not? Do you want him to
die...? Should he die just because he used to tell gay people that they were sinful and wrong? Shouldn't you be opening your wallet right now for this guy?
https://www.resetera.com/threads/fbi-arrests-roger-stone.95642/
Roger Stone, political hack and crook, is on his deathbed. Let's his say that a policy that he has specifically lobbied for has hurt you, or people like you. He starts a Gofundme account to pay for his medical bills, even though you know very well he has plenty of money to pay for it himself. He's probably lying about needing the money, but you're not sure.
Do you contribute? If no, why not? Do you want him to
die...? Should he die just because he used to be rich and a right-wing asshole...? What if he's telling the truth about being broke? Well, you better just believe him and open up your wallet...you don't want him to die, after all.
https://www.resetera.com/threads/ev...-passenger-forced-her-to-wipe-his-butt.95033/
Maybe you remember this disgusting story from a couple of days ago. This dude suddenly comes out and says, "Yes, I did those horrible things, but now I'm on my deathbed, and I can't pay my medical bills", and links to his Gofundme.
Do you contribute? If no, why not? Do you want him to
die...?
We all make value judgments about what we support or don't support. Oswalt donated to someone who abused him and who has abused others. That's fine. He can do that. Some folks are saying. "It's naive to donate to an abuser and a bad person, I'll reserve my money and care for people who have not been awful." Is that really so hard to get your mind around? The idea that this reaction would make someone an "irredeemable asshole" is such a terrible,
terrible take and absolutely divorced from reality. Good lord.
"You don't want to contribute to this guy, and yet you support socialized medicine. Hypocrite much?" -- This is a ridiculous comparison. Paying into a larger system that supports the whole is a neutral value judgment. Specifically choosing one guy or charity to give my money to is a positive value judgment. In one case, money goes out into the ether and is distributed in a neutral way that I don't see. In the other, I specifically say, "I'm giving my money directly out of my wallet to this person." These are completely different things.