Is it just me.....

[Kirkwooder]

or does anyone else think that the bell ringers next to the red kettle over do it?

Is it a bad thing if I wonder if it would be as annoying, to the person ringing the bell, as the ringing bell is to me, if I shoved the bell up their ASS!

MY mind works in dark and mysterious ways!

 

[Homercidal]

No. I think about the people who could use that help to get through their daily lives and then I think about whether I have and money in my pockets and then I think I should try to have more money in my pockets this time of year...

 

[dkennedy]

Generally they don't bother me at all. Winter is a season of need, my family has been there. Fortunate enough to be able to donate a bit to worthy causes who need a hand up, now.

That said...there is a guy who works a bell-ringing shift at the local grocery who is borderline at his greetings. Makes you feel a bit guilty for just walking by. Maybe that's just an overreaction on my side, but I feel that the bell gets the point across, don't need to prolong the interaction. Maybe the bells are getting to him

 

[DrunkleJon]

This time of year is my personal hell. I may be grumpy and all, but the bells, the incessant usually terrible holiday music, the crowds of mouth-breathing self-important asshats, the stress of coming up with gift ideas for loved ones who honestly have too much crap as it is all piles on to make me extra surly.

About the bell ringers. Do not get me wrong, I am definitely one for charity, and I donate to charities. I just do not like the begging charities, the bell is added noise and the ringers (what an awful/annoying job that has to be) are begging with the additional addition of guilting you into donating.

I did have to laugh though, seeing one who stood out amongst the rest the other night, they had the fastest bell ringing I have seen

 

[Melana]

The bell ringers make me walk faster. I've had a horrible headache for a week now and that noise is like running an ice pick through my brain. I do like to help others out and give in my own ways - i'm just not into giving to anyone that begs for it.

 

[Kirkwooder]

I have no problem with charity. However, I do believe that the bell ringing is pure Noise Pollution! It seems they look for the people that are the most annoying on the planet and give them lessons on how to become even more annoying!

I have even been known to support business' that don't allow the bell ringers this time of the year and avoid those that do.

Happy holidays everyone!

 

[Kirkwooder]

- i'm just not into giving to anyone that begs for it.

Ummm........ no I won't go there. lol

 

[b-boy]

The bells don't bother me. The in-your-face bell ringers do. The ones that position themselves right in the path of the store entrance, open the door for you, and make it a point talk to you.

I generally drop some money in a kettle if I see one. I don't like being made to feel obligated to do that, nor do I like being made to feel guilty when I don't.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

I don't know why but the Red Kettle bell ringing always reminds me of Monty Python's "Bring Out Your Dead" skit. Yes. Strange. I know.
I guess there's just something very ancient about summoning people with a bell. Admittedly, I think they'd do better with an accordion. But what do I know eh?

 

[DrunkleJon]

Maybe if they really wanted to rack in the dough they should just start recruiting those bell ringers to (wo)man a irish coffee selling cart at the same stores. There is nothing annoyed shoppers need during the holidays more than a strong drink to make them more... jolly.

 

[kkramer56]

Ummm........ no I won't go there. lol

Good call...........heheh

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I kind of like the bell ringers, mostly because they are a sign of the season. I make eye contact, try to get a smile out of them. I know for many of them it is their only "job" for the year. At the same time, I'm not a fan of who they work for, so I never donate to them - I put my charitable contributions elsewhere.

Is it a bad thing if I wonder if it would be as annoying, to the person ringing the bell, as the ringing bell is to me, if I shoved the bell up their ASS!

This would only be a bad thing if you had posted it anywhere but in the Drunken forum.

No. I think about the people who could use that help to get through their daily lives and then I think about whether I have and money in my pockets and then I think I should try to have more money in my pockets this time of year...

More money to give, or more money to stay in your pocket...? I ALWAY think I should have more money in my pockets!

That said...there is a guy who works a bell-ringing shift at the local grocery who is borderline at his greetings. Makes you feel a bit guilty for just walking by. Maybe that's just an overreaction on my side, but I feel that the bell gets the point across, don't need to prolong the interaction. Maybe the bells are getting to him

Some of the bell ringers can be a bit pushy, some are a bit dull. I'm thinking about stopping on my way in and asking what hot beverage they like, and bringing them one on the way out.

About the bell ringers. Do not get me wrong, I am definitely one for charity, and I donate to charities. I just do not like the begging charities, the bell is added noise and the ringers (what an awful/annoying job that has to be) are begging with the additional addition of guilting you into donating.

Some of the stores around me don't permit the bells, so the ringers are given a cardboard bell to shake. Those ringers tend to be friendlier, so there may be something to the theory that the bells bug even the ringers.

i'm just not into giving to anyone that begs for it.

Ummm........ no I won't go there. lol

And yet you did!

I have no problem with charity. However, I do believe that the bell ringing is pure Noise Pollution! It seems they look for the people that are the most annoying on the planet and give them lessons on how to become even more annoying!

This is closer to the mark than you might think! I worked many years in community mental health, and many of my clients with chronic mental illness looked forward all year to earning a little holiday money. But there is a reason they don't have any other job!

I don't know why but the Red Kettle bell ringing always reminds me of Monty Python's "Bring Out Your Dead" skit. Yes. Strange. I know.

So I just flashed on a manic bell ringer and the dead cart racing to keep up the pace.

Maybe if they really wanted to rack in the dough they should just start recruiting those bell ringers to (wo)man a irish coffee selling cart at the same stores. There is nothing annoyed shoppers need during the holidays more than a strong drink to make them more... jolly.

Here in Washington they could sell something a bit more exotic....the buckets could be for ashes...

 

[Kirkwooder]

Is just me.....or do DiGeorno pizzas have too much sauce on them? Every time I cook one of these, the first time I bite into the first slice it squirts molten hot pizza sauce out all over me. I find myself nursing another third degree burn on my upper lip this morning!

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Oh, that is a brilliant use for this thread. Is It Just Me... Followed by a rant!

 

[Tin4]

Is it just me... or do kids these days have it to easy? I was in the store the other day and everyone was on iPads. When I was a kid it was gameboy, gamegear, lynx, gameboy color, and so on.

 

[Airplanedoc]

Around here, we have several that sing christmas songs/carols. All of which are actually really good singers, unlike if I were trying that. To me the bell ringers are also much less intrusive than the other people collecting money for various charities at the door of stores. Most just stand there ring the bell and say thank you if you throw something in the pot. Much better than trying to sell me some crap I don't need or want for a donation.

I actually feel sorry for the Salvation Army in some respects, because who has change anymore. 99% of the time when I go to the store I just swipe my debit card. I used to always throw my change in the kettle on my way out of a store so I didn't have to deal with it. I'm sure I was not the only one who did that, and it probably added up to quite a bit over the holiday season.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Is it just me, or is the signal-to-noise ratio on HBT a bit too low? And does this thread help contribute to it?

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Oh, that is a brilliant use for this thread. Is It Just Me... Followed by a rant!

Think of it as a sort of Forum-Posting-Tourette's. (hereafter known as FPT)

 

[how1]

Is it just me or does anyone else have a brother-in-law that shows up every dang holiday with a six-pack of beer, proceeds to drink everybody elses beer, gets totally hammered and when he leaves takes his six-pack of beer with him?

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Is it just me, or when you hear a brewer express their main concern over a possible stuck fermentation as the lower alcohol content, you think they might not be brewing because they actually like craft beer?

 

[FloppyKnockers]

The bell ringer in front of my local grocery store sings christmas carols in her shriekiest voice along with the horrid bell. I kinda want to give her a buck eighty every time I see her...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTfNcrQqgX0[/ame]

 

[Kirkwooder]

Best buck eighty you ever spent!

 

[CreamyGoodness]

I think I have just had a moment of brilliance. I'm going to use this as parenting wisdom. You have the right to be annoyed by anything at all at any time. Everything from the bell ringers doing good works but being loud and repetitive to guys wearing derby hats and handlebar mustaches "ironically".

However you have no right to NOT be annoyed. Your state of annoyance is your own problem. The only recourse you have is to vent, and the bell ringers and handlebar mustache douches will continue to be there tomorrow. Freedom of thought for all annoyed persons and their annoyers both.