So I have a wedding today. Yesterday the girlfriend and I went to Old Navy in search of some cheap "summer casual" wedding clothes. I found a nice polo, a pair of khakis and some black undershirts. As usual, my girlfriend found nothing to wear in the entire store. I noticed a tiny TV playing some military crap at the front of the store with a bin that read "t-shirts, boxers, and socks". We waited in line at the check-out and our cashier greeted us. She rang up my stuff and made small talk with my girlfriend. Right before I was ready to pay, she asked if I would like to donate $5 to the troops in order to get 10% off my purchase. I laughed and commented that I was a troop. This was apparently not funny. She looked at me and said "Well you can donate $2.50 too for 10% off." I laughed again. Explaining to this girl that absolutely none of these clothes or cash would go to troops that actually needed it would be an exercise in futility. Care packages and MWR packages go to people that spend the majority of their deployment time at the PX and Burger King.
The girl was stonefaced. "So because you think you're a troop you don't need to donate?" In my mind, I pictured myself smashing her face open with my fist. I could see her nose crack, her lip split and teeth come out. Luckily my girlfriend stepped in: "He's already donated 5 years of his life, with one of those in a combat zone."
The girl was unrelenting: "You can donate as little as $1 for 10% off!" I swiped my credit card and left with my shit.
Well done Old Navy. I'm not sure what reward you're giving your cashiers for pushing this 4th of July bullshit. I used to shop at your stores almost exclusively for my clothes. I will never shop with you again.
Colors
7 years ago
I just learned something about you that will cause me to remove you from my reading list. One persons deployment is not as important to you as another's. I totally get the "fobbit" crap. However, a year is a year, and without the fobbit, the whole thing falls apart as well. Regardless, some folks have given well more than one year in the fight, both inside and outside of the wire. At least Old Navy and this employee are making an attempt to support. Lastly, in our current financial state, one dollar for 10% off... jeez man, who can't use a little extra cash in the pocket. I guess I would just save my anger for one far more deserving of it... IE: Jodie Evans, this is someone we can all get behind exposing as a waste of space. Check this crap out: http://bigpeace.com/dlee/2010/08/21/code-pink-tells-gold-star-mom-your-son-deserved-to-die/
ReplyDeleteI respect your opinion, however it is very naive to believe that everyone's combat deployments are the same. Even within the same unit, deployments differ. We had to learn to use our own SKLs to fill our radios because our commo attachment could not be pried away from World of Warcraft to help us. I received an AAM for learning the radios inside and out enough that I was one of the go-to guys for it in the company. When care packages came in, they were thrown on a picnic table in the BN/CO area and open to rat fucking; by the time we got back to the FOB, the only shit left was soap and Reader's Digests. My friend just got back from Iraq: he was a chow hall NCO that oversaw the paperwork of the chow hall. He spent about 4 hours a day on Excel tracking food in/food out and spent the rest lifting weights and sleeping. He came back, bought a house with his cash/VA home loan then managed to wrangle 100% VA disability and medical marijuana. He sits at home smoking pot and playing XBOX while getting mad at me because I can't come over to go fishing whenever I want to. He's 24, has absolutely nothing really wrong with him but is set for life because he was able to convince anyone and everyone that would listen that his deployment was the toughest deployment any soldier has ever experienced.
ReplyDeleteI was on vacay when this popped up and I'm finally getting around to answer. Here's my opinion...no one should EVER try to pressure or shame you into donating to a charity.
ReplyDeleteThe root of the word: 1137, "benevolence for the poor," from O.Fr. charite, from L. caritas (acc. caritatem )
Interestingly enough, the definition for benevolence has this as one: (in the Middle Ages) a forced loan or contribution exacted by English kings from their nobility and subjects
You have every right to say NO when you just want to buy something and get out. Screw that chick.