The Kids Today: Charitable Causes
Ben Rispin has played in a lot of bands (like the Video Dead and the Saint Alvia Cartel). He’s toured with some more bands he wasn’t even in (like Jersey). And he was nominated for a Juno for Best Rock Album (really). With The Kids Today, he shares his years of hard-earned wisdom with a new generation of totally sweet dudes and ladies.
I know, I know that charitable causes are good. Helping kids and cancer and all that stuff is good for them and good for the soul and whose soul couldn’t use some saving? But things are getting out of hand and certain people hardly know what they’re fighting for. Many just team up for “safe” causes because it makes them look like they give a shit about more than their reflection.
For some ungodly reason I was watching E! Talk daily and the topic of Travis Barker and DJ Am’s plane crash came up. The quote that followed the horrific story was this: “Lindsey Lohan has spoken out on her Myspace Against The Tragedy” (you may want to read that sentence twice).
How does one speak out against plane crashes?
The first image that came to mind was a post on a hot pink myspace that read: “Dear friends, this is no time for LoL’ing. When will this madness stop? Don’t people know plane crashes are terrifying and dangerous? stop the madness!!” I then imagined a charity event hosted by her and her gay DJ pal and all the other young Hollywood train wrecks called “Plane and Simple.”
Will Lindsey Lohan get her head out of the blow pile on whatever vagina she’s eating long enough to actually think about what she’s saying any more than getting her assistant to write a blurb on her myspace? And how many “fans” will actually buy into this “awareness”?
To be honest, what the fuck is all this “awareness” doing? I’ve put my looney into some Darfur awareness bin and actually felt good about myself. What? because i give a buck to “awareness”? Here, give me money and I’m going to tell you that living in Darfur probably blows massive balls. Here’s a pin or a ribbon. Fuck, we all suck. Maybe everyone who needs a cause that isn’t part of an international organization that will actually do something, can start looking for ways to better our situations at home. Our homeless, our citizens with drug problems. Then you can raise awareness and follow through with action. My cause today is making people “aware” that “awareness” is fucking retarded. Because I, like everyone else, am a hypocrite. Go Vote.
Hmmmm….Ben….I totally agree with you as far as “charity begins at home” and I really like your instructions to vote however, awareness never hurt anyone.
Perhaps I am missing the point here…
We are born “aware” that is; knowing that we exist and knowing there is other things going on around us. When we speak of awareness as far as your article goes I think your talking about educating folks about what is happening in the world around us.
It is very unfortunate that the “entertainment” media and some celebrities are watering down the concept of “caring.” And I agree it is a joke when someone like Ms. Lohan gives her two silly slutty cents about something that isn’t really a catastrophe.
I think we do need to be as “aware” as possible so that we can make correct decisions about whether to “care” or not. I am not saying that I want people not to care (apathy is probably the biggest problem with our generation, how can we cure this….hmmmm) but I am saying I do agree with you, to many people side with “causes” that they know nothing about.
Truth be told, however, I think there are many people in Darfur right now that would give anything to be a drug addicted homeless person here in Canada! I am sure they would rather be cold and homeless rather than raped, beaten, family killed in front of them and finally sold into slavery.
I understand many peoples frustration with not knowing what to “give a shit” about and we all often end up feeling like useless. I think it is more important to be aware of our own situation and if we think we are really well off and could handle helping someone worse of than ourselves, than perhaps we should.
If you know in your heart, you don’t really care, well than by all means… don’t be aware and make no apologies for it. However,
my comment paragraphs posted out of order sorry….my fault whoops
as i told you on fb, its satire to be taken with a grain of salt.