Not-quite fandom stuff

[ratherastory]

Y'know, I think it's awesome that Random Acts is trying to raise a ton of money for Haiti. God knows, that country needs all the help it can get in order to rebuild after last year's earthquake.

It's just... I am seriously uncomfortable at the idea of fans "raising" $5000 in order to go with Misha et al. to Haiti in order to have a more "personal connection" to what they're doing, or whatever. I just can't help but feel that that aspect of this fundraiser is entirely made of fail. The idea of a group of tourists (feel free to disagree with my nomenclature, but to me that's what they are) going over to witness how grateful the natives are for their munificence just sets my teeth on edge.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. After all, the money is going where it's supposed to, so it can't be all bad. It's just pushing several of my squick buttons.

Comments

[embroiderama]

You're not alone.

[sinnerforhire.livejournal.com]

I thought they were going over there to do work on a rebuilding project. Am I wrong?

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

I probably missed that aspect of it.

[peppervl.livejournal.com]

You're not. But realistically, how many of the people who raise the money, especially if they're fangirls, are going to have the practical skills needed to make a real difference? If unskilled labor is all that's going, wouldn't it be more effective to use the money to hire locals or pay to bring in someone who does have specialized skills? There are already plenty of people there who have no experience building things. What good is 40 more going to do?

I think it's a good idea in theory and that Misha and Matt definitely have their hearts in the right place. I just think that they may be underestimating the determination of the obsessed fangirl and that the fans may be underestimating what really needs to be done.

[saberivojo.livejournal.com]

Yeah it feel a little skeevy. Not that I'm not appreciative of the thought behind it but maybe that's were the problem is.

It doesn't seem altruistic does it?

[morganoconner.livejournal.com]

When I first heard the idea, I thought it was great, a wonderful way to get people really interested, and to give people a real chance to help in a way they wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to do. A way that feels more active than just sending money somewhere and forgetting about it.

But...the more I hear about it, and the more I see, the more I've been kind of squicked by it as well. Not just because of what you said (though that's gotten my back up as well), but also because it seems far more like a contest than people genuinely wanting to help. I doubt most people are looking at this project as a way to make a difference, but as a way to get to say "HA, I spent a week with Misha and Matt!" And that...bothers me. Maybe more than it should, and maybe I'm completely wrong, but...

I dunno. Hard to articular all my feelings on the subject. I like the idea in theory, but I'm not sure how much I like the way they went about it. :\

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Exactly! The idea was good, but the execution of it seems... off.

[pinkphoenix1985.livejournal.com]

I think that it's great that people are raising money but honestly? I don't really like the whole "give money, get a reward" thing. I know that it brings in people along with their money to the fundraisers but I firmly believe in giving for the sake of giving you know? I give money and I don't expect to get anything other than a heartfelt thank you for donating and even I don't have to get that ;)

And on the relevant note- WHAT?!?! I knew that Random Acts was raising money but I didn't know about this!

[peppervl.livejournal.com]

I like the idea of donating for a reward when it's something like the fandom auctions where it encourages people who might not otherwise donate give a small amount and lets people who can't donate money still help contribute. But everything given there comes from an outside source.

This, where a lot of people are likely doing it for the wrong reasons, rubs me wrong. As do things like the donation requests you get in the mail, promising blankets or stuffed animals or picture frames or whatever for donating a certain amount. People should donate to Haiti/Random Acts because they want to, not because they'll get to hang out with Misha and Matt. And charities should spend their donations on their cause and operating expenses, not on buying and sending out trinkets to donors.

I guess I feel like there is significant potential to do harm or take away from the good being done with both of those scenarios, where in something like a fan auction, there isn't, because the fic/art/goodies/whatever being offered comes from a completely outside source. If that makes sense.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

I agree with you, but at the same time I'm glad he's doing it.

I kind of want rich people who just want to "spend a week with Misha and Matt" to "win" - and then end up working 12 hour days doing hard-labour, they ordinarily would have never signed up for. I think it will teach them a valuable life lesson.

And, hopefully, some of them (like my friend who signed up to raise money, but doesn't expect to win) will have read the fine print and know that Misha will only be there for two days and that they WILL be working in the heat and sun and will NOT look pretty...and they'll be the type of people who would have volunteered even if Matt and Misha weren't there.

Now, that all being said, I think Misha and his RandomActs crew are still trying to figure out how to paddle the boat they made - and sometimes you have to make some mistakes in order to figure out what works and what doesn't.

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

I actually think they know what they're doing here- especially when I look at the fine print. Extraordinary cynicism is a necessity in non-profit endeavors. You justify it by the fact that it's for idealistic reasons. (I mean, I routinely try to organize events where I think of using people's children as "bait", in the sense of providing something that parents want to take their kids to so I can try and talk the parents into volunteering. And when I AM talking to them, I'm not above trying to guilt them into it, talking about all the sad girls just waiting for someone to make a difference in their lives. It's all true, but it's a very cynical way of thinking.)

[fuzzytale.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on that. The 17yo and I were discussing issues like that just last week - how charitable tourism is made of fail. How about if they just added the cost of their airfare to their donation? And honestly, going to 'help' on a building project is frequently no help at all. All that means is that they're getting their warm fuzzies hammering some nails instead of a local, who probably really needs the money, being hired to do the job.

[fuflowers.livejournal.com]

I agree this is a good idea to a point, but you're not alone in your feelings that something is a little "off" about this.

[primrose-1.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard about this particular aspect of the fundraising. I can't really judge a person's motives for this, but if they're paying the money to go, then they should be able to go, and I'll assume it's for really being there to help. If I felt the need to go and help in Japan, there are other organizations I would connect with to do it.

[annie200.livejournal.com]

I agree, but I'm kind of putting it in the category of all the high society balls and functions that raise a lot of money by exploiting people's desire to be seen in the "right" places.
Having said that, I'm hoping that one of the reasons that Misha is appreciated is because he does charitable stuff, and maybe that's what draws these people in the first place, so perhaps they aren't just superficial wannabes? And if they are doing it for the wrong reasons, at least their money is going to a good cause!

[4422shini.livejournal.com]

I have a hard time donating money to anything because I'm all too aware that many 'charitable' organizations only send a small portion of the money, or it ends up in a officials hands, or it only gets spent on a community that doesn't really need much help, or it's all a scam and they don't give any money. This is mostly why I never give money to door to door fundraising and phone callers asking for donations. Charity is tricky that way. Not that I entirely believe that Random Acts is fail-proof, but at least if they're going down there, they can see where their money is going, right? But yeah, 12 hour labouring to tourists... that amuses me to no end.

[nyoka.livejournal.com]

I went into a long email discussion about this with someone just last week. And at the end of the day it doesn't sound as problematic as certain Western-run humanitarian orgs. out there, so I think it's fine. It's a rebuilding project, right? Not just a "tourist" trip. So I see the participants as volunteers, not tourists. And if it's a legitimate rebuilding project, it's not really any different from any other volunteer operations of that nature -- bringing people in to build a school. It's exactly what Habitat for Humanity and the Peace Corps do. It's what thousands of Alternative Spring Breaks do across the country every year in bringing college kids to hard-hit areas to volunteer. The only difference is that Misha is using his celebrity as a way to reach volunteers.

Here's what I wrote to someone via email: Okay, I've looked at it and I actually think it's not a bad thing. It honestly sounds like a Habitat for Humanity trip, and I can't hate on that b/c I really like the HfF model and it's a model that works and has done some amazing things. It's basically a volunteering and educational trip overall, right? I like that folks have to raise a certain amount of money to even go. That to me makes it a functional fundraising endeavor where folks are bringing those funds and we are SEEING those funds go directly into building the community center. I like seeing where the money is going and people being able to see their money make a change on the ground.

I'm not saying that there are not problems with Habitat for Humanity-based models -- there are many problems with the volunteering and humanitarian aid industry overall -- but I don't see them as problematic as I see a lot of other Western-led humanitarian work. Because at least with Misha's group, there is a sort of accountability here -- seeing the money going to the work on the ground -- that you don't see with other groups.

At the end of the day, it's complicated. I use to be a lot more critical of these sort of ops, but after working on the humanitarian side for a while, I've shifted to being cautiously supportive. Because honestly these sort of celebrity do-gooder fundraising and volunteer operations do actually do more good than bad in the end. I've seen it in New Orleans and I've seen it in Haiti. Because they are actually DOING something in terms of needed aid work, and they are exposing people to what's happening on the ground, which is a necessary thing b/c we all know the American newsmedia is not doing its job. And at the end of the day that's one of the ways we create social change -- this sort of work has the chance to actually politicize people.

You don't know how many clueless priviledged kids I met in college who only got politicized through going to the developing world and volunteering abroad. And often times that opened the flood gates to them learning about issues in their own backyard and being social change activists. So if there is a chance of politicizing people from the US about the fucked up situation going on in Haiti via a volunteering trip with Misha/Matt...I say let them do it. I've seen some good come out of these sorts of trips because hopefully those women will learn something and maybe just maybe one of them will find ways to work for social change once they return to the US. Even if you create just ONE politically-conscious person, it's one more person that we had before. You get what I'm saying?

At the end of the day, I rather Sean Penn and Brad Pitt (and Misha Collins) be around than not. Because these sort of celebrity-run operations are at least doing something in places where most of the world overlooks.

[hsifeng.livejournal.com]

This X 1000. I have a couple of friends who are currently hustling to get $$$ for this trip, they are socially aware folks and know what they are getting in for (can you say, "Breaking Rocks For Fun"? I knew you could!). Sure, I am certain that the prospect of some sparkly time with Misha and Matt is adding a certain squee factor, but a nice hard look into a place where deprivation is an ongoing fact of life is something I think everyone should experience.

You can’t buy that kind of perspective, but thankfully I think everyone who goes on this trip will get it as a ‘free gift with purchase’.

And honestly, I tend to think well of most of the folks in our fandom. They may go down there with little more than a desire to score some personal pics with the guys, but I think they will leave with a lot more than that. And knowing how this community works, I expect that at least some of them will continue on in the spirit of what they learn.

And even a few more folks putting their shoulder to that particular wheel is worth it.

[honeylocusttree.livejournal.com]

You're not wrong.

[yasminke.livejournal.com]

Nope, it pushed some of my buttons, too. If I'm going to raise $5,000+ for a charity, I want a lot more transparency than that, for start.

[surevesta.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what to think, honestly.

However, the execution is similar to other charities that I was involved in or friends were as a teen only without the actor issue. Thirty Hour Famine, for example, has you raise money and then fast while doing a service project (my HS youth group one year went to an extremely impoverished reservation one year) where they cleaned up an area. A few of my friends raised money and then took a flight down to Costa Rica? or another country where they did various service projects. My cousin went on another one this summer where she helped rebuild a school and tutored some kids in English for a summer somewhere in South or Central America. Some friends raised money and then paid for their own transportation to be involved in clean up and rebuilding projects in the aftermath of Katrina.

To me the only thing clouding whether or not this is a "noble" cause is whether the individuals plan to participate in the rebuilding or are only there for the actors. I'm guessing that varies by individual, but honestly most of the projects don't require a ton of skilled labor as they have people in charge who are skilled and direct you on what you should actually be doing.

[faunaana.livejournal.com]

Considering how many ppl STILL do not get how problematic the Haiti!BB was - including the writer - any moment of clarity for one person involved in this will be worth it.

Besides, isn't the refrain against ppl spending this amount of money on cons "its their money, they can so what they want"? Then surely spending this money is not only their prerogative, but makes the world a far better place than it was before than any con can ever do.

[bellatemple]

I admittedly spent about 30 seconds looking at it, then thinking "well, if I'm going to go to Haiti and help rebuild, I have other avenues to approach it from." (Which is certainly not going to be everybody's experience -- a family friend with a very successful solar panelling company is sponsoring the rebuilding of a town on the Dominican Republic border, and my father and I have both said we'd be willing to go and help out, too, if he needs unskilled labor that can lift things and follow directions.)

But the bits and pieces I've heard about it since have had me making faces. As with a lot of what Misha and Random Acts does, I can see the spirit of it, and I approve of the spirit, but the execution seems a bit misguided.

[erickajane.livejournal.com]

I kinda see it as a win-win situation, but at the same time I know what you mean. It bothered me a little bit just because I know some of these people are raising money for the single purpose of meeting/being with Misha, and not to help Haiti. But at the same time I'm like, Haiti needs all the help they can get so good for whoever chips in. And Misha likes connecting with fans so I guess *shrugs* it works lol.

[faithburke.livejournal.com]

It all depends on the attitude going in and the quality of the unskilled labor. My church does this twice a year, once in the early spring to a non-profit ranch in Canada that works with troubled kids and once in late summer to Mexico. Neither one is a vacation in any way, shape or form. The one in the spring involves 12 hour days clearing brush, repairing buildings, painting, whatever needs done. In Mexico they do similar work for a church there. The people who organize these trips are trained carpenters/plumbers/electricians who are good at what they do, and those who go raise their own money. The people in each location know the core group because we go to the same places every year, and they know that the people involved will do whatever it is they need for as long as they need it.

Hmmm...

[onechairleft.livejournal.com]

If people are genuinely willing to spent their time fund-raising just to spend a more time doing backbreaking labour *just* so they can get a photograph taken with Misha... well, I think they kinda *need* the kick-in-the-behind reality check that will come with being in Haiti and seeing the devastation, and the poverty, that exists there.

Being honest, and less cynical, I don't think anyone could seriously volunteer for something like this without at least wanting to help in some way. There are easier, cheaper and less difficult ways to spend time with a celebrity. IMO, anyway.

There are some charities that bring skilled tradespeople from the first world to third world areas for just this purpose- but the problem is that skilled tradespeople don't have the time, mostly, to spare that young, uneducated, unmarried, kids do. And when you're running a charity, you do what you can with what's available- and if what's available are fangirls... well. So be it.

[marziebarz.livejournal.com]

Hi, um, saw this when I was trying to find one of your fics and thought I'd leave my 2 cents.

I think that they have the right idea with this, the whole raising money to go thing; I've gone on trips to Mexico with some friends from high school, and part of the deal was that you had to earn the $1200 to go all by yourself, through bake sales/christmas tree sales/manual labor, whatever. The idea was that the family we build a house for raises money for the supplies, so in solidarity with them we raise the money to pay for our trek. It's a good motivator and when the people we help realize that we worked hard for the opportunity to help, they're really grateful to us. I think if the $5000 has to be raised like that, its a great idea. If the $5000 doesn't have to be worked for in its own right, fangirls will take it over and that seems like a bad thing.

I kind of really want to go, since I have actual semi-kind-of-not-really-legit construction experience (I helped build half a house, it should count for something =P), but I'm a freshman in college. I think it would be both an awesome experience and a ton of fun, but fangirls that go will probably get a rude awakening when they actually try and work.