[plainsong]

Yeah, that was a really bad post. Epic fail. It's been said, but, when you have given as much as those you are bashing, then you can go on every chat show you want and say whatever you want about any one of them. Otherwise, you don't have much to say about anything.

Michael J. Fox helped raise money and awareness for Parkinson's research... the person. He has Parkinson's, what does he think he's on about, daring to do anything for that cause? I've lost all respect for him.

Maybe it doesn't sound ridiculous to the OP, but it does to me.

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've tidied this up from the rant I stuck on facebook (IE, made it family safe for the sensitive head-fi audience). BBC NEWS | Health | Pratchett funds Alzheimer's study Terry Pratchett. Terrible that he had to develop a brain disease of course, I wouldn't wish that on anyone... So yes, tragic and all, millions of fans upset they'll get a few less books out of the chap before he either goes doo-dah or dies but today he dropped right out of my "nice chaps" group (I do enjoy Discworld books, they're easy to read and fun enough.) I usually keep one in the toilet, the loo is not a place I like to do anything in the way of difficult reading. Anyway he now belongs to the "selfish, self-interested, morally bankrupt, fools mascaraing as saints chaps" group. He joins Christopher Reeve, Bob Geldof, Bono et al. He has pledged half a million quid to Alzheimers research. Jolly good stuff Terry, nice of you to be so charitable about it all. OH. WAIT. You've just got the disease diagnosed, so really, you're a hollow, selfish man. Your charitable act is rotten on the inside. Pratchett is a selfish git. Compare this half million in selfish donation money from Pratchett towards the disease which he finds out he has, to the £100 million that Jeremy Beadle raised during his shorter life for charities for illness. Beadle had withered hand syndrome, but his money went to leukaemia research. When Beadle died, people made jokes. When Pratchett dies, I'll bet there'll be national mourning. It makes me feel a little sick in the back of my mouth. Understand. Its not the money giving thats the problem. I'm happy to see millionaires giving their money to good causes, it helps do a lot more good than the pennies collected in the tubs on the end of bars, I just makes me furious that its donated in such a massively selfish way.

He gets this disease.
Now he knows what it really means for people to get this.
That moves him to give his money to to help stop it.
Good thing.

I really think your rant is rather foolish.
Think about it and imagine yourself in his position.
And forget about your model of the world and the obligations you think other people have in that model.

 

[Quaddy]

maybe if the OP stops for a second and personalizes this.

what if, god forbid, hope it never does, but either himself or a family member became afflicted with the same disease.

would you then be slagging off celebrities, namely pratchett for donating more than the trusts would normally receieve in a few years by normal donating standards, regardless of how 'selfish' it may have been thought of.

knowing his very donation could have largely impacted on the treatment, care, new facilities local to yourself which indirectly are aiding you or your family!!!!

pratchett is just doing what most of us do, its the it wont happen to me syndrome, it doesnt make him a bad person!!

you are effectively damning him for not donating to a specific cause before he had knowledge of it in his own life, something 99% of people share in common i am sure.

seems like you are the one suddenly jetisoning any respect for pratchett after he is diagnosed, treating him like some sort of leper! which is a far greater aspersion of you than him donating large monies after the event to help future sufferers.

if you had written in your post that you, a healthy youg man, a student, had been donating and doing charitable work for similar organizations, then your rant would have had more credence from your perspective.

a donation is a donation, as clinical as that, it all must help! i couldnt care less about the reasonings, nor would the families of someone receiving life quality enhancing treatment i bet!

having said all that i agree with you whole heartedly regarding beadle. an unsung hero in terms of selfless charity work.

 

[Al4x]

FAIL

if i were suffering from said disease i wouldnt really care if the money was given completely selflessly, what is given selflessly? not much

and of course he wont see the cure, it wont benifit him medically at all, and im sure he knows that

he didnt have to give at all

EDT about beadle, until i sae the program on tv i had no idea, he didnt publish it, thats unusual these days

 

[shigzeo]

hey duggeh, you are a great philosopher but i think you looked at too acute of an angle to really get anywhere here. i will never probably buy stax omega ii nor ergo but i love to read your epic reviews that amount to small books.

perhaps you were being ironic, having a laugh at us for spotting on your post, that must be it because this post is either really showing your age or you have hit a wall that is not in your ability climb up.

fun thread though, no doubt on that.

 

[fordgtlover]

While the best form of giving may well be selfless and anonymous, a good deed that stands to benefits others should be recognised as such, regardless of the initial motivation.

Quote:

The author told the conference he is prepared to go to extreme lengths in order to beat the disease. He said: "Personally, I'd eat the arse out of a dead mole if it offered a fighting chance. "I am, along with many others, scrabbling to stay ahead long enough to be there when the cure comes along.

I don't think he's doing it for the glory.

 

[NacMacFeegle]

Sorry Duggeh...fail.

 

[wanderman]

INDEED...you fail.

 

[stewtheking]

I think maybe enough has been said for Duggeh to respond to if he wishes. Just repeating "fail" is not helpful. Perhaps if he were to clarify his position, which seems like a gut reaction more than a considered position, that would be good.

 

[GlendaleViper]

I'm not going to beat the dead horse here, but people's priorities in life change, especially when a life changing event has affected them. Pratchett's career was writing novels, not philanthropy.

 

[fordgtlover]

^

I came back to this thread to post something similar to stewtheking. perhaps duggeh has a perspective on this issue that hasn't been articulated yet.

Perhaps I'm getting old, but I don't really understand the concept of people just piling on when someone posts something they disagree with. If I disagreed with someone in real life I woudn't sit there and simply say fail. I'd be seeking to better understand their position and then state my reasons for disagreeing.

 

[ecclesand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ I came back to this thread to post something similar to stewtheking. perhaps duggeh has a perspective on this issue that hasn't been articulated yet. Perhaps I'm getting old, but I don't really understand the concept of people just piling on when someone posts something they disagree with. If I disagreed with someone in real life I woudn't sit there and simply say fail. I'd be seeking to better understand their position and then state my reasons for disagreeing.

I think people are responding that way because of the utter disbelief they experienced after reading Duggeh's original post. When I first read it, I thought it was a joke but then quickly realized that he was serious. Perhaps he holds dying philanthropists to a higher standard than most of us, but I found his rant in poor taste.

 

[saint.panda]

Somebody just lock this thread.

 

[Hopstretch]

Say what you like about the man, he is quite honest about his motivations and he sure has a way with words. From the Beeb story:

Quote:

"I am, along with many others, scrabbling to stay ahead long enough to be there when the cure comes along," Pratchett said. "Personally, I'd eat the arse out of a dead mole if it offered a fighting chance."

Classic.

 

[Audiofiler]

It's hard to gage in others' actions when it comes to acts of giving, whether you have too much or too little in the way of finances. Perhaps the Pratchett foundation has been making charitble donations over the years, and this is just a lump sum payment gaining more attention. Wonder if Duggeh's position holds more than the initial post..