People are often self-involved and feel entitled to just have stuff done for them. I have worked an event for University orientations for 3 years that involved shirts being given out to a certain group of students; divided into 8 sub-groups. As a gift for the students, we provided each member a t-shirt (colour determined by sub-group). We go to great lengths to obtain external funding for the shirts so they are provided to students absolutely free of charge. The amount of moaning and b*tching we hear about something being given out to people is astounding. Students have complained about colour, tried to lie their way into a different colour, or (my personal favourite) decided they absolutely needed one of each colour thereby depriving 7 other students of their shirts.

“Look, look, it’s not ME who’s lazy; it’s the CRAZY LADY who pointed out we are losing a tradition because everyone is too self-involved to bother helping”

Nothing says “thanks for all those years of hard work, we really appreciated it” like “yeah we showed up every year, but none of us actually enjoyed the event enough to lift a finger now that you have decided you’ve put enough years in”.

People have a tendency to form a sense of entitlement when it comes to events like that and never bother to consider the amount of work required for them to enjoy such things. As the author notes, they didn’t just pack up and leave without warning; they did it for their kids, the kids have now grown up, they tried to find new blood for 3 years while the veterans were still willing to help so new people didn’t have to be completely overwhelmed with the job, and no one seemed to care about it. It says more about the neighbourhood than the author of the note that they would let a tradition that one can only assume they all enjoyed die because no one wanted to step up and help.

I have had one friend who always goes out of her way to say she will attend one of my kids’ parties when she could have just RSVPed “no” from the get go and I would have had zero problem with that. Not mad or hurt at all. But she said she was totally coming only to not show up the day off with no call or message to me whatsoever. Then when I check on her because I was worried something bad happened to her, all I get are some lame excuses. This is the kinda behavior I am bitching about.

And besides, this isn’t an issue of “lie” versus “truth;” it’s just social convention. Not worth the potential offense in thinking about it in such black-and-white, idealistic terms. Frankly, that really puts people on the defensive, no matter how they answer you. They don’t owe you answers, nor do their answers have to fit your definition of “acceptable” or not.

Plus it just goes on and on… did anyone notice that the whole note didn’t quite make it into the picture? There was more harangue in that harangue.

LW listed event insurance et al to show how much work the previous volunteers had to do in order for everyone else to have fun. Worked their fingers to the bone, and this is the thanks they get!

Really, it sort of backhands their previous goal of finding new mart… err.. volunteers.

Parades suck. I have despised them like a dentist appt since I was old enough to walk away from the creepy clowns in mini-cars.