Have you ever loved any foreigners for doing charity in your home country?
Posted by CupBeEmpty@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 147 comments
Posted by CupBeEmpty@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 147 comments
halstead987@reddit
Define “loved”
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Appreciated a foreigner helping out here at home.
Seriously this isn’t clear?
myfourmoons@reddit
Appreciating and loving aren’t the same thing.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
My brother I write for a living and I said what I said.
GreenBeanTM@reddit
Having read some of the books that get published: thats not saying much.
Having read a lot of articles that get published: that’s REALLY not saying much.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Eh, I’m not concerned about my writing based on Reddit fake points. A couple state supreme courts liked my writing enough I’m ok.
I’m also smart enough to know I’m not a fiction writer or a good click bait article writer.
FunImprovement166@reddit
Is English your first language? That may be the issue
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Ah I guess you got it. English isn’t my first language. Hoosier is. I’ve been speaking that cursed tongue since I was a toddler.
SplitOpenAndMelt420@reddit
No not at all. If anything it sounds like you're asking if we've ever had sex with any of them.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Well heck, you have a really gross view of love for your fellow man.
You love someone or something and all you think of is fucking them/it?
I hope you don’t love your mom and dad.
rawbface@reddit
No, because that's not what "love" means
benkatejackwin@reddit
I mean, it's a weird question. Why wouldn't people appreciate anyone that's helps them, foreign or not? Like, do you think people hate them for coming and meddling or something?
I assumed you were asking in bad faith. Like, of course people in (fill in the blank developing country) don't just fawn over Americans who come over on a mission trip and build them a shitty church building or something.
rainidazehaze@reddit
Do you have examples, aside from wildfire assistance? I definitely appreciate that, but don't think of it as "charity".
The thing you're describing sounds like the thing that US Christian "missionaries" do in other countries they consider poorer, which as far as I know is pretty specific to the US flavor of evangelicalism at this point. Any charity work foreigners are doing here isn't publicized much, and we aren't going to have an opinion on something we aren't aware of.
EightEqualsSignD@reddit
Define charity!
-Boston-Terrier-@reddit
Charity wasn't dancing tonight but I donated plenty to Chastity and Candy.
revengeappendage@reddit
It sounds like the both of you are talkin about someone from another country workin the corner and finally uh, accepting your patronage lol
OhThrowed@reddit
What foreigners are doing any charity in my home country?
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Inspired by the #tartanarmy who are a group of Scots who are coming for the World Cup. They raised $10k for a local children’s hospital.
Up here in northern New England we get Canadians helping with SAR missions. Firefighting missions bring in Canadian and Mexican crews out west.
MrLongWalk@reddit
Given the politics surrounding the event this is probably more of a dig at the locals than anything else
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Not sure what you mean?
MrLongWalk@reddit
I’d imagine half the reason they did this was a sort of reminder of how they feel about American healthcare policy
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Nah the guys raise money for local charities everywhere they go for soccer.
It started with raising money for the former Yugoslavia.
They are apparently known for being the most wholesome football fanbase.
MrLongWalk@reddit
Fair enough
OhThrowed@reddit
That's really cool. It gets my respect, but love is too strong a word.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Maybe you need to expand your definition of love.
ENovi@reddit
You can expand the definition all you want but if you’re asking “Do you have positive feelings towards foreigners that do charitable work in your country?” then the way you phrased it is atrocious. Maybe you need to expand your understanding of verb tenses and synonyms for words with commonly understood meanings to avoid ambiguity.
Curmudgy@reddit
Maybe you both need to accept that English is an imprecise language for casual communication, and we should clarify the communication confusions without antagonizing each other.
Which probably applies to this comment as mine as well, but I can’t think of a gentler way of phrasing it.
ReliabilityTalkinGuy@reddit
What?
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Foreign charity on your home soil… was I not clear?
ReliabilityTalkinGuy@reddit
Not at all clear and you still aren’t. I think you might have to start over.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
So what wasn’t clear? Foreign charity or volunteer work on US soil done by foreigners?
ReliabilityTalkinGuy@reddit
My dude, just read your post title. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s right there if you scroll up.
DrGlennWellnessMD@reddit
I hope OP is enjoying whatever inside joke with himself he's making. It reads like our sub mod had a little too much to drink tonight
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Heh. Funny. I take it you don’t know me or my history?
big_sugi@reddit
Don’t know, don’t care.
ENovi@reddit
Are you asking if I’ve personally ever loved someone who came here from a foreign country and does some sort of charity work? No and I doubt the vast majority of Americans would say anything different because that’s way too specific. Plenty of Americans find love with people who came here from another country and plenty of Americans are involved with different charities so I’m sure some have found love there but the combination of the two is so random. This is why everyone’s confused. We read the title and don’t understand why you’re asking this.
If I went over to r/AskUK and asked “Has anyone ever gotten into a fist fight with a guy of Armenian descent during the 1st week of Fall?” they would all reply with the same confusion you’re getting here. What the hell prompted this?
Cumdog_Millionaire13@reddit
Jesse, what in the fuck are you talking about?
Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit
The "have you ever loved" and "in your home country" don't come across as straightforward.
Instead of:
Something like this might have come across better:
-Boston-Terrier-@reddit
I love my wife and children.
I respect those who help others wherever they help them.
The feelings I have for my wife and children aren't even remotely similar to the feelings I have for someone who donates to charity or whatever.
russki516@reddit
I think the word "loved" is throwing people off.
NormanQuacks345@reddit
Loved? In what way?
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Man you use the word love and folks lose their mind.
Let’s just go back to the greek term agape.
-Boston-Terrier-@reddit
I can only assume Cup is asking if we want to fuck foreign SAR crews.
FunImprovement166@reddit
I..... appreciate charity workers but never that much. Idk. It depends on the worker I guess.
Multidream@reddit
I’m not aware of any foreign charity in Georgia.
Traditional-Joke-179@reddit
I'm from California and shout out to other countries who give us aid during wildfire crises, including Mexico, Canada, and Ukraine.
LimeMargarita@reddit
We love Canada and their beast helicopters!!! <3
Meekanado@reddit
And Super Scoopers
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Super Troopers in VT… you almost made it
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
It is wild how firefighters across the globe just say “oh fuck I hate fire I’ll go wherever to stop it.”
Curmudgy@reddit
I don’t pay attention to the nationalities of people doing charity work. So, maybe, but I wouldn’t know for sure.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Now how about nationalities of lobbyists?
PA_MallowPrincess_98@reddit
Was this typed by a Mormon or a Christian who did a mission trip?
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Heh, oh yeah, I’m super Mormon… Dominus vobiscum my friend.
PA_MallowPrincess_98@reddit
I know you would hate me
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
You think I’m Mormon?
Curmudgy@reddit
I know you’re not Mormon, but maybe I can convince you to believe in Poe’s Law.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
I have been living Poe’s Law for decades and every now and then I get hit.
I should have checked the username… ass.
PA_MallowPrincess_98@reddit
I also put OR for a reason
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
I guess I have done a mission trip but only if you count local food pantry and homeless shelter?
Cumdog_Millionaire13@reddit
It was typed by a rape apologist that doesn’t see a thing wrong with feeding the beast that is the LDS church. VobiSCUM indeed
MrLongWalk@reddit
I can’t say I’ve ever known it to happen
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Canadian SAR volunteers should come to mind.
MrLongWalk@reddit
Genuinely forgot about them, I’d call that mutual aid more than charity
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
I’d put it in the charity category but mutual aid to be sure. Firefighters also fit there. Though northern New England needs less of them.
IMakeOkVideosOk@reddit
I don’t think there are many or any foreign charities doing work in the US that I’m aware of…
lolalynna@reddit
MEXICO!!!!!!
Help during hurricane season in Texas, Katrina and Ike.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Some dick bag downvoted you for being exactly on point. We have a lot of tension with our southern neighbors but when the rubber meets the road people go out of their way to lend a hand.
FunImprovement166@reddit
I will appreciate it if I see them do it, but I'd prefer to just like them as a friend.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
You don’t love your homies? You don’t kiss them goodnight?
Spirited-Way2406@reddit
Had a large group of foreigners in town for a government thing. They were all from a culture that emphasizes eating a specific diet that isn't easy to shop for in a small town. They bought the things they needed in bulk on their government budget and had them shipped in. When they left, they stopped by the food bank and dropped off so many frozen chickens that the clients were getting two and three at a time, and pallets of shelf-stable milk. The food bank has a tiny budget and can't usually afford either. Government contractors usually head straight for the Dumpster with the stuff they won't be using, but these folks took the extra trouble to make sure that nothing would be wasted.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Now that is a small time thing but how awesome is that.
MonicaBWQ@reddit
No, I am a n American. We help the rest of the world. But the favor is rarely returned!
thisismythrowaway417@reddit
The counties that sent firefighters to CA to help after the wildfightere, including Ukraine, Mexico, Canada and Iran, would disagree.
MonicaBWQ@reddit
I said rarely, not never. That’s one example. You are seriously trying to say that it’s balanced with the help the United States gives other countries and the occasional help that others send?
thisismythrowaway417@reddit
Other counties have sent aid after: 9/11 Hurricane Katrina Flooding disasters Wildfires And any number of other natural disasters that have affected the United States
QueenShewolf@reddit
All of the ones that came to help us after 9/11.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Operation Yellow Ribbon, technically not on US soil, but the Canadians are good friends
SirTheRealist@reddit
I don't really think it's even common for foreigners to do charity in the US. Does that really happen?
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
SAR crews here, firefighting groups, foreign disaster response.
Mac_and_head_cheese@reddit
I think this is more accurately referred to as mutual aid, not charity.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
When someone puts their life on hold to go help people I consider that charity.
WideGlideReddit@reddit
There are several foreign based charities that operate in the US. including CARE USA, Doctors Without Borders/MSF-USA, Amnesty International USA, and the International Rescue Committee. These organizations often focus on global relief but also provide services within the United States. In addition, other countries may send specialized workers to help during national disasters like Canada sending fire fighters to help with forest fires.
While the word “love” doesn’t quite apply, they are all certainly appreciated.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Let’s also not forget about Catholic charities which are technically run by the Vatican but are locally directed.
WideGlideReddit@reddit
You are correct!
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Indeed. My local homeless shelter and food pantry get some Caritas money but are mostly funded locally.
Catholic relief services just do good wherever they can.
milliemargo@reddit
I understand the ragebait Bravo Vince
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Hahahah rage bait? You realize I’m the mod doing the unrelenting positivity posts right?
milliemargo@reddit
You realize I am a reddit mod 🤓☝️
I genuinely thought this was a satire post about neo-colonialist saviors my bad champ 🤓☝️
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Heh, I did not. I’ve been around modding for a couple years. You can see the history of it.
It’s always fun to see what riles people up when you just try and be positive.
I have t been called champ in a while.
Help1Ted@reddit
Not exactly charity, but I decided to follow Tottenham because of what Joe Lewis did for my hometown. Basically created tons of high paying jobs and almost an entire city. Medical city basically exists because of his company and their development in the area. So while they definitely aren’t a home team for me, they sort of feel connected with my hometown.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
What motivated this post was Scots coming here for the World Cup and they just raised 10k for the local children’s hospital.
I’m absolutely flabbergasted by folks being so negative on this post.
Help1Ted@reddit
That’s really awesome!
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Agreed I think my problem was using the words “charity” and “love” because people online can’t wrap their minds around it.
Maybe if I needed the terms to “appreciate” and “volunteering” it would have gone over better.
PtZamboat@reddit
I really appreciate the Sikh community and their weekly food services to the poor every Saturday. They want nothing in return, don’t try to convert you or seek donations. They just do it
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Fantastic example.
Suspicious_Tax_6215@reddit
I worked with some lovely people from several different countries at Habitat for Humanity
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
I have family members that did that abroad and met people from abroad that did that here. Great example.
JohnMayerSpecial@reddit
Maybe not charity in America, but charity for Americans.
There is a graveyard for fallen American ww2 troops in the Netherlands in which locals make a point of adopting a grave site to clean and maintain. Some get passed down through families and some try to learn about the soldier
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
That is right in line with what I’m talking about.
Salty_Dog2917@reddit
Pfft no. The only charity foreigners do around here is canvassing for politicians.
thisismythrowaway417@reddit
Mexico sent firefighters to help with the California wild fires
PabloPicasshooole@reddit
If by charity you mean marrying me and putting up with my shit, then my lovely and long-suffering wife.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Hey let’s just quote Adam Smith
Your wife is doing the yeoman’s work there 😉
jrc_80@reddit
I love anyone who gives their time & toil in service of others
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Agreed.
Hoosier_Jedi@reddit
CupBeFullOfWhisky 🥃
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Heh my man. It’s been a good long while and the username isn’t about that anyway.
But don’t worry we’re getting to unrelenting Hoosier positivity soon.
Pitiful_Bunch_2290@reddit
NBA players to a lot for the communities they are in. We love them for it, for sure.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Oh I didn’t even think of that! So many of our foreign sports players give back in very positive ways.
thisismythrowaway417@reddit
As you will quickly see in the comments, foreign aid in America is not typically well known. It’s not shown on the news, or typically well publicized.
Most Americans are unaware of how which foreign aid we receive.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Oh I’m now seeing it with massive downvoting
We don’t usually need foreign help but plenty of foreign aid folks still come to help and I think it’s sad folks don’t realize it.
I like the “all hands on deck” mentality a lot of foreigners have.
That’s not to knock the very American all hands on deck mentality. I think lots of folks are unaware of foreign help or willfully unaware of it.
That’s no slight against all our foreign aid workers or our own generosity. But man, it’s hilarious to see the downvotes for what I hoped would be a positive post.
rawbface@reddit
I have never seen foreigners do charity in the US. It's not common at all.
Porcupine-in-a-tree@reddit
I have no idea what you’re asking but my partner is European and does the dishes sometimes so… yes. Yes I have.
superkt3@reddit
Everyone loves Jose Andres, so yes?
IHaveBoxerDogs@reddit
American citizen, Jose Andres?
superkt3@reddit
Spanish born chef, Jose Andres?
IHaveBoxerDogs@reddit
So, no matter what he’s still a foreigner?
MsPennyP@reddit
There was that one time in Vulcan WV, we asked the soviets to help build back a bridge and it shamed our own government enough to actually build back the bridge. (Late 1970s).
If the Soviets would have been the ones to build it though, that would have been funny and nice.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Hahaha commies trying to seem like they’re altruistic.
MsPennyP@reddit
Nah they were just wanting to embarrass the us. Nothing altruistic at all. But funny how West Virginians knew where to ask to hit the govt where it hurt.
BuildNuyTheUrbanGuy@reddit
Yeah the thousands of Hondurans who rebuilt after Katrina
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Leaving out the Guatemalans and Mexicans.. how dare you.
BuildNuyTheUrbanGuy@reddit
I just know that Louisiana has a pretty significant Hondouran population since the storm.
bucknut4@reddit
I mean… I did marry a foreigner but it wasn’t because she was doing charity work
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Just don’t tell her you are doing the charity work because that won’t go well
NoFewerThan31Bees@reddit
I remember a bunch of Mexican firefighters deployed to LA during a large fire there last year, and I thought that was really great
IHaveBoxerDogs@reddit
I believe there were Canadian firefighters too.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Mexican, Canadian, Australian, and German if I recall right. Firefighters just hate fire.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
The foreign wildfire fighters are awesome. Just a “fuck it you need help we’re here.”
-thegay-@reddit
Some regions do receive charity help, but it’s usually from within other parts of the country. I live in West Virginia, and our population is increasingly elderly and our infrastructure is aging poorly.
There are orgs who bring volunteers from all over the country to update/upgrade homes, add ramps, clean up downtown areas, etc. and it’s likely some immigrants or visitors are in the mix.
ABelleWriter@reddit
I LOVE West Virginia, and it breaks my heart how hard it is in some parts of it.
-thegay-@reddit
It’s a beautiful area with hardworking people and lots of potential. It’s just managed so poorly. Nobody in Charleston is looking out for the poorest areas nor advocating for our precious untouched environments.
FunImprovement166@reddit
Hell yeah brother bury me in these hills.
JennItalia269@reddit
I can’t say I’ve met too many.
log0n@reddit
Uh you realize you’re talking about the richest most powerful country to ever exist.
We might treat our citizens like shit & many truly need any assistance they can get. But if I ever did encounter a foreigner doing charity work here in the US I would sincerely thank them but question why they chose to come here out of genuine curiosity.
nowhereman136@reddit
After 9/11, the Maasai Tribe in Kenya sent to the US 14 cows as a gesture of sympathy. That was really cool of them
Current_Poster@reddit
I know you can write more clearly than that.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Heh, you say that. I’m surprised you don’t take my meaning.
Which_Loss6887@reddit
Not sure I understand the question’s intent, but yes. A lot of the help post-Katrina came from outside the U.S., and folks in SE Louisiana and coastal Mississippi haven’t forgotten. Even the help that wasn’t pure charity (like Mexican and Honduran laborers and trade workers coming to do the tough work of cleanup and rebuilding when local workers were far too few for the enormity of the job) is still remembered here like it happened last week.
Seth_Littrells_alt@reddit
“Loved” is a bit much, but I’ve known some foreign folks who came to America and made a new life here, and who have done great charity work that I respect immensely.
The really key thing that I think is interesting is how much those folks tend to consider themselves “Americans”, even if they weren’t born here. As unwelcoming as some in this country have become to immigrants these days, this is still a place where people come to make a better life. Even a middle-class life in the suburbs of Cleveland, or Newark, or Spokane, or Phoenix, or Hartford, or Hattiesburg, or Dallas is miles more comfortable and free than the situations that the majority of people on earth wake up in every day.
KaiTheG4mer@reddit
Is that a thing that happens?
mightbetheproblem@reddit
I've never seen it. I appreciate any person who does charity but I would assume you were here for your own reasons and just happens to be a person that is charitable by nature, not the you specifically came to do charity.
sean8877@reddit
I've loved a lot of foreigners, and they all told me I was a charity F-. So I think that counts.
ObjectiveElefant@reddit
I’ve never seen that happen. Americans go on charitable missions in other countries and give a lot in tax dollars, but I don’t see people doing that here, from other countries. Have some maybe come to donate their work and time during natural disasters? That could be and I’m just unaware.
kaimcdragonfist@reddit
What
GenZ2002@reddit
No fuck charity we are very anti-charity
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