On Causes...

Lots of us, in this day and age, have a cause. Obviously, for me, it is going to be CHD and Cancer, for others it is Autism, for yet others it is something else, and others something else.

And that's fine and dandy. It's good to have a cause. Drum up a bit of awareness, get some support, some sponsorship, raise money for a charity. Go nuts, it's a good thing to do.

However...

The rise of Social Networking seems to have created a monster - an ACTUAL monster - that is National or International Day/Week/Month. And you know what pisses me off about it?

Yes, something pisses me off about it.

It's the fact that these National/International Day/Week/Months are random, spammed out by people willy-nilly, have NO bearing on the cause, and even occur randomly throughout the week/month/year. And SOME of these causes are clearly just made up on the spot.

Now, I am NOT going to pick on any cause in particular - I've had to wade into the middle of "My Problem Is Worse Than Your Problem" arguements before, and they are not pretty. So for the sake of argument, we will call it use the curse that is little ol' me.

We can all agree that plenty of people have been afflicted by the thing that is Dan English. Lots of people have suffered at the hand. So someone has set up a support group, it's gotten loads of members, gone national and spread internationally. Go your little support group. The whole world now knows about the issue that is Dan English.

So all the groups come together, and decide to make September Fight Against Dan English Month. 1st to the 30th is filled with fund raising events, reach out to others that have been affected, raise money for a cure, drum up even more awareness... Politicians are contacted, and voice their support - even though they too are unaffected by this curse, they stand behind it, sign a petition, and voila! September is Anti Dan Month.

One person in one group decides on Facebook to make the second week of August Anti-Dan English Week. She makes banners, and spams it to all her friends that - not knowing any better - spams it to their friends, and to their friends and so on. Someone else decides the 20th January is going to be Anti-Dan Day, and again, makes banners, spams around and so on and so forth.

So now, we have Anti Dan Month, Day and Week. The month is the official date, but because of others, there's now a week and a day attached too. However, because of the monster that is Facebook, some inadvertantly clicks on Share in mid-March on the Anti Dan Week. All of a sudden, everyone thinks there's an Anti Dan Week in March as well.

Same with the day. And oops, someone has done it again. And again. And again.

NOW we have the whole of September, and every third week appears to be Anti Dan Week, and every eleven days, it's Anti Dan Day.

But wait, there's MORE!

Someone else, seeing all these Anti Dan Days and Weeks decides to break it down further - and decides to create Anti Dans Voice Day. Someone else sees this, and goes for Anti Dans Fist Day. And so on and so on. They break the general problem down into sections because, well, whatever - they feel those problems are the worst of all the problems.

To be honest, if you've made it this far down into this post - and understand everything I've written - then more power to you, well done. According to Twitter and Facebook, this week is three different causes weeks, and May has four different things attached, because people are sharing these random banners willy-nilly.

And it's pissing me off. Next time you see one of these "It's Such and Such Awareness Day/Week/Month!" head over to some of the big-names in these areas, and check out their websites. More often than not, you will find there is no such thing...

On the flip side of the coin, is this a bad thing? Is it bad that people churn out banners for made-up dates to raise awareness? Maybe not, however, if you have the same thing appearing at your door being rammed down your throat, do you A) warm to it more and more, or B) just get more and more pissed of with it?

No need to answer.

And before you riders of high-horses jump on board and start crying at me, don't bother. I will only delete your comment. And probably ignore you. Assuming you do it with your ACTUAL name and not "Anonymous"

And no, I am not talking about you out there that talk about the things you do, go through and such like. Please re-read the post and understand I am talking about National/International Cause Day/Week/Month rubbish, not you talking about the stuff you go through.

Yes, I am tired, hurty and humpy.