kicking puppies is bad

Let me start by saying that I realize that I shouldn’t criticize people who donate things to charity. Presumably, they are trying to help save the world. In most cases, I applaud this. With that being said…

I recently started volunteering at Friends Helping Friends, Inc. (formerly: Rochester Food Not Bombs). I needed something to replace Sojourner House’s Study Buddy Program (which only runs during the school year). I thought FHF would be a good place to try. The volunteers seem slightly crazy (like most volunteer organizations) and I think their newsletter mentioned Satan (and I generally try to avoid the religious nut cases) but overall I think they do good things.

While sorting clothes in the FHF consignment shop I came across some fairly unusual items. These were things that I generally assume most people don’t buy from consignment stores (like used garter belts). But I was OK with that. I came across some fairly unstylish items (like an entire collection of 1980′s style neon spandex leotards, and a pair of gold lamé hammer pants circa 1988). I was OK with those too. After all, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. I try not to judge the donations. Then I came across the “Nasty Pants”. My ability to be “non-judgemental” was challenged.

I was going through a bag of recently donated clothes, when I pulled about a pair of white sweat pants with some sort of ginormous, nasty, crusty, disgusting, yellow stain in the crotch. Now, I’m not an incredibly squeamish person, but these were NASTY. And I thought, “What kind of person would throw something like that in a donation bag?”. Don’t you realize that some poor volunteer is going to stick their hand your donation bag and pull out a very unpleasant surprise? How hard would it have been to wash your NASTY pants before putting them in your donation bag? I mean, really? SERIOUSLY? What were you thinking?

I guess my main question is this: Do you get off on knowing that some unsuspecting person is going to happen upon your NASTY pants, or did you actually think someone might want to purchase them?