Rattling the Cyber Cup - Online Begging Gone Wild!

Crowdfunding has exploded in popularity, but one has to wonder if this creative way to beg online is overcrowding the Internet. If a serious entrepreneur needs funding or a worthy cause needs charitable support, a page probably has been created and is searchable on one of the popular crowdfunding sites. However, what if one needs that cool pair of shoes, a new wardrobe, an iPhone, a new car, travel or living expenses, an abortion, or white privilege? 

Toon Credit: bbfox

Toon Credit: bbfox

According to one GoFundMe page, Kyle needs a new pair of shoes because, well, he messed up his left shoe and needs a new pair. The funding goal, however, is for $1K. Hmmm . . . maybe Kyle needs several pairs of new shoes. 

On Clothes for Cam his buddies are requesting funding for a guy who wears torn clothes - evidently his friends are embarrassed to be seen with him. The video that accompanies is creative begging at its finest.

Last year Jamie's Birthday iPhone 5 was started by a friend because she was tired of Jamie's old phone. And more recently, this August, To Buy New Freedom begs for help in replacing a wrecked Geo Prism.

Many of these online begging sites are meant to be silly, like The Boobe Sisters Take Maine, where an entertainment group is asking for funding with the promise that  your donation will cover travel expenses, as well as Fayé's birth control, Reneé's booze, and Kayé's holy water. While Need money for . . . everything appears to be a budding artist's plea to support him while he makes it in Hollywood. 

However, along with the frivolous and silly attempts to capitalize on the tolerant simple-minded of society are a few rotten eggs unworthy of funding. One such attempt on GoFundMe has recently been taken down due to complaints that crowdfunding for an abortion sends a terrible message. The page was titled "Stop Bailey From Breeding Fund" and tried to sell the sob story that “Bailey is currently unemployed, completely broke, in debt, and in no position to hold down a job due to severe symptoms of a rough, unplanned and unexpected pregnancy.” Having just moved to Chicago from Phoenix, Arizona, Bailey says she’s 23, likes to read and go to shows, and really, really doesn’t want to be a mom.

Perhaps one of the worst of these was created July 9th by Yaya M (on Twitter as Your Black Friend @yayaswhitepriv). Yaya, in begging for help obtaining white privilege to the tune of $135K, claims:

Although I have layered oppressions that have affected my ability to access my slice of the American Pie™, no issue has affected me more readily than my lack of white privilege. From being assumed to have "cheated" my way into programs for gifted children AND college (via affirmative action), to having my natural hair viewed as unprofessional amongst professional peers, to having people make negative assumptions about my competency level, interests, and job knowledge, to being viewed as naturally dangerous or threatening, my lack of white privilege has created numerous obstacles as I've struggled to successfully compete in a white dominated workforce. I am hoping that, through this campaign, I will begin to make some headway towards closing the gap that white privilege has created in my life.

Yaya has even been kind enough to suggest donation levels, ranging from $5 to $250, which come with black privilege perks:

• $5 - Be My Friend!
• $15 - Prove It!
• $25 - Facebook Friend
• $35 - Talk Like Me!
• $65 - Connect With Me
• $75 - Grove Like Me!
• $100 - Eat Like Me!
• $200 - Live Like Me!
• $250 - Worldstar!

Crowdfunding, which began as a creative way to fund charities and serious projects, at its worst has become seen as shaking the cyber cup. Paying for things in a bleak economy stinks, but if one cannot afford what one desires, it's time to peel the butt from the couch and find the kind of job which will bring in more cash.