Greenpeace panhandlers on Holland Ave.

[modpixie.livejournal.com]

Has anyone else been hassled by the panhandlers for Greenpeace on Holland Ave.?

By "hassled" I don't mean "been approached with the 'do you have fifteen minutes for the environment" spiel. I do mean "yelled at for refusing to acknowledge the person in question".

A few days ago, I got out of the Holland St. subway station and took a sharp right out of there. I had my eyes trained on the ground, didn't make eye contact with either Greenpeace rep, and one guy kept asking "do you have a minute, do you have a minute, do you have a minute". I ignored him. He was about 5'10", stocky, brown hair, wore glasses and had a large star tattoo on his neck.

On my way back, he was still there, and he apparently spotted me. I walked around the tree to avoid contact with him, and he said, "I can see you. That tree isn't blocking you. You can still see me. You can still hear me," as well as some other things I can't remember. Because I'm on a fixed income I didn't have any money for him, and I don't know that I would donate to Greenpeace anyway, but I also didn't have the time or the inclination to explain my ambivalence towards Greenpeace. So, instead, I asked who his supervisor is.

He responded (in a "duh" voice) that his supervisor was "uh, me". I informed him in no uncertain terms that because he was so rude to me, I wouldn't give his organization one cent, based on his behavior towards me. If you're representing an organization, you can't go around accosting people in the street like this, especially if no one is happy to see you there in the first place.

Comments

[damsel-ophelia.livejournal.com]

Contact this guy:
Paul M. Moriarty
Regional Coordinator
Greenpeace USA (Boston)
617.728.7600
I dealt with this same crap the afternoon of that really huge snowstorm a few weeks ago, in Central Square. I'm of the same opinion as you - I'm not going to give money to an organization where the folks asking for money are rude or hassling. Canvassing sucks - especially at this time of year when everyone is tapped out - but there is no excuse for this behavior.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

This is one of many reasons I don't give money to those people.

Greenpeace is pretty notorious for hiring the obnoxious: there was a post on b0st0n put up a few months ago by somebody all butthurt by people being rude to him. I'm sure you can guess how THAT ended!

[modpixie.livejournal.com]

i'm guessing it ended in a rather not safe for work way...

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Well, a flame war, but yeah, pretty much. He didn't like it when I told him he was being used and he annoyed people. Apparently it's not supposed to be annoying when he does it.

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

I think that might have been Eric, my current roommate's ex-boyfriend. He's undoubtedly an asshole and his recent tactics have been pretty geurilla since his number of sign-ups have been steadily dropping.

Wish I could tell you how to get rid of him, but the best I could do would be to instruct you to tell him, "Mari never loved you and thinks you're a crazy asshole."

Haha

[prog.livejournal.com]

Oh dude. If someone actually tries this they must post about it here immediately.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

BWAHAHAHAHA I love how many of us are feeling the exact same way!!!

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

I moved to Dorchester last month, but I'm tempted to go up to Davis after work today for no other reason than to do that.

Oh man, that would be pretty fun.

[ruxxell.livejournal.com]

yeah i used to see that guy down at downtown crossing for whatever other money-on-the-street activism thing he was doing. hes really obnoxious and shit. i just ignore him.

[visage.livejournal.com]

Wish I could tell you how to get rid of him, but the best I could do would be to instruct you to tell him, "Mari never loved you and thinks you're a crazy asshole."

So, purely for curiosity's sake, how is Mari pronounced in this case? :)

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

Like Mary.

[tisana.livejournal.com]

Lovely.
I haven't run across it in Davis yet (thankfully) but I have had plenty of obnoxious encounters with them, including one where I was stuck talking to a GP rep while waiting for a ride, and arguing with the guy why I didn't think it was a good idea to give my credit card number to a total stranger on the street.

No, seriously.

While I do like people making an effort to be more green, I have no problem being a little more confrontational in return...and please don't feel bad for trying to avoid them. They're obnoxious.

[ron_newman]

Credit cards?? I always assumed they just wanted your spare ones and fives.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

Not anymore. They want $10/month for life.

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

My husband got suckered into this a few yrs ago. He is very "green" and really wanted to donate. They took his credit card info ( I yelled at him when he got home for giving a cc to someone on the street lol) and apparently never told him it was a monthly deduction. I saw it after a few months and when I called to ask why this was happening they told me when he signed his name it was for a one year commitment not a one time payment. Anyways...the point is yea they do take credit cards.

[sasha-bee.livejournal.com]

Jeez.
Once I was volunteering around Cambridge and someone came in and asked for a job in the organization, explaining that he'd just been fired from Greenpeace for getting into a fistfight while wearing the Greenpeace t-shirt. Classy!

[ellf.livejournal.com]

I'm not a violent guy, but the idea of starting fights with Greenpeace canvassers sounds like a worthy task, a la Fight Club.

[xpenni-lanex.livejournal.com]

I go to BU (*waits for the snarking to begin*), and I actually had one woman follow me and yell at me after I told her I couldn't talk at the moment because I was headed to a class and was going to be late if I stopped.

I now "listen to music" or "talk on my cellphone" every time I'm near them.

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

I now "listen to music" or "talk on my cellphone" every time I'm near them.

This is unrelated to Greenpeace, but it reminds me... Does anyone know that guy who panhandles outside the Porter Square Dunkin Donuts? He yells at everyone who passes until they acknowledge him or are out of earshot, and it doesn't matter if you are on the phone or listening to headphones and can't hear him, he'll just keep shouting. He's not really hostile or offensive; he mostly yells "HEY! HEY! HEY!" over and over, and if you do say you can't give him any money, he'll say, "No need to be sorry." But it still makes me uncomfortable to have this guy shouting all the way down the block. I also feel like he's edged out the guy who used to be there more often, who was always much more polite - now that guy, I'd give some money or food when I could.

Anyway, just needed to vent about that one.

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

The other day (Wednesday, I think), I passed Greenpeacers in FIVE different spots on my way from home to work to the post office, and we're talking about probably a half-mile radius. This gave me the bright idea to tell one guy "I just talked to your friend around the corner," even though I had walked right by him. And then it occurred to me - I could say "I just gave money to your friend around the corner." Because then what can they do? They certainly can't expect me to give more.

So there is my new devious plan.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

I'm slightly ashamed to admit that "you guys already got me" or some variant is one of my most common avoidance tactics. Hey, sometimes it's true... I just hate talking to strangers, I won't take calls either, I'd much rather donate on the web or by mail. I know I've avoided on-the-street reps for organizations I have actually donated to. They won't call me if I specify "do not call" whenever I donate to them or whatever, but there's never a "do not harass on the street" box to check.

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

Oh, I also like to use something like, "I'm in a rush right now to drop this off, but I'll be coming back this way in a minute when I'm done," when I don't plan to come back the same way. (This works even better when someone is stationed outside a store when I plan to use a different exit, haha.)

I don't know why it's so much easier to make up a semi-elaborate lie instead of just saying NO, but it is.

Smart

[shana-lyons.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't apologize if I were you. Donating online or via mail is the smart thing to do here. Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.com), whom I love, has a bunch of articles about how to be a smart donor and allows you to thoroughly research charities before donating. It makes sense to make sure the $ you're giving will be used effectively. I used one of their tips on what to do when you get called by a telemarketer the other day with the fundraisers for the Hillary Clinton campaign. Suffice it to say, the telemarketer was displeased. I think it would work well on the Greenpeace guy.

Anyway, here's the article:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=224

Enjoy

Re: Smart

[ron_newman]

I got a call from the Clinton folks, and my caller ID shows a bunch of other calls whose phone numbers google to that campaign. When they called, I simply said that I had not yet decided who to support on February 5. Which is the truth.

Re: Smart

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Those people are merely great opportunities to practice confrontation (something most people are weak in).

[ron_newman]

http://community.livejournal.com/ovrheardboston/20035.html

If you want to be seriously rude you could wear this or one of the many other variations.

[modpixie.livejournal.com]

too bad this one (http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid18157.aspx) is no longer available.

(and given the NSFW haven that is b0st0n, there's no way i'm clicking on that link...i bet someone has made icons from the scarring moments in 2girls1cup.)

[ron_newman]

And minor nitpick: it's Holland Street, but Highland Avenue. (Not to be confused with Highland Road which doesn't even intersect Highland Ave.)

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

If you shout 'NO THANK YOU' with a big smile on your face, it works 90% of the time. The trick is to do nothing other than shout 'NO THANK YOU' no matter what they say. You can turn it into a game: see how many times you shout 'NO THANK YOU' until they stop!

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend and I create a fake fight in order to avoid the GP folks. We start shouting at each other and they run the other way -- it's a good gimmick. Another good method is to start talking in a fake foreign language....