2026-09-05 18:58 UTC
Replies (1)
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@MaddieM4@raphus.social 2026-09-05 20:24
@ramsey@phpc.social Reading this back, I also think I need to draw a line between "vanity project" and "evil." I think a lot of these places aren't evil per se. They just don't exist to do good - they exist to make someone with a lot of money *feel* like they're doing good. This can, and up to a point *does*, overlap with actually doing useful and positive things for the world. But it's still a loose proxy. That's what we're seeing: situations where vanity and charity don't overlap, and it becomes clear which force is animating these organizations, and the answer isn't flattering. That doesn't mean donated money is totally wasted, it means there's a complex trust issue at play, where I have to be honest with myself "this place is primarily about someone's ego and incidentally about fighting oppression - what floating point percentage of my donation will do something that matters?" I'm not saying they can't act as allies, but when you're relying on them as allies, you're scraping the bottom of a barrel.