Out of the goodness of its heart, GoFundMe now says it will return the Convoy donations without the need for special requests
How nice of them.
Last night I wrote a post describing how GoFundMe – apparently with the gentle urging of the Canadian government – has decided that the peaceful Canadian Freedom Convoy is actually not peaceful enough [see *NOTE below] and will be curtailing its ability to get donations through GoFundMe, and giving donors’ money to other charities unless the donor makes a specific refund request.
This apparently raised more of a hue and cry than GoFundMe expected, with donors threatening to do things such use credit-card charge-backs, which would cost GoGundMe money, and perhaps to even sue. This seems to have focused the minds of GoFundMe’s powers that be, who have now decided to refund people’s money automatically. How incredibly magnanimous of them.
Of course, they’re not saying it’s because they stood to lose some money themselves. They’re saying it’s actually to “streamline” and “simplify” the process of getting refunds. But it was always glaringly obvious that automatic refunds would streamline and simplify the process; somehow the giants of GoFundMe just figured that out? I don’t see how anyone could believe such claptrap.
I hope that, in the future, movements on the right understand that GoFundMe is not the place to raise money for anything. There are other platforms with which I’m unfamiliar, but I imagine that a search on something like DuckDuckGo for “conservative alternative to GoFundMe” would lead to some.
[*NOTE: In fact, the only violence I’ve seen reported has apparently been against the convoy.]
As was pointed out on the other thread, GiveSendGo is one alternative site.
The villains of Big Tech are not simply the usual suspects (the ideologically-biased Goolag, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter, all of which are hostile to freedom of expression for anyone perceived to be hostile to Biden, skeptical of the narrative of the “Branch Covidians” or merely somewhere on the right), but also PayPal, GoFundMe, and many others such as Airbnb, which recently refused to allow Michelle Malkin and her non-political husband to use its service because of her political opinions. This is a problem which is likely to become increasingly more severe as there is no easy solution to this kind of technocratic tyranny.
Totalitarian mindsets never willingly give up their power. Their lust for power and control springs from a great empty hole in their souls. Which they seek to fill by first imagining that they can run other people’s lives better and then forcing that control upon them.
History repeatedly demonstrates that power must be pried from the totalitarian’s cold, dead hands. No sane person wishes to see violent conflict but a refusal to do what is necessary ensures that violence will be imposed only by the totalitarians. Comply or else is the totalitarian’s final answer.
“Eric Holder is trying to steal the Midterms…”
https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/eric-holder-is-trying-to-steal-the-midterms/
“MANDATORY VAX: Austria Enacts COMPULSORY Jabs for All Adults on Saturday”
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/02/05/vaccination-against-the-chinese-coronavirus-has-become-compulsory-for-all-adults-in-austria-as-of-saturday/
“My name’s Cedar, and I’m with Airbnb’s Trust team,” the Nov. 24, 2021, email began. “It has come to our attention that you were a keynote speaker for the 2021 American Renaissance Conference earlier this month in Tennessee. Airbnb’s community policies prohibit people who are members of or actively associate with known hate groups. Due to your promotion and participation in a known white nationalist and white supremacist conference, we have determined that we will remove your account from Airbnb. This is consistent with action we’ve taken to ban people associated with this conference in past years.”
Are you people in business or not? You realize they have to devote human resources to tracking the opinions of others before they hit a ping, and they’re doing it for some reasons and not others? Why add to your costs this way? Who persuaded them to do that and why did they accede to it? Note the bogus ‘reputational risk’ excuse given to Gen. Flynn by the bank which shuttered his wife’s account.
And, you’ll also note, they rely on the $PLC, which was exposed as a corrupt direct-mail mill by local newspapers in Montgomery in 1995, and expose given wider distribution by Harper’s magazine. Why would anyone rely on the $PLC unless they were scrounging for an excuse?
The arrogance of these people.
And the arrogant ignorance of others, including some of my dear friends. Here, for example, is the title of an article, from the Toronto Star, that a friend of mine has enthusiastically “liked” on Facebook: “Freedom Protests Are White Supremacy in All Its Glory.”
It’s so discouraging. And I have dinner every Sunday with this friend. I don’t talk about politics, and if she brings the subect up, I just let the moment pass while recalling Peter Boghossian’s wise advice to let friends be wrong.
I just read (at Fox, I think) that GO Fund Me changed because Di Santis Planned to open an investigation, Pushing back seems to work.
MollyG,
Best not get on her bad side. The way you describe her, she’s in alignment with the following;
“Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democratic voters would favor a government policy requiring that citizens remain confined to their homes at all times, except for emergencies, if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
– Nearly half (48%) of Democratic voters think federal and state governments should be able to fine or imprison individuals who publicly question the efficacy of the existing COVID-19 vaccines on social media, television, radio, or in online or digital publications.”
“COVID-19: Democratic Voters Support Harsh Measures Against Unvaccinated”
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/partner_surveys/jan_2022/covid_19_democratic_voters_support_harsh_measures_against_unvaccinated
So… 48% of democrat voters would imprison every commenter on this blog, most especially our host. Thought crimes carry heavy consequences…
Geoffrey Britain,
Wow. Even I did not realize how crazy some people are. Lots of people, to judge from those polls.
At a holiday party in December, I found myself standing next to a neighbor. She, like her husband, is a Canadian scold who became a US citizen in 2008 in order to vote for Obama. As we stood there, she went on and on about how “the unvaccinated” do not deserve medical care in an ICU or any other part of a hospital. Although it would have been a cliché, I wanted to tell her that her comments probably sounded better in the original German. Instead I wrote a poem about the incident, and about the atmosphere in which it was marinating.
GFY has refunded money automatically before, when there has been a fraud situation or whatnot. The unique theft attempted from the Trucker Convoy supporters would have required management approval. Their Top Men. Probably, their lawyers hairs caught on fire and that is what really stopped it. Imagine the criminal prosecutions from a million people …. ahhhhhhh.
Still, it amazes me that anyone not of the Left still thinks of GFY as the place to go for anything other than tragic medical crises or suchlike. Do that many people really live their lives in caves?
@ MollyG > “Instead I wrote a poem about the incident, and about the atmosphere in which it was marinating.”
Well don’t just leave us hanging!
Drop it into the threads when you are happy with it being seen in public.
I really wish you had made that observation to your friend, though, just to report on whether or not she got it.
AesopFan
LOL
Related:
“BLACK REPUBLICAN EXCLUDED FROM BLACK CAUCUS OF VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE”—
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/02/black-republican-excluded-from-black-caucus-of-virginia-legislature.php
Guess we’ll have to—OFFICIALLY—redefine “Black” and/or “Race”.
(Maybe Whoopi Goldberg would like to take a stab at that one…)
The note at the bottom is another familiar twisting against those the media doesn’t like. Yes, the violence is all against the convoy, not done by the convoy participants. But you know, if they weren’t protesting peacefully, there wouldn’t be any violence at all, as there wouldn’t be anyone for these evil people to be violent against. So it’s the convoy’s fault anyway. (One of the only situations of MSM-approved blaming of victims.)
Similar to the hecklers veto of speakers at colleges that prog students don’t like. The college admin can’t/won’t control the violence/backlash, so they cancelling your speech instead. Their violence is mostly peaceful, unless it’s violence against righties reclaiming dignity/ self-respect/ standing up for themselves. Then it’s actual violence but in shades of an abusive relationship- “why do you make us be violent against you? Stop protesting. When you do we have no choice but to shut you up. We don’t want to, so just stop and let us do what we want.”
Quickly file fraud/deny service charges on the credit card. Make them Pay until 7/10 days later, our interest.
It strikes me that some of the hostility toward the truckers…the accusations of racism, etc…come from people who simply cannot believe people are motivated by a desire for individual freedom, because they themselves have no such drive.
Look for the fine print. I suspect GoFundMe will try to charge the credit card transaction fees to the donors even though, the donors are not the ones who cancelled the transaction.
So, they may still be at risk of fraud investigations.
It strikes me that some of the hostility toward the truckers…the accusations of racism, etc…come from people who simply cannot believe people are motivated by a desire for individual freedom, because they themselves have no such drive.
Of course. (Accusing the truckers of ‘racism’ is a random insult that these types use reflexively).
As we stood there, she went on and on about how “the unvaccinated” do not deserve medical care in an ICU or any other part of a hospital. Although it would have been a cliché, I wanted to tell her that her comments probably sounded better in the original German.
If she’s running her mouth you’re not out of line to run yours back at her. These people are not your friends. Let ’em have it.
Ron DeSantis and, now, Ted Cruz are “demanding” investigations into the GoFundMe handling of the Freedom Convoy’s donations.
I would like to be hopeful that this would actual lead to something; but, I don’t have that much faith in any of our politicians.
Instead, I think, it is simply a case of DeSantis and Cruz going for the sound bite.
Just like this convoy itself – made up of ordinary Canadians – is ripe for the picking by Conservative politicians in Canada; but, I don’t hear them jumping up to help.
I also think a lot of the smears by the left are not just their usual name-calling; but, a lot of it is showing their class bias – they cannot believe that “truckers” are not the low-lifes that many on the left believe they are.
charles:
I have read that DeSantis’ call for an investigation was one of the things that got GoFundMe to change to automatic refunds rather than donating to another charity unless the donors specifically request a refund.
DeSantis was first government official calling for a legal investigation into go fund me.
This is resulted in a huge movement of the Overton Window for the appropriateness of conservatives using lawfare.
Makes all the so called conservative Canadian mp’s that did nothing, appear like Eunuchs.
The so called conservatives reactions to the truckers reminds me of how the tea party was treated by the eGOP.
You know, it occurs to me that the proper way to refer to this organization, in a way that captures its rather obvious double standard, is to simply refer to it as:
“GoFu**Me.
The client can fill in the missing letters according to their ideology.
BREAKING
This could go ballistic.
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2022/02/06/ottawa-declares-state-of-emergency-reports-of-police-arresting-truckers-seizing-fuel-n518343
Apparently, the Government doesn’t like people helping Seditious Insurrectionists.
https://notthebee.com/article/canadian-freedom-convoy-truckers-amazed-by-incredible-supporters-providing-food-gas-rides
On a more positive note, the cavalry has arrived – maybe the Canadians are ready to play Cowboys and Tyrants.
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1490038362509561856
https://twitter.com/bitcoinbwoi/status/1490041865768419333
“Muster the Rohirrim.”
Much more here on the violations of Charter of Freedom and other basic laws, under cover of “state of emergency” – it has more information than the RedState post.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/freedom-trucker-convoy-fuel-police
Maybe they had to go there, because this didn’t work.
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2022/02/06/watch-counter-protester-caught-faking-getting-hit-by-freedom-convoy-truck-n518383
There’s a typo in this one; I fixed it; the source was quoted correctly.
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2022/02/06/ottawa-police-issuing-a-tyrannical-edict-which-may-end-the-freedom-convoy-n518259
[And also bouncy houses, according to The Blaze!]
There are going to be great optics if the Royal Canadian Mounted Stasi beat up some grandmas.
That’s happened in Europe, Australia, and some American cities over Covid masks and lockdowns.
I don’t think the Maple Syrup Drinkers are going to be intimidated into backing down.
TWIP had some good memes on the convoy; these are from the commenters.
Justin Brandeau
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5b2e535058d0059634b819049dbdd9f8f1f456b31c269b11b8c8df0288923754.jpg?w=600&h=600
Ezra Levant – Ottawa police buying up hotel rooms to deny them to truckers.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/52f3ac5c23a99e16f7fedf3b174bdf3d895d22922692f3ce66ed821ce5241aff.jpg
Gonna be hard to intimidate these people.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6e0a797b21470e03b3327150b34de1452700de0f991c661127d06c93bc709de5.jpg?w=600&h=264
What the truckers are saying – and trucks are big moving billboards! The objective of the protests:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/46a2da1437002ec4ca968b7a174d846c5e583f36781d1ab3f249aec03e2c6192.jpg?w=600&h=314
This is for Americans to ponder:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ad05d1fd3be0975d6e744b6c606fc436dc11a60657715047280497540d393f3b.png?w=600&h=589
I haven’t found in any “hard news” support for Levant’s claim about the hotel rooms, but I no longer question even outrageous imputations of corruption against government entities.
That’s where the precedents have brought me.
Great post by El Gato Malo. Lots of pictures and commentary.
https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/attempts-to-vilify-the-ottawa-protesters
“…are going to backfire.”
We hope!
AesopSpouse and I are now in favor of defunding the police.
At least in Ottawa!
If Trudeau is lucky, only the current tenth of truckers will go on full strike.
Our Sunday School curriculum this year is the Bible.
We’re still in Genesis, but the events in Canada reminded me of this parallel from later in the history of Israel’s kingdom.
It’s absolutely ripped from the headlines.
Justin Trudeau is Rehoboam, of course; I don’t know enough about Canadian politics to assign the other parts.
This is a good summary of the story from 1 Kgs 12:1-33.
https://thebiblehistorybooks.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/the-kingdom-divided-rehoboam-vs-jeroboam/
Here’s a more elaborate exegesis, with some good commentary for the present crisis.
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1-kings-12/
AesopFan:
Wow, that story really does seem to fit.