Revisiting Rogue Philanthropy

First and foremost, I had to take a sabbatical from here. There are some things going on that are trying our resolve. You don’t have to look far to get an idea of what it could be. It seems that the muscular fibers of my mind are tearing and rebuilding bigger and stronger and I don’t know if I should chalk it up to becoming a hardened cynic. I am often reminded that I shouldn’t pay any mind to things outside of my control. Fuck that. Onward.

I don’t have a huge social media following. I don’t know if I’d be ready for it if it were to happen overnight. But that is something that would seem inevitable if you and me and anyone else aligned with the concept of this post were to have success in executing. Executing on making rogue philanthropy a viral thing, even for just 15 minutes. I don’t know how that would all play out. If I had a way of making it about not me, that would be 100% what I would do.

Who do you know that has a ton of money that can silently cruise gofundme and play Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, and any other benevolent diety? I mean, let’s cut all the doctrine, dogma, and dumbassery from it all and condense it down to actual “give a fuck about your fellow human” level.

Now, I know that most everyone reading this is not a bazillionaire. One way we can raise the vibration of this topic is by asking you if you’ve witnessed acts of rogue philanthropy firsthand or been the beneficiary of it. Did someone pay your rent and never said who they were? Did it make you cry in the parking lot for 3 hours? Not all heroes wear nametags, but we need to normalize this type of behavior. It’s not loud enough presently.

If you’re thinking setting up a charitable trust a la the Vanderbilts, don’t. All you really need nowadays is a Venmo account. Guts sold separately (it IS a requirement).

Did you know you don’t need to be rich to be dangerous? If you have a little bit of money to spare, consider this:

1. Stuffing a $100 into a box of store brand diapers at grocery store in a rough part of town. Or $1000. Or a $20. Or enough for rent. It’s your call.

2. Conversely, doing the same but for boxes of adult diapers in the same store in the same part of town.

3. Venmo someone who posts about a hard time.

4. Cruise gofundme (as stated previously)

5. Look up ways of purchasing medical debt for pennies on the dollar so you can pay it off. (Okay, so this is for the rich folks).

6. Take the bus and leave a $100 behind as if it had fallen out of your pocket. Make sure it’s a bus route that goes through a rough part of town.

Look at Joe Rogan. Yeah, he followed a model consistently that grew his net worth to staggering levels. But I guarantee that he would derive at least a morsel of fulfillment if he were to pay for someone’s stage 4 chemo or organ transplant, let alone someone’s rent for a month. He may already give back, but in the public space, he’s more known for giving horrible people a voice, not his generosity, and it’s not like he made his fortune by going to school for 4 years to earn his degree, paying off his student loans through hard work and now drives a Nissan Pathfinder, parking it in a 2 car garage in Suburbia, USA. It’s not like Spotify is changing the life of the average person who pays $80 in HOA per month.

Nothing prevents him from cruising gofundme. Nothing prevents his rich friends and rich followers from doing the same. Same with the people who hobnob in the rows behind him at UFC events. All those motherfuckers could jump on a podcast and take turns changing less fortunate people’s lives while passing blunts around. I mean, they do that already except with the changing less fortunate people’s lives part.

Maybe you know some writers or influencers who can parlay this into something much bigger? Let me know who they are. Hit me up, I’m serious. I will gladly take on additional voices to amplify the dissent.

Again, as in a previous post, if you’re worried about the money being used for drugs, or booze, or something irresponsible, change your perspective. You have to be onboard with the fact that once the money leaves your possession, you can no longer have a say in how it gets spent. Because if you do still want to have a say in it, you are buying that person and setting expectations for how you want them to behave. A war was fought over that in the 1800s. So if you’re going to participate, check your holier than thou bullshit at the door. Abraham Lincoln and Jesus would want you to.

Comment with the rogue generosity you’ve witnessed. Tag someone who gets it. Know a rich person with a conscience? Slide this into their DMs. If you have something to give, or need something anonymously, hit me up.

#RoguePhilanthropy

#GiveLikeAGhost

#VenmoAndVanish