apologies

[piranha]

as it turns out, the girl whose cat got set on fire? lied. i don't know why, and i really don't believe her own explanation; i suspect she told the story originally to get attention from her friends and then it snowballed rapidly out of control. she's returning the donations (lots of people have reported to have received theirs, and i got mine, so that part isn't a lie).

i am not linking to her "explanation" because i don't want to give her more exposure, and frankly, the backlash is nauseating, especially now that the LJ drama whores have found the thread and are busy stirring the shit. it's quickly gotten to the point where the vitriol directed at her bothers me as much as the original lie -- there are always more people pissing on somebody than helping out, and that's depressing.

i feel mostly sorry for those of her friends who vouched for her, like manhattan through whom i found the story. yeah, i wouldn't have donated without that vouching, but upon reflection, it won't affect my trust in her. i've been in the position where i thought i knew somebody, and then zie did something that completely stunned me; as long as this isn't a strong pattern then it's just a normal part of life. i am cynical enough as it is, i don't need to tune my shit detector any higher because it would result in too many false positives.

i also feel responsible for having propagated the link without checking it out further, and for that i apologise. well, not actually for propagating it, but for not adding a much clearer disclaimer that i hadn't checked it at all. if any of you donated because you trusted me, and you don't receive a return within a week, please let me know and i'll repay you.

no drama. i haven't lost my "faith in mankind" (i already knew that some people tell horrific lies to get attention), and i am no less likely to donate to random causes, since my track record can easily handle this blip. people are yelling and screaming that those of us who donated should file fraud charges and prosecute her to the fullest extent of the law (those seem, interestingly enough, to mostly be people who didn't donate themselves). i am not going to do that because i don't believe she intended to commit fraud, and i don't think lawsuits do what i would want to happen in this case.

i am gonna hold on to the memory of how neat it felt to work so quickly with a whole bunch of people to organise helping somebody in need. i've experienced that before, and i will experience it again, and it's well worth having wasted it this once. if anything, i'll remember it next time and work a bit harder against any intuitive drawing back because i got suckered this time.

and hey! the best news? no cat got harmed during the performance of this LJ drama!

Comments

[brooksmoses]

I'm reminded of a story my father told about his father. Apparently, one day, an asphalt truck stopped by; they said they had a half-load of asphalt left over from a large job, and wanted to know if he'd like his driveway paved for cheap. He agreed, and they paved it, and it looked really quite nice -- until the next rain a week later, when it all washed away.

His reaction to this was pretty much to shrug and not worry about it; he said that he'd rather be too trusting than to err in the other direction, and this didn't change it.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

he best news? no cat got harmed during the performance of this LJ drama!

most definitely the best part!

and now i don't have to feel guilty anymore for not donating!

n.

[king-tirian.livejournal.com]

and hey! the best news? no cat got harmed during the performance of this LJ drama!

No doubt! I read through the comments last night and never have I seen so many decent people so upset that a cat wasn't set on fire. I thought of your faith in humanity and your online trusts and was relieved to see that they were similarly unharmed.

[firecat]

I came close to donating specifically because of your post, because you don't usually pass on that sort of thing. (In the end I didn't donate, not because of suspicion, but because of something personal; it's discussed in a friends-locked post in my journal.)

But although you said you knew lj user manhattan, I never thought you'd represented that you'd checked the story out personally.

If I donate because of a link you pass on (and I still would in the future), it's still my responsibility.

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

I didn't donate either, and in my case it was simple suspicion. People just don't set cats on fire. I mean, they do, sure, but not as often as people lie about it. If that makes any sense at all.

I'm probably scarred from Recent Experience, though. (Are you a friend of Al?)

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

people lie about setting cats on fire a lot? i am living a more sheltered life than i had thought!

sorry about recent experience. :/

al who? i know several al-persons, but none are a close friend.

[firecat]

I saw an animal cops show with a cat that had been doused in some kind of lighter fluid and set on fire. (The cat survived and found a happy home.) So it does happen. But yeah.

Al is an acquaintance. At times I channel Cassandra, and for the past several years Cassandra has been telling me things about Al that have turned out to be true. :-(