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Political Organization Asks Toddler To Give Them Every Penny, Dad Sends Them Something Better
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Political Organization Asks Toddler To Give Them Every Penny, Dad Sends Them Something Better

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Some companies and organizations are so blatant when it comes to asking for your hard-earned money that it can be hard to know whether to be impressed by the gall or to be angry at the greed. But every once in a while, a golden opportunity to get back at them might arise for those who manage to see it.

A man decided to maliciously comply with a letter from a political organization sent to his toddler. Despite the full-blown recession at the time, they were asking for the “best he could offer,” so he decided to give them exactly what they asked for.

Letters asking for donations are pretty annoying

Image credits: Gabe Pierce (not the actual image)

But one father decided to take matters into his own hands when his toddler received a letter asking for money

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual image)

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Image credits: Ben_In_Utah

People getting exactly what they asked for is a beautiful tragedy

Malicious compliance is many people’s preferred way of getting back at some folks. After all, when there is a hierarchy involved, it can be pretty hard to convince a person “above” you that they are wrong. The only way to get the message through is to simply do as they say and see the consequences of their actions.

In OP’s case, he made sure to follow the exact “letter of the law,” which is a classic component of any malicious compliance story. After all, OP, nor the many others who employ this strategy, did anything wrong. Sometimes people in positions of authority don’t quite recognize the situation “on the ground” and end up making pretty questionable decisions.

This is a classic example of that. First and foremost, an organization that OP alludes to is the NRA (National Rifle Association) has decided to spend time and energy mailing literal toddlers, requesting donations during a recession. It’s hard to pick whether this combination of events is more comedic or tragic.

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Image credits: Element5 Digital (not the actual image)

Malicious compliance can have a sort of social power

Unfortunately, in this case, we won’t know if OP’s actions ever made a difference, but the peace of mind at inconveniencing something you don’t like should be enough. Fortunately, there are a good amount of stories on the internet where the annoying boss, manager, or other higher-up actually gets to see and live through the consequences of their actions.

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Some specialists believe that this is the number one power of malicious compliance. It forces an organization to confront its own mistakes, because, realistically, they are the only ones at fault. After all, if you comply with the bone-headed new idea your boss presents, they can’t exactly pin the blame on you.

Part of this is also the unfortunate fact that many people only accept what they actually see in front of them and will only learn from their own mistakes, if at all. So, for better or worse, the folks in power need to actually see their ideas crash and burn to realize where the issue is. Of course, this only applies if the manager can actually accept that they are sometimes wrong, which isn’t always the case.

Image credits: Nicola Barts (not the actual image)

Some readers didn’t like OP’s approach

Readers shared some more ideas in the comments section, a few of which can be found below. Some folks were strangely offended by OP’s story, which does raise the question of why they clicked in the first place. However, other netizens were actually helpful, suggesting things OP could have done.

This is all academic, of course, as OP’s tale took place in the distant past. Nevertheless, in a perfect world, that rock sits in that organization’s office as a reminder to perhaps think a little more before sending out donation requests. Unfortunately, we don’t know if they kept sending his son mail, so we can only hope they stopped.

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Some folks wanted more information

Others gave some suggestions

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mikedelancey avatar
Two_rolling_black_eyes
Community Member
2 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm 99.9% sure this is the NRA, or National Rifle Association. Grandpa was probably a lifetime member. If you go to their website, there's a page for gifting kids lifetime memberships and they run specials at Christmas for existing members where its only $100 instead of the normal $550. They won't let the kid cancel it until they turn 18. EDIT - I went to their website to get the current cost of $550. While typing this, I received a !!!!special offer!!!! of $100 from a chatbot for my kid. Updated the prices and changed some wording.

fourthrowe avatar
DJR
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can be 100% sure. "Your best gift" is the exact phrasing they use.

Load More Replies...
sarah_a_tate avatar
Upstaged75
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Definitely the NRA. What kind of moron buys a lifetime NRA membership for a baby??? Insane!

davidh_1 avatar
David
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are not the only org that this could be, and they are much more than 1000 for lifetime, and have been for some time. Plus the NRA does not allow the purchase of a lifetime membership for an infant either. That tells me it has to be a different org

Load More Replies...
yleesadler avatar
Yvonne Sadler
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Posts like this raise the stress level in every brain and heart that encounter them.

Load More Comments
mikedelancey avatar
Two_rolling_black_eyes
Community Member
2 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm 99.9% sure this is the NRA, or National Rifle Association. Grandpa was probably a lifetime member. If you go to their website, there's a page for gifting kids lifetime memberships and they run specials at Christmas for existing members where its only $100 instead of the normal $550. They won't let the kid cancel it until they turn 18. EDIT - I went to their website to get the current cost of $550. While typing this, I received a !!!!special offer!!!! of $100 from a chatbot for my kid. Updated the prices and changed some wording.

fourthrowe avatar
DJR
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can be 100% sure. "Your best gift" is the exact phrasing they use.

Load More Replies...
sarah_a_tate avatar
Upstaged75
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Definitely the NRA. What kind of moron buys a lifetime NRA membership for a baby??? Insane!

davidh_1 avatar
David
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are not the only org that this could be, and they are much more than 1000 for lifetime, and have been for some time. Plus the NRA does not allow the purchase of a lifetime membership for an infant either. That tells me it has to be a different org

Load More Replies...
yleesadler avatar
Yvonne Sadler
Community Member
2 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Posts like this raise the stress level in every brain and heart that encounter them.

Load More Comments
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