to give or not to give

"if i told you i'm biking 330 miles over 4 days from norfolk, va to washington, dc to help people living with hiv/aids would you support me?"

that quote is on a poster that jared has put up on the lab door. jared's participating in the AIDSride for the second year, and i feel like a heel for feeling like it's manipulative. for those of you unaware: the AIDSride is a several-hundred-mile bike ride held in a handful of places across the country.

jared is riding in the DC AIDSride which goes 330 miles from norfolk va to washington dc over 4 days. riders are supported by pledges, and the money (over and above the cost of putting on the ride, of course) goes to AIDS research. all good, right?

but, i feel manipulated. each rider must raise $2400. because i know jared, and like him, i feel like i should pledge to support him. but i only feel like i should support him because he's a friend, and he has to raise this mountain of money. though aids research is a good cause, it is not the cause i would choose to give my money to. it's manipulative: a friend signs up for this hard physical test, and asks for your support. the friend goes on a nice multi-day bike ride, and you're guilted into paying for it. and the whole thing is packaged in this emotional, symbol-intense pageant.

ugh. he just gave me the letter for this year, asking for money. i'll spare you the cheese.

pet peeve: writers who can't keep the 'female' separate from the 'woman.' i'm forever reading things like "...and with woman scientists making up more of the academic population..." or "...introduce him to some eligible females..." PEOPLE! PLEASE!

oh, and hey: sign my new guestmap (link on the upper left). i wanna know where y'all are!