"I thought I was going to die" - Sir Richard Branson cheats death in bike crash

Eltelski wrote:

I cant believe that any genuine cyclist would post some of this rubbish on Branson post, suspect they have not been in the same situation themselves. No one wants to see any cyclist injured it does not matter who they are, grow up

Cyclist injured? Or person injured? Does your empathy only extend to people hurt when riding a bicycle?

Please elaborate.

Personally the more decent a person is the more I tend to give a toss about them. 

dafyddp wrote:

Give the guy a break! Rich man, poor man, thats going to be painful. At 66 it's also going to take longer to heal regardless of the quality of care he can afford.

Ditch the envy, feel the pain. 

 

Absolutely!

The _Kaner wrote:

"which will see the trio join a group aiming to raise £1.5 million for charity " - I'm sure he could just donate that amount, easily....

Yeah that's the part I don't get - it's great that he wants to donate to charity, but consider how much the man earns per hour, it's probably objectively better for the charity if Branson just donated his income from the certain number of hours that he would have otherwise used to train for this event.

Shanghaied wrote:

The _Kaner wrote:

"which will see the trio join a group aiming to raise £1.5 million for charity " - I'm sure he could just donate that amount, easily....

Yeah that's the part I don't get - it's great that he wants to donate to charity, but consider how much the man earns per hour, it's probably objectively better for the charity if Branson just donated his income from the certain number of hours that he would have otherwise used to train for this event.

How do you know he isn't doing that as well as riding? His participation generates additional publicity for the cause and increases participation, therefore funds raised, by other people. Besides, maybe he just wants to join in.

Shanghaied wrote:

The _Kaner wrote:

"which will see the trio join a group aiming to raise £1.5 million for charity " - I'm sure he could just donate that amount, easily....

Yeah that's the part I don't get - it's great that he wants to donate to charity, but consider how much the man earns per hour, it's probably objectively better for the charity if Branson just donated his income from the certain number of hours that he would have otherwise used to train for this event.

Observation: Any mention of person A donating money to charity will lead to person B, who earns less than person A, whinging about how person A isn't donating enough, as though person B is donating 99% of their meagre salary and living in sackcloth like some new Mother Theresa.

vonhelmet wrote:

Shanghaied wrote:

The _Kaner wrote:

"which will see the trio join a group aiming to raise £1.5 million for charity " - I'm sure he could just donate that amount, easily....

Yeah that's the part I don't get - it's great that he wants to donate to charity, but consider how much the man earns per hour, it's probably objectively better for the charity if Branson just donated his income from the certain number of hours that he would have otherwise used to train for this event.

Observation: Any mention of person A donating money to charity will lead to person B, who earns less than person A, whinging about how person A isn't donating enough, as though person B is donating 99% of their meagre salary and living in sackcloth like some new Mother Theresa.

But yours is a rubbish observation in my view. It's been well demonstrated that  people on a low incomes (anonymously) donate far more to charity than rich people (very publicly) do.

By the way, it's a safe bet that person B pays 100% of the tax they owe, and don't systematically avoid or evade through a variety of means like Branson does.

Hipshot wrote:

vonhelmet wrote:

Shanghaied wrote:

The _Kaner wrote:

"which will see the trio join a group aiming to raise £1.5 million for charity " - I'm sure he could just donate that amount, easily....

Yeah that's the part I don't get - it's great that he wants to donate to charity, but consider how much the man earns per hour, it's probably objectively better for the charity if Branson just donated his income from the certain number of hours that he would have otherwise used to train for this event.

Observation: Any mention of person A donating money to charity will lead to person B, who earns less than person A, whinging about how person A isn't donating enough, as though person B is donating 99% of their meagre salary and living in sackcloth like some new Mother Theresa.

But yours is a rubbish observation in my view. It's been well demonstrated that  people on a low incomes (anonymously) donate far more to charity than rich people (very publicly) do.

Not always.  A client of mine has worked with, and is friends with, a very high public profile celebrity.  Said celeb once made a $1m donation to a cancer charity in my client's name just to avoid the publicity.  Client's wife almost had a heart attack when they recieved the thank you letter from the charity!  Rich people can be quite discreet with their donations!

vonhelmet wrote:

Shanghaied wrote:

The _Kaner wrote:

"which will see the trio join a group aiming to raise £1.5 million for charity " - I'm sure he could just donate that amount, easily....

Yeah that's the part I don't get - it's great that he wants to donate to charity, but consider how much the man earns per hour, it's probably objectively better for the charity if Branson just donated his income from the certain number of hours that he would have otherwise used to train for this event.

Observation: Any mention of person A donating money to charity will lead to person B, who earns less than person A, whinging about how person A isn't donating enough, as though person B is donating 99% of their meagre salary and living in sackcloth like some new Mother Theresa.

No, you are right, I'm not donating 99% of my meagre salary to charity, just around 10% and not deducting it from my taxes. As said, I've no problem with people donating to charity and do so myself. What I find strange is when people undertake some kind of challenge (mostly involving things they enjoy doing regardless) and asks others to donate while doing so. So I'm planning to walk the Great Glen next summer, anyone want to donate to my favourite charities (MSF, Amnesty International, and the Red Cross)? No money? I'll also take blood donation at your local blood bank.

Shanghaied][quote=vonhelmet wrote:

[...]

What I find strange is when people undertake some kind of challenge (mostly involving things they enjoy doing regardless) and asks others to donate while doing so. So I'm planning to walk the Great Glen next summer, anyone want to donate to my favourite charities (MSF, Amnesty International, and the Red Cross)? No money? I'll also take blood donation at your local blood bank.

what do you find so strange about it? Never done a sponsored walk? There are sites like justgiving all over the internet for people who want to raise more. They do a challenging event, get their family, friends, colleagues etc to sponsor them and raise more than they would have done otherwise. In addition they inspire their family, friends etc perhaps to do a challenge event, and they increase the network of supporters. It's a major source of income for charities.

Why don't you set up a page yourself and ask people here and in your flesh&blood network to donate for your Great Glen walk? You have nothing to lose, and your charities have a lot to gain.