Every holiday season, there’s a new controversy touching the internet. This year, people have been torn between the recent Angel Tree controversy with “itscookiedough”, where she volunteered her time and money to purchase gifts for two children. Many people are on different sides arguing: “beggars can’t be choosers”, or if you take someone’s tag you take on the responsibility; if you’re not able to buy what’s on their card, put it back.
This all started when TikToker “itscookiedough” posted a video of her Angel Tree shopping for two kids, a girl and a boy. While shopping, she mentioned how she had a $30 budget per child, even though her kids’ wishlists had specific name-brand items, which can sometimes be expensive. Instead of getting them what they asked for, or just putting their cards back, she bought them completely different items or lower-quality items on the list. The outrage started on how she only criticized what the girl child had on her list, and also with her response to the backlash claiming. Which has since been taken down, which said, “If these kids are truly in as much need as they are, they should be grateful for anything. At the end of the day, they’re going to be grateful for whatever they have and if they’re not, that’s on them and their upbringing”- @aaannndditsautism, a TikTok page commented.
Even more outrage came when people found a video of her buying her own kids Christmas gifts, with most gifts costing $200 or more. To a lot of viewers, it feels as if she missed the whole point of what an Angel Tree is about: making a kid’s dream come true by meeting their wishes as closely as you can.
Some individuals use the Angel Tree like a content farm instead of it truly being an act of service, which is where the idea of performative charity comes in which is “activism that is done to increase one’s social capital rather than because one’s devotion to cause” (Performative Activism | Boston Medical Center ). It feels fake, filming your “good acts” feels as if it’s for views and praise and not for the child. It’s not about good deeds, it’s just performative, which is insincere and inauthentic.
However, at the same time, the internet has a habit of jumping on hate trains, once a few people call something “bad” or “wrong”, thousands more start reposting and joining in without knowing the full context, with many people on Reddit openly admitting they weren’t sure what she got the kids only what they saw on others’ pages, which is how misinformation spreads easily on social media. Still, even with the hate train she got, my main point remains as follows: if you take someone’s tag, you take on the responsibility, and if you can’t afford the items, it’s okay to choose a different tag or put it back as a whole.
