是時(shí)候振興社會(huì)，防止無用的贈(zèng)與了

是時(shí)候振興社會(huì)，防止無用的贈(zèng)與了

In 1911, a group of women banded together to rebel against the hypocrisy of giving gifts, when the only reason for giving those gifts was out of obligation or the hopes of getting something in return. They were known as Spugs, members of the The Society for the Prevention Useless Giving.

1911年，一群婦女聯(lián)合起來反對(duì)送禮的虛偽，當(dāng)時(shí)送禮的唯一原因是出于義務(wù)或希望得到回報(bào)。他們被稱為Spugs，是預(yù)防無用捐贈(zèng)協(xié)會(huì)的成員。

Eleanor Robson Belmont (left) and Anne Tracy Morgan founded the Spugs in 1911, but it gained serious momentum in 1912, when the group expanded to about 6,000 members. (Photos: Belmont by Bain [Public domain] and Morgan by Bain News Service, publisher [Public domain]/Both, Wikimedia Commons)

These women just may be my soul sisters. The giving of useless gifts drives me insane.

這些女人可能就是我的靈魂姐妹。送沒用的禮物讓我發(fā)瘋。

The story of the Spugs is engaging, especially as told by Atlas Obscura. Founded in 1912 by actress Eleanor Robson Belmont and J.P. Morgan's daughter, Anne Morgan, the group grew to 6,000 members in one year. They spoke out against materialism, particularly at Christmas, and they also spoke out against the expected practice of giving expensive gifts in order to gain favor.

該協(xié)會(huì)的故事引人入勝，尤其是Atlas Obscura的故事。1912年，女演員埃莉諾·羅布森·貝爾蒙特和j·p·摩根的女兒安妮·摩根成立了這個(gè)組織，一年內(nèi)就有6000名成員。他們公開反對(duì)物質(zhì)主義，尤其是在圣誕節(jié)，他們也公開反對(duì)為了獲得好感而送昂貴禮物的做法。

While the society's founders could well afford to buy Christmas gifts — useless or not — many of the group's members were working women with tight budgets who had to purchase gifts that weren't necessary.

盡管該協(xié)會(huì)的創(chuàng)始人完全有能力購買圣誕禮物——不管是否無用——但該組織的許多成員都是預(yù)算緊張的職業(yè)女性，她們不得不購買不必要的禮物。

A good idea

好主意

The society was short-lived, in part because the start of World War I in 1914 focused the members' attention on the larger cause of the war. But even before the war began, the group's purpose had morphed slightly, from the "prevention of useless giving" to the "promotion of useful giving," Slate notes. The name Spug still fit, but the focus was on making sure gifts served a purpose.

這個(gè)社會(huì)是短命的，部分原因是1914年第一次世界大戰(zhàn)的爆發(fā)使成員們的注意力集中在更大的戰(zhàn)爭原因上。但在戰(zhàn)爭開始之前，該組織的宗旨就已經(jīng)發(fā)生了輕微的變化，從“防止無用的捐贈(zèng)”到“促進(jìn)有用的捐贈(zèng)”，斯雷特指出。“Spug”這個(gè)名字仍然合適，但它的重點(diǎn)是確保禮物能發(fā)揮作用。

Here are just a few instances when I think we should embrace our inner Spug:

以下是我認(rèn)為我們應(yīng)該擁抱內(nèi)心的自信的幾個(gè)例子:

Yes, giving a thoughtful gift to a person you care about is a good idea — but there are so many ways to get it wrong. (Photo: Liljam/Shutterstock)

Gag gifts. Not all gag gifts are useless, but many have absolutely no practical use and are created to be opened, laughed and throw in the trash after an acceptable period of time. A quick search for gag gifts finds items like utensils for diets — spoons with holes in them and cut-off knives — that are good for nothing but a laugh (and even that's questionable).

惡作劇的禮物。并不是所有惡作劇的禮物都是沒用的，但很多禮物完全沒有實(shí)際用途，經(jīng)過一段可接受的時(shí)間后被打開、大笑并扔進(jìn)垃圾桶?？焖偎阉饕幌聬鹤鲃《Y物，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)像節(jié)食用具這樣的東西——勺子上有洞，切肉刀——這些東西除了笑什么都沒有用處(甚至連笑也值得懷疑)。

The children's holiday shop at school. I have never seen a larger collection of plastic garbage for sale as I have at the children's holiday shop, a fundraiser my kids' elementary school held each year. Plastic jewelry for mom, tiny tools that don't function for dad, small bouncy balls for siblings — these holiday shops allow kids to buy gifts for everyone in the family for just a few dollars, but all the items are made cheaply, break easily and have no practical use. "But it's so nice to let the kids shop for their family all by themselves," people will say. I say it's nicer to teach kids that gift giving should be thoughtful and gifts should be useful.

學(xué)校里的兒童假日商店。我從來沒有見過這么多的塑料垃圾在兒童假日商店出售，這是我孩子的小學(xué)每年都會(huì)舉辦的一次募捐活動(dòng)。給媽媽的塑料首飾，給爸爸的小工具，給兄弟姐妹的彈跳球——這些假日商店允許孩子們花幾美元給家里的每個(gè)人買禮物，但是所有的東西都很便宜，很容易壞，沒有實(shí)際用途。“但讓孩子們自己為家人購物真的很好，”人們會(huì)說。我認(rèn)為教育孩子送禮應(yīng)該是經(jīng)過深思熟慮的，禮物應(yīng)該是有用的，這樣更好。

White elephant exchanges. The original point of a white elephant exchange was to give away something that was given to you that you didn't want, with the small hope that whatever you ended up with the exchange might actually be something useful. But these days, people purchase new items when participating in exchange, and they are often gag gifts. If you're going to give something useless, at least make it something you already possess.

白象交流。“白象交換”的最初目的是放棄一些你不想要的東西，并寄希望于不管你最后交換的是什么，它都可能是有用的。但如今，人們在參與交換時(shí)購買新物品，這些物品通常是惡作劇的禮物。如果你打算放棄一些沒用的東西，至少讓它成為你已經(jīng)擁有的東西。

Goodie bags at birthday parties. I hated goodie bags when my kids were little. They were full of small plastic toys they didn't want to play and that ended up in the trash. I knew parents who believed they had to try to provide meaningful goodie bags that would be the same value as the expected gifts their child would get. It's OK for a child to walk into a birthday party with a gift in hand and walk out empty-handed.

生日派對(duì)上的糖果袋。當(dāng)我的孩子還小的時(shí)候，我討厭糖果袋。他們裝滿了不想玩的小塑料玩具，最后被扔進(jìn)了垃圾箱。我認(rèn)識(shí)一些家長，他們認(rèn)為自己必須盡力提供有意義的糖果袋，這些糖果袋的價(jià)值應(yīng)該與孩子預(yù)期得到的禮物價(jià)值相同。對(duì)于一個(gè)孩子來說，手里拿著禮物走進(jìn)生日派對(duì)，然后空手而歸是可以的。

Any time you give a gift. Gift giving is a wonderful practice, and with some thought put into it, useful things can be given. Useful does not necessarily mean practical or boring. Wall calendars are no longer practical since most people use the calendar on their phone or computer, but each year the boys and I give their grandparents photo wall calendars made from photos taken throughout the previous year. It satisfies the grandparents' desire to still have printed photos of the family while being a thoughtful and not budget-breaking gift. (I think the Spugs would approve.)

任何時(shí)候你送禮物。送禮是一種很好的實(shí)踐，只要稍加思考，就能得到有用的東西。有用并不一定意味著實(shí)用或無聊。掛歷已經(jīng)不實(shí)用了，因?yàn)榇蠖鄶?shù)人都是用手機(jī)或電腦上的日歷，但每年我和孩子們都會(huì)給他們的祖父母送一張用上一年的照片制作的掛歷。它滿足了祖父母們的愿望，既能保留家人的照片，又能考慮周到，又不會(huì)打破預(yù)算。(我想土豆會(huì)同意的。)

Thinking like a Spug has an added bonus: it makes gift giving more environmentally friendly. When we're not buying, and then tossing, useless gifts made from non-biodegradable materials, we're conserving resources on the front end and keeping junk out of landfills on the back end.

像一個(gè)自以為是的人一樣思考還有一個(gè)額外的好處:它使送禮更環(huán)保。當(dāng)我們不買，然后扔掉由非生物降解材料制成的無用禮物時(shí)，我們在前端節(jié)約資源，在后端防止垃圾進(jìn)入垃圾填埋場。