Angry Dad's Post About Forcing Son to Sell Candy for School Fundraiser Goes Off the Rails

While his dilemma seemed simple enough, at first, it soon became apparent that his issue turned out to be just as highly contentious on the internet as it was at home.

His rather brief post was shared to an anonymous forum, but it had enough details to inspire thousands of Redditors to start their own arguments in the comments section.

Read on to see what inspired the heated debates -- and a selection of the most provocative responses.

"My kid has to sell chocolate covered almonds as a fundraiser at school. I would rather just give them the amount he is going to raise but that isn't allowed," he began his post.

"So I told my wife to just pay for two boxes out of my petty cash I keep on my office. I will take the almonds to work and give them out to my guys for free," OP [original poster] explained.

"My wife says that I'm missing the point and that I should take my son out to sell the almonds. I think that is ridiculous. I think I have better ways to spend several hours than to harass my neighbors trying to get them to buy chocolate," he continued.

"I told her she could either go out and sell the chocolate herself or she could take my money."

"Now she thinks I'm an a--hole because I don't value her free time," he concluded. "She is a stay at home mom right now. When our youngest is two she will be going back to work. I work 60 hours a week not including the commute. Now she wants me to spend hours out selling chocolate. No thanks. My free time is valuable too."

As noted above, the internet was divided on the issue -- with some calling BS on these candy fundraisers, while others said they were essential for a school's survival, particularly in low-income neighborhoods.

"NTA [not the a--hole] these 'fundraisers' are complete BS. They combine child labor with the pressure to 'donate'. When I was in school, we did a 'fundraiser run' where we had to get family members to sign documents that they would give x amount per kilometer we ran, the money was supposed to go to a new hall for P.E. Surprise surprise, I'm out of school for almost ten years now and there are no signs of a new hall yet," one Redditor shared.

In reply, another commenter wrote: "We had those fundraisers runs, too! But my school was working with UNESCO which meant that the money didn't go towards the school for new or better equipment but they bought a piece of land in the Amazon rainforest every year. The school itself was crumbling."

"At my school, the money from those runs was supposed to go to charities, but in the end, the school decided to just use the money for itself," yet another echoed.

However, that was simply one side of the aisle, with fellow Redditors taking the opposite stance.

"My niece's troop was amazing in this regard. And they decided where to put the money. A chunk went to activities, but a lot went to their yearly trip," one commenter wrote. "One year they made so much that the troop went on a cruise. It was an awesome experience."

While another person used the opportunity to actually try to sell more Girl Scout cookies:

"Yeah the girl scout cookie racket is possibly the best way to spend your money. You get delicious cookies and the troop gets a significant portion of those funds, so the girl you buy the cookies from is directly benefitting from that money. The rest of the money goes to GS National Council and helps pay the salaries of paid employees, funds building maintenance, and goes towards nationwide programs and opportunities," they began, innocuously enough.

"If you don't have any girl scouts in your life but you still want cookies you can order them online through your local troop if you want to keep your money local, or through any troop of your choosing (hometown, the troop your cousins/nieces are in two states over, etc). Or if you want to give money but your local troops are pretty well off, you can buy cookies from the very first troop made for homeless girls in NYC, Troop 6000," they continued before then actually sharing a link to buy cookies.

However, some tried to educate their fellow Redditors, as one wrote: "I don't think they're BS. They are required in my country because legally schools cannot straight up ask parents to give cash for more expensive excursions or activities. School is obligatory but different households have different incomes, so it gives kids a chance to go around and gather money on their own."

This incited one fellow commenter to reply: "In the US we have to pay a property tax every year for the land & house. Half of that is supposed to go to schools but our schools are still barely staying in shape and the teachers are some of the lowest paid professionals in our country."

Which prompted this response: "Do you seriously think that property taxes in poor and working class and lower middle class areas can support schools just by themselves?! If you do, then you must be in dreamland."

The same commenter noted that it was for a reason that only the wealthiest neighborhoods in America have good school districts, and gestured toward not only economic but racial inequality.

Many Redditors ignored the heated fundraising debate and focused instead on OP's relationship with his son -- questioning whether he just did not want to solicit at people's doors or if he did not want to spend time with his child.

"He is happy when he catches a fish. He is happy when he is showing me how good his puck handling is getting. He is happy when he does a good flip or dive at the pool," the dad clarified. "I would rather have happy memories of him instead of being miserable out walking around watching him be turned down over and over."

When someone offered that the experience of fundraising might be good for his child he replied: "Do you like people soliciting sales at your door?"

And added: "I'd rather take him to the pool. He can be rejected later in life. I only get to hang out and have fun with him while he is young for so long."

He also then defended himself saying he posted to the forum to find out "about whether I'm the asshole for telling [my wife] to do it herself or take my money. Not about whether I'm a good father for not wanting to spend what little time I get with my kid bothering people."

"I do want to spend time with my kid," he said elsewhere. "And the valuable lesson is that if you work and have money you do not have to do this stupid shit and you can go swimming instead."

What do you think?