Yes, those people.
Before you donate to the Salvation Army, it's important to know that
[1] they're a tax-exempt, non-financial statement-publishing religious organization (as they put it, "an international branch of the Christian church") and
[2] they have an agenda. You can read their positions on certain issues here:
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-dynamic-index/B6F3F4DF3150F5B585257434004C177D?OpendocumentThey're against abortion, think gays should be celibate in order to be in harmony with Christian scripture, deny marriage to gays, and promote abstinence. They also have a self-victimizing section condemning the "persecution of Christians", which is a laughable idea in the United States. They apparently have no problem persecuting gays or women when it comes to their family planning choices. The fact that they're a self-styled arm of Christianity also taints their work with an air of proselytism.
Instead of being guilted into throwing a few dollars into their pots in front of stores, put that money aside and give it to a better, secular charity of your choosing. Religious charities spin some of their money towards things like training missionaries or building churches (Mother Teresa infamously devoted most of her charity money to building new parishes,
not alleviating the suffering of the impoverished who provided her photo-ops). Your money works better in the hands of secular organizations free of outdated moral codes and a duty to spread the faith.
Edit: Yeah, I almost forgot. Fuck the Salvation Army. It's insidious that they're able to get such prime real estate for soliciting their brand of hateful Christianism. They're legitimized by their campaigns and stations in areas of commerce, and it's sick. Who the fuck needs religion when you have the
80s?Edit 2: Thanks to Radical_Dreamer:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,462684,00.html. They only allow their "officers" to marry other officers. Keeping the business in the family, eh?