From One Liberal to Another, Shame on You: 10 Flaws in the Latest Do-Not-Mail Initiative
He continued, “I didn’t see or hear anything in their statements that were particularly unique. We have an educational challenge here and we know we also have some challenges on the consumer side. The industry is starting to step up to that.”
Flaw 10: Consumers’ Responses
I invite you to go to http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/281/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=941, where you can find the ForestEthics petition. There, consumers give their names and some enter comments. Certainly many of them are on the mark. For instance, Frances Twitchell of Key Largo, Fla., wrote, “Such a waste of time, money, services and resources I would not use.” That’s certainly an appropriate comment.
But upon further review, some of them are rather Kramer-like. Take Margaret Bauguess of Sacramento, Calif. “It is an invasion of our privacy.” Oooo, watch out for those catalogs with the hidden TV cameras, Margaret!
Then you get the melodramatic. Here’s what Caitlin Weigand, who identifies herself as being with the Center for Health, Environment & Justice in Falls Church, Va., had to say: “Yes, it’s poisonous to the environment. But worse than that, advertisements are poisonous to our happiness. They are designed to make you feel what you already have is inferior, and that essentially you are inferior! Without them, society would be more free to self-determine for needs and desires. That would most certainly result in less consumption, more money saved in the bank and your wallet, and less waste polluting the land and air.”
Ms. Weigand’s group is certainly a noble one, taking action against the likes of leaking landfills and polluted drinking water to incinerators and hazardous waste sites, among other efforts — all in the interest of consumer health. But when you go to the sign-up form on its site and enter your information, you’ll automatically receive a regular (printed and mailed) bulletin. What’s more, you’re invited to receive no fewer than four other snail-mailed bulletins and yet more printed and mailed information on four other areas.
