i'll come right out and say that i don't like kids' day. kids' day is a longstanding tradition where the fresno bee, our local fishwrap, sells special edition newspapers that benefit the local children's hospital. the local, for profit, children's hospital. why don't i like it?
1. if i wanted to donate to a charity, i would. if i wanted to donate to a for profit enterprise, i would. i don't need to buy a paper, and i don't need to be harassed at every corner.
2. i dislike the people aggressively selling papers on the corner. do you like people just panhandling for their own profit on the corner? this is only slightly different.
3. i don't like being yelled at while i'm stopped at a light. really, when you're in a car, at least you can roll up the window or turn up the radio and tune them out. on a motorcycle, they're right up on you. yelling. yeah, if i wanted a paper, i would buy one. you don't need yell. everyone knows you're there. on every corner.
4. these corner paperhawkers are usually getting in and out of traffic, which is dangerous for them, and for you. it's really dangerous for me. people already are distracted enough and motorcycles are difficult to see. i don't need more distraction. to have a pair of people on every corner, and then have some more in the median is a bit problematic for traffic.
5. if, by chance, you happen to buy one of these inflated rate papers, you're still not off the hook. they want you to buy more. seriously, you can show them the paper you already bought at another corner, and they'll just shout back, "buy another!" no. no i won't.
so, if you want to buy one, fine. i'm not going to. and i'm not going to feel bad about it.
13 comments:
You should have taken my route this morning. I actually couldn't get one to even look at me. I had money ready and everything.
So I just got a free one from a stand at work. Yes!
And I give my money to MSF.
is msf short for myself?
Heheheh, no, it's short for Medicin Sans Frontier or however the French say Doctors Without Borders.
well. that sounds annoying.
but then, i'm the girl who frequently pretends i'm talking on my cell phone so i don't have to deal with the boy/girl scouts or local track/hockey/lacrosse teams peddling their wares outside of wal-mart.
I just bought one to put on my dashboard so they didn't hassel me. it was a guilt paper.
finally someone says what we're all thinking
steve,
you could subscribe to my newsletter.
O.K. so I'm a few days late on this post, but AMEN! I hated the dang thing. Try being late on a $14 lab bill at the wonderful children's hospital. They sent us to collections. Yeah you want my donation.
chris pointed out another thing to me: they aren't even in our county!
so, a hospital in another county, that contributed to urban sprawl and the decaying urban core of fresno wants me to just give them money?
You've really got me thinking on this one now Ed. That whole "for profit" thing and them moving out of Fresno really is a tough one to get around.
Maybe the Bee should rethink this or make sure these donations go to help families with no insurance...wait they don't take those.
The Kids Day paper is a good idea, but could it be used for something more deserving? Hummm, I feel another blog post coming on.
Oh, for god's sake, the Fresno Bee covers more than just the Fresno city limits.
You don't want a paper? Just don't buy one. I don't.
Jesus, Ed - this is like complaining that you're not going to watch television because you saw an advertisement for something you don't want to buy.
- Heather
while it is true that the bee covers more than just fresno, and they can do fund raisers for whatever they want.
but, i still stand by all the things i said. and i didn't buy one.
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