Something Wicked This Way Comes

Sometimes, it's just a little too far. Sometimes you have to stop, raise your fists in the air and scream, "ENOUGH! STOP ALREADY!" Yesterday was one such day, and although one would have thought it would be Glenn Beck's "I Have A Scheme" speech to put me over the edge, that merely primed me for my 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore"! moment.  You see, as I was going about my daily business, I happened upon THIS free local publication:

 What the HELL??? OUR town? YOUR town maybe. I just can't even say how weary and sick I am over this non-stop assault on common-sense and a semblance, just a semblance, of intelligence and thoughtfulness. NO MORE, dammit!  So, as I'm thumbing through the damn thing, I am struck by the huge amount of local advertising in it. Did these people READ this before they bought their undoubtedly dirt cheap advertising? God, I hope not. As the day wore on, I could not get this off of mind. So, I decided to launch a one-woman boycott. Undoubtedly, I look like a freak, some kind of gadlfy harpy. Maybe I AM a gadly harpy. So be it. There comes a time when enough is enough. So...I sent the following email to as many of the advertisers that I could, that is, those that had an easily obtained email address. (Because, really, I just couldn't believe that people read this and still bought advertising in it):

To Whom it May Concern;

I am disappointed to see that you are advertising in the hate rag that goes by the innocuous name 'Our Town'.  Are you aware of the type of vitriol this dubious publication prints? I have attached a copy of the front page of the most recent edition. I suspect, that you were not aware of the content of their publication when you agreed to advertise in it, undoubtedly with incredibly low fees. I will be watching closely for the next edition and am afraid to say that if your establishment continues to advertise in it, I can then only assume that you share the publisher's distasteful views.  Sadly, this will cause me to take my business elsewhere as well as encourage all family, friends and associates to do the same.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

Sincerely,
Maria

I don't know, maybe that's a little too strongly worded.   So, I did get one immediate response:

date    
Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 5:52 PM
subject
Re: Our Town
mailed-by srs.bis.na.blackberry.com
 
Who are you ??

Fair enough. So, I replied:


I'm a citizen of Morris County who's sick and tired of all this crazy inflammatory rhetoric and I guess I've just had it. I accidentally picked this up at a local store today and I sure as hell don't want people thinking our communities welcome this kind of crap. This is a publication that originates out of Pennsylvania NOT Morris County.

Thanks for asking,

Maria


Oh, shit, I am a crank! Aaaah, well.  So, this morning, I have this response, from Charlotte's Web, a restaurant and caterer in Dover:

date    Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 10:37 PM
subject    Charlottes web
mailed-by    aol.com

The magazine you mention is a FRANCISE ! the people who run this very popular magazine are very nice and and have no agendathey only want to  but want to make a living.  I think some of their jokes are funny  but I also feel they have the right to publish what they want. You know that  freedom of speech thing and all.   Thank you for comments. Stephanie @ Charlottes @ Web


Wait...jokes...funny???  Like this one: 

And, for what it's worth, a good amount of the jokes in this thing are at the expense of the Irish or Catholics...what is this, 1937?

Sigh....Here we go....(and btw, please note my restraint on grammar, spelling, and the question of their 'agenda'...I mean, PUHlease...)

date    Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 5:42 AM
subject    Re: Charlottes web
mailed-by    gmail.com
  
Thank you for your reply.

Freedom of speech is a guarantee of the Constitution of the United States, not a birthright.  This is a lesson, btw, learned in 12 years of Catholic school-anyone who's experienced that knows, while the government cannot squelch freedom of speech, private individuals or institutions have no such obligation.

So, they do have a guaranteed right to publish whatever they have. I do not have an obligation to support that publication nor the entities that underwrite it. However, if I choose to NOT support those entities without explaining to them WHY I am not doing so, that's kind of pointless. Thus my previous email.

That being said, I appreciate your taking the time to respond.
Thank you,

Maria

So....there you have it. It will be interesting to see what, if any, the other responses look like. And, if you'd like to join in at home, here is a partial list of the companies I contacted:

Charlottes Web

Happie Time Pool

IHSS services (see first response, this is an in home health services provider, btw)

Region Oil

Merry Heart

Pediatric Dental Associates of Randolph

The Arrangement Salon Day Spa

N. J Hear

Karl's Appliance

Feel free to contact them. No, really. Because I fear that it is taken for granted that the majority of folk in Morris County agrees with this kind of crap. At the very least, it's apparent that the spokesperson for Charlottes Web doesn't give a rat's ass how they appear to their customers. How do they not know I am not Corporate entity? As a matter of fact, my employer has utilized this company for catering events in the past. It would require very little effort on my part to gather enough of my co-workers to approach the individual in charge of hiring the caterers and convince them to no longer use them. Except they already dropped them because of quality concerns. 

Anyway, I welcome all to join my Quixotic endeavor and if you do, please let me know any results. I will continue to post responses if/when I receive them. 

Peace Out, my brothers and Sisters!