A little snippet here from 'real life'.
I was at the local grocery store earlier, and a fellow came up to me in the dairy aisle with clipboard (not a good sign), asking me if I would please complete a short survey. He had a cart full of bottles of some kind of cleaning liquid by his side.
"No thanks", I replied. "I'm in a hurry".
- "But, it'll only take 30 seconds".
"No thank you".
- "Don't you care about the ENVIRONMENT?" he persisted, with an air of self-righteousness.
Well, at that point he may have just as well waved a red flag in front of my face. My disdain for solicitors of any kind is only surpassed by my total disgust at having the word 'environment' shoved down my throat every time I turn around.
"No!", I snarled back.
- "Not even a bit?", he stared at me incredulously.
"No, not even a bit!"
- "Well! Have a good day then", he muttered and sought out his next victim.
I walked down the aisle amidst a crowd of astonished onlookers.
I am an environmental pariah.
Just don't cross my path today.
28 comments:
On the other hand those kind of surveys are usually very easy to figure out just what the survey is trying to find. I always try to answer the very opposite to ensure that the results are more representative of "reality".
And you get the WCTeddi "grrrrr" of the day. Well done.
Heretic.
On the other hand those kind of surveys are usually very easy to figure out just what the survey is trying to find.
Exactly. It isn't a survey at all - it's a big suck-in.
Thanks for the "grrrr" Teddi!
Now you know how many of us feel with "family values"...
I've done lots of survey jobs, and that surveyor is just a poor seller/surveyor. If I were his boss I'd tell him to stop or fire him.
In hindsight, if I had been there, I would have asked: what company do you work for? Then reported the guy to the company. Okay, maybe a bit overstated, but that "sales pitch" really was sanctimonious.
Suzanne, I was thinking about complaining to the store manager. After all, I didn't expect to be harassed while doing my shopping.
On the other hand, maybe I'll just get even and never buy green window cleaner.
Yup, I feel like the atheists who are coming out of the closet now. I'll show you, you Green Gods, you!
Yup, I feel like the atheists who are coming out of the closet now. I'll show you, you Green Gods, you!
Atheist don't come "out of the closet"...
And yes, complain to the store manager.
It's annoying to be solicited in stores. While the manager may think he's doing a public service, I find all kind of "drives" and "surveys" in stores to be a hassle.
Atheist don't come "out of the closet"...
No?
"What I would really like is for atheists to come out of the closet because we are so demonized in our culture."
Ditching God.
He was probably going to try to sell you the latest green cleaner.
A kindly f-off is appropriate in those situations. When I was replacing my furnace, the high bidder made some noises about me not worrying about the carbon monoxide the lowest bidder's furnace would produce. I politely showed her the door.
I am particularly irked by this sort of thing, you can tell.
Grrrrr, with an extra "r".
While the manager may think he's doing a public service
I wonder if the stores get some kind of kick-back for this sort of thing? It is very annoying indeed.
Nice one Joanne... I would guess you 'baited' CWTF and gang with that little gem...lol...
hahaha great story. I absolutely can't stand solicitors like that. "Don't you care about the environment?" What an idiot. If people say they don't have time, then leave them alone. Another typical self involved moron who believes he, and he alone will save the *insert important issue*.
I remember a time when I was trying to get to Meal-Hall back in University and some idiot had chained himself to the front door, begging passer-bys to sign his petition to release *insert important animal* from some zoo in China or something dumb like that. Gave me the same kind of speech your grocery-boy gave you.
These people are not driven by "the cause" but rather by self-importance.
You know what bothers me more than an adult getting guilted into something like this?
It's what our kids are putting up with in their classrooms, what with the edu. and environ. ministers making sure all schools get copies of
Gore's film.
Kids are a captive audience who usually believe their educators.
What happens if some poor kid tells his/her teacher that they don't want to see the film or suggest that the teacher show the other side of the debate?
Adults can walk away. What about six and seven year olds?
Wait for it folks because the Ontario gov't is infusing environment into all grade levels.
Blasphemy! How dare you taunt the Green Gods!
They shall smite you down with a fierce global warming!
I predict that just like in the early '70s environmania shall pass and billions will be wasted trying to do the impossible.
Is is just me or wasn't anyone else taught that climate change is bigger than all of us and that to expect man to actually mess with it one way or the other is, well....a bit daft??
J.
How long before we see the first every reality show based on enviromania?
Riley, great story.
I also hate the calls from "The Police Association" canvassing for tickets for (insert your charity) for the circus.
These folks get paid for the calls, from what I have heard.
"But don't you care about the "(insert your charity"?).
I always say that we have already exhausted our charitable donation budget for this fiscal year.
I think what bothers me most is the deliberate attempt to confuse the climate discussions with the environment. CO2 is not poisonous, but spewing Nitrous oxide into the air or phosphates into lakes and rivers should be discouraged.
I've been greeting folks with "How are you enjoying Global Warming this year? We used to call it summer but the gov't couldn't tax it". Makes 'em smile but starts some thinking.
"How are you enjoying Global Warming this year? We used to call it summer but the gov't couldn't tax it".
Ha-ha! Good one, Davey.
That drives me crazy too about the lumping of climate change with issues of pollution. You're absolutely correct. They are different, and should be treated so.
I personally am very concerned about air pollution, and feel that we do indeed need to address that issue seriously.
CO2 is not poisonous,
Care to be in a room with 100% CO2?
That drives me crazy too about the lumping of climate change with issues of pollution. You're absolutely correct. They are different, and should be treated so.
Good on you JJ - the Harper government seems to be confusing both...
Care to be in a room with 100% CO2?
Care to be in a room with 100% O2?
That should probably just be "O". I always did have a problem with the periodic table...
No, it would be O2 (the 2 should be subscripted) but you would find O3 (ozone) to be harmful in large concentrations. O by itself doesn't stay that way long.
L.S. - Thanks. My last chemistry class was a long time ago.
I learned how to deal with people like your "surveyor" from dealing with religious proselytizers.
The same tactics are used, and the same responses are used. They try to shift the conversation to something great, and then wrap themselves in it. You only have to unwrap them from it.
So when the religious guy says "don't you care about your soul?", it is no different then your surveyor saying "don[t you care about the environment.
And the answer is always that "Of course I care about [my soul], or [God], or [the environment]. I just don't care about whatever it is you are selling, and I don't care to listen to you."
When it comes to my religious faith, or my environmental views, I will not let some salesperson change the channel to whatever it is they are flogging.
"Thank you, but no."
CO2 is not really poisonous, even a high concentrations, but can be an asphyxiant by displacing the O2 we need to survive. There's only about 400ppm in the atmosphere, so that doesn't worry me too much.
Too much helium in the air will kill you too, but with an amusing high-pitched voice.
rock on!
Post a Comment