eg’s homework tonight is absolutely infuriating. it’s another fucking fundraiser of questionable integrity. he has to fill out 11 postcards with the addresses of people he knows, and they get returned to his teacher tomorrow. for filling them out, he gets an ugly bracelet and a whistle straw. these postcards then get turned into BUY THESE MAGAZINES!!! spam mailings, and he’s already been inundated with pictures of the truly awesome glow-in-the-dark spongebob t-shirt he gets if two magazine purchases are made. ARRRRGGGHHHH. i don’t like how much access a for-profit corporation is given to my impressionable 7-year-old, and everyone pretends it’s okay because the school gets a slice of profit. i mean, come on… the goal for the ENTIRE SCHOOL for this fundraiser is $500. i’m sorry, but once a month the school holds a “wear a hat” or “wear your pajamas” or something day as a fundraiser. the kids bring in $1 and get to wear whatever the goofiness du jour is. those are for the american heart association, make a wish foundation, etc. seriously… the school could just hold two more of those per year to make that $500, and not have to let a spam-co fuck with their little heads.
so eg’s all excited, talking about how he wants the shirt… (of course, only in the fine print do you see that you do not get the shirt just for participating… you get the little crappies for participating. you get the shirt for raking in the dough. for the corporation.) so i just explained the scheme to him: this company wants $30 for a magazine. they will give $1 of it to your school, and then keep the other $29 for themselves. these are magazines you could buy for $12 from a different catalog. but if you can trick two of your friends into giving them $30, they will give you a $5 t-shirt.
his response was a horrified look, followed by, “those ASSHOLES.” (IAlsoHaveADream’s comment: “I await the phone call from the school asking you why EG stood up in class to denounce the system.”)
i tried to word my explanation to the boy carefully, but i think i blew it when i said that homework was supposed to be for learning, and, as homework, this was kind of bullshit. prm is doing an admirable job of salvaging the situation now.
so, i filled out all of them legitimately… except for one. i don’t want to write a formal letter of protest to the school… they’re doing their best to stay funded. i understand. it’s their decision. but i do have to offer my token protest in the form of:
January 23, 2007 at 2:41 pm
“I was on their opt-out list, but some 7yo ratted me out.”
I hate corporations.
January 23, 2007 at 4:58 pm
i really hate, hate, hate it when QD brings home that shit. i send a small donation to the school, throw away all the propaganda, and then take him to walmart and buy him something way more cool than the offered prizes. so, yeah, i bribe him with a new ps2 game but i’d rather spend $40 for the game and $20 for the donation but it’s better than aggravating everyone and their cousin’s uncle in Mesentery, GA or Sphenoid, TX or Trichomoniasis, VT. Oh, and birth that baby, please!!
STW
January 23, 2007 at 10:24 pm
my nieces did the same thing. blech, it drives me nuts that schools are supporting spam!!
January 30, 2007 at 7:29 am
I think you handled it quite well.
January 30, 2007 at 7:06 pm
bastards! Fight the corporations! Oh wait… I work for one… well fight them all but mine, mmmkay?
February 3, 2007 at 3:37 am
I had to sell candy door-to-door…I’m scared for life.
My therapist/lawyer tell me I can sue.
But I need to sell a box of chocolate bars for the retainer.
How many can I put you down for???