[pct-l] Postal "theft"

Thu Apr 15 13:22:57 CDT 2010

Ethicus Schmethicus

Squatch
www.walkpct.com
20% of DVD proceeds to the PCTA until April 16th

--- On Thu, 4/15/10, tom aterno <nitnoid1 at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: tom aterno <nitnoid1 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Postal "theft"
To: "dicentra" <dicentragirl at yahoo.com>
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010, 10:32 AM

Media Male Man 

--- On Thu, 4/15/10, dicentra <dicentragirl at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: dicentra <dicentragirl at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Postal "theft"
To: "Dan Africk" <danstheman at gmail.com>
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010, 9:59 AM

Can we name this guy Media Mail or something similar?

~Dicentra

http://www.onepanwonders.com ~ Backcountry Cooking at its Finest
http://www.freewebs.com/dicentra

________________________________
From: Dan Africk <danstheman at gmail.com>
To: AsABat <asabat at 4jeffrey.net>; pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Wed, April 14, 2010 4:26:21 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Postal "theft"

I consider myself a very honest person. I never steal, almost never lie, and
whenever a cashier forgets to charge me for something, I point it out.
However when it comes to arbitrary federal regulations and victimless
crimes, I have no problem lying when its practical.

If you had read my message carefully, you would see that I was not asking
about sending my regular resupply packages by media mail, just the one-time
shipment of food out to California, which is going to cost me hundreds of
dollars. So this has no effect on trail towns and their perception of
hikers. Yes, the post office is low on funding and they would make less
money by me using media mail. However, they are still making some money from
media mail, otherwise they wouldn't offer it(and they wouldn't make any
money if I chose UPS instead). And they will be getting hundreds of dollars
from me that they wouldn't otherwise, as a direct result of this hike.

Contrary to what you imply, not everyone who choses to thru-hike is so
loaded with money that we "don't deserve a discount" because "we can afford
to take 6 months off". I am doing this even though my bank account is nearly
empty already, and although it makes no financial sense, I personally feel
it is worth it. I've spent the past year weatherizing homes for extremely
low-income families, getting paid less than minimum wage, because I feel
good about helping those living in extreme poverty and reducing our
environmental impact. Of course "feel good" is not meant literally, since
spending your days in attics getting covered with fiberglass is not exactly
pleasant. So please don't make assumptions about my character or lack
thereof. And never forget that there is a profound difference between
legality and morality.

Anyway I've decided not to use media mail, since based on the other
responses I've received, the risk is too great. Thanks everyone for the
feedback.

"I think ticking off the post office during your hike would not be a good
thing. They already accommodate us storing huge amounts of boxes in tiny
buildings along the trail and often hold our packages longer than they are
required to. Ask the postmaster at Warner Springs - they needed to build
more space just to hold our packages.

What you are suggesting is theft. It's no different than changing a price
tag on an item in a store, two people eating at an AYCE buffet but only one
paid, or sneaking extra people in a motel room without paying. Don't do it.
Besides being wrong, actions like these cause trail towns to NOT like
hikers, leading not just to loss of discounts (which they give just because
what we're doing is cool, we don't deserve them if we can afford to take 6
months off) but also lead to businesses simply not wanting us around. We've
had that problem at a Nor Cal store years ago (problem now solved, new
owners love us if we don't clog their front porch) and at a So Cal mountain
motel that got overpopulated and then flat out abused (problem also solved
now).

Be cool, consider how your actions affect the other hikers, and how they
reflect your character.

AsABat

-- 
www.hikefor.com/haiti-2010-Dan

--~--  www.HelpMeWeatherize.com  --~--
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