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The arrival of a 473-page paperback in Portland mailboxes this week baffled recipients. On May 13, WW explained its origins on wweek.com. The book, titled The Great Controversy, was written in 1858 by a founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A Coldwater, Mich., nonprofit mailed copies to addresses in Portland—the latest in a series of locations (Chicago, Philadelphia, the entire state of Vermont) the nonprofit chose to proselytize. Some of those previous cities were chosen because of high-profile social ills. Here’s what our readers had to say:
joanclaytonesq, via Reddit: “Imagine if they’d taken the money spent on publishing and mailing this to feed the hungry, provide shelter to the unsheltered, and offer aid to sick people. I read about a guy in ancient times who did stuff like that. Can’t recall his name, I think it was Jesse or something like that…”
Daniel Brown, via wweek.com: “I found the pages of the book ignited quickly and burned cleanly with little ash in my chimney charcoal starter. A quality publication!”
Rick Joyce, via wweek.com: “‘Fragile Portland Gets Upset Over Junk Mail’ —The Onion”
Kanya Houge, via Facebook: “I’m making an art junk journal out of mine and having fun with the process. So far in one book, I’ve torn out every two pages, then left two, throughout the book, decreasing the volume by half. I’m in the process of adhering the in-between two pages together, for strength to then begin adding paint and marks and collage, etc.”
SapphosLemonBarEnvoy, via Reddit: “I was outside when my postwoman showed up with it, and she said she wasn’t employed to be a librarian for dragging a van of these crappy books around all day. If I understood her correctly, they also don’t go through the sorters correctly either, so it’s a labor burden too.
“I propose we gather them all up, and drop them air mail from 5,000 feet on the people that burdened the mail system with this trash.”
mark sneedly, via wweek.com: “Political flyers go to mailboxes across the state and country all day long. How is this any different? Because you don’t like the message? Neither do I, but I don’t throw a tizzy when I get a mailer from Kotek either. It goes to the same recycle bin as the Jesus stuff. Are you proposing the Jesus people shouldn’t have the same access to USPS as your favorite campaigns and activist organizations?”
Kaleb Eisle, via Facebook: “Really appreciate the distinction Lucas (the author) made here. So many of us who are Adventist and live in this area DID NOT want this, did not know it was happening, and now have to deal with the effects caused by a group way out in another state.”
EVANGELISTS MISS THE POINT
Regarding the mass mail saturation campaign covered in your story “A Michigan Nonprofit Is Blanketing Portland in Religious Literature” [wweek.com, May 13], the content managers of Christ in the story know about MailChimp, for sure. Adding to the landfill in the most liberal city in America may not be the sharpest marketing strategy, but it could be the dumbest yet, unless I compare it to the daily effort put in across Burnside from Powell’s Books, where “FREE BIBLE lessons” are offered off a stationary rack manned by a couple of salespersons. I do not see much difference. Those folks, like the mail-order proselytizers, are going for the win: the bloody red meat of fresh young Portland liberals coming out of Powell’s and/or the gays wandering past to shop at Buffalo Exchange, or the pub crawler secular professionals cruising towards drinks in the Pearl, who have left off any interest in a god who shames them or their friends. I find the book mailers and sidewalk promoters about as close to their desired catch as the I am to becoming an astronaut.
It seems a measurable offense when well-meaning “helpers” look straight past the faded spirits of the disenfranchised homeless and destitute (standing nearby and who have almost nothing except a thread of hope that things may turn around) and straight on to those who have found a happy city to love and thrive in. This is the problem with phoning it in. It’s a dial tone.
P. Moss, Southwest Portland
LETTERS to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: P.O. Box 10770, Portland OR, 97296 Email: mzusman@wweek.com