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Seattlest Pix 09Nov08
Seattlest Pix 09Nov09
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Oh, how we hates them! Alright, we don't hate Greenpeace. Especially not the organization as a whole. When they're not out foolishly trying to save fierce man-eating whales, Greenpeace does a lot of good in the world. Happy happy joy joy. We do, however, hate their "street team" or whatever you might call them. May we suggest "clipboard toting nuisance squad"?
Seattlest works downtown so we do a fair amount of walking everyday from Pike Place to the Paramount and all points between -- including a jaunt past Westlake Center, the preferred breeding ground for these noxious pests in blue t-shirts.
We appreciate what they're trying to do. We get that they're trying to get more people involved, spread their message and all that.
But you know what? Getting in someone's face while they're just trying to get from point-A to point-B isn't going to make them want to be more involved.
Trying to high-five the pretty Nordstrom girls on their way to lunch isn't going to make them want to be more involved.
Motioning that we should remove our headphones so you can ask us an idiotic question about whether or not we care about the environment isn't going to -- well, you get the point.
We're not saying you shouldn't be out there, Greenpeace. You've got every right to make your presence known. Hell, go crazy. Cause a scene. Get up on your soap box with a megaphone and a slide show of dead seal pups. Fine. But for the love of Ishmael, please stop interrupting our daily coffee and Wang Chung fix.
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I used to work for a similar organization in downtown Seattle (associated with groups such as Save the Children, Childrens Intl, etc).
The job lasted two days. When your job and pay is judged on how many "sign-ups" you get (and the sign-up process is atrocious with full 2 year commitments needed, credit card only, no cash!), and despite the humanitarian intent of the group, you'd go to any lengths in order to get people to notice you!
We were trained not to take "No" for an answer, which really diminishes the humanitarian purpose of the group, making the recruiters a little more like car salesmen than humanitarians.
Blehh, I am glad I quit, and I now work in something much more respectable.
I hate how they ask you a baiting question, like "Do you want to stop deforestation?" Because if you say no to avoid having to stop and open your wallet on the street for Greenpeace, then you're a jerk. But if you say "Yes, but not now," then you're a jerk.
I had a similar job for a while and had the same experience as @1. I lasted two days with that organization, too.
There was one Greenpeace guy on Broadway that I caught handing out fliers one day. I wanted to stop and converse with him on the fact that those fliers were a waste of paper, because he's gotta know most people will just toss them as soon as they get past him, but I refrained. I'd rather go home and donate to Greenpeace on the Internet like a normal person.
Not a big fan of Greenpeace. It has steadily lost it's vision since the 70's and is filled with unintelligent radicals.
I know, thems fightin' words, so I shall switch to the current topic of Street Fundraisers.
I, like Guest1 and Kim, worked for a similar company for all of 2 days. 10 hour days with blahzay pay, rain or shine. And I tell you what, I was in PDX (The capital of street annoyance). Most people were mean, but what made it worse was that this was in November. With the 22 hours of downpour, I was soaked and cold and they really didn't care about anything but their minimum sign ups.
Fundraisings a bitch, and nobody should have to do it except Jerry Lewis.
Well, if you'd like a reason to hate Greenpeace the organization, there's an interesting post over at www.shanghaiscrap.com to give you one. It's on the homepage ... and it's enough to send the clipboards flying, believe me.
Look, I get it. You want to get your coffee and move on. That's fine and good. But as somebody who works for an environmental non profit, I ask you to take a minute and look at the way non profits work. There are a lot of groups working against the environmental movement who are well financed, and who we all subsidize everyday. Oil companies, coal companies, energy companies, all those guys. You walk into a gas station and buy a snickers bar, you've suddenly subsidized the oil industry and their lobby efforts in congress, along with GMO foods in the candy bar and created plastic trash. We all do this kind of thing every single day we walk the planet. Almost nobody is completely off the grid, and we're all paying for other people to wreck the planet we live on. Greenpeace, and other eco groups, don't have the option of being "accidentally" funded. So, they've got to send folks out on the street to ask you kindly to help out. Exxon doesn't ask if you'd like weaker air pollution standards, they just take your money and push for it. Environmental groups have been marginalized and pushed out of our political system for years, as have all of us as human beings and citizens of this country. This is just about the only option left - to go to the streets and simply ask for help. Yeah, it's annoying, distracting, and can make you feel guilty and bad about it. But for god's sake, have a little perspective about the thing. I would bet you good money that those guys have things they would rather be doing with their time, but this is the only way to get through, past the corporate blitz of advertising and BS that fills up so much of everybody's lives. So get your coffee, do your thing, live your life, but think about why they are out there instead of whining about it. Even if you are perfect and deserve to be left alone, Seattle is a pretty enlightened place, and the little bit extra that Seattle can do for groups like greenpeace might just help offset the BS that goes on in the rest of the world.
Guest 5:
Three points for you.
1.) Buying a candy bar does not provide a "subsidy." Subsidizing involves giving something for nothing. If it's done by a non-governmental entity, it's usually known as a "donation." Buying a candy bar is more like "buying a candy bar."
2.) Environmental groups are hardly marginalized in American politics. They may not have as much influence as the oil or mining industries, for instance, but many are well-funded organizations with the capability to influence Congress.
3.) Seattle is not an enlighted place. However, many people think that Seattle is an enlightened place. These people also believe they are the most enlightened citizens of Seattle. These people are alternately frustrating and amusing.
Dear Guest 6
1) Perhaps "subsidy" is not the right word, and buying a candy bar is not the worst thing in the world. I use it as an example of a pretty common thing we do that links to money going places we may not want it to nor agree with. Buying gas or using electricity is a little too obvious.
2) I would disagree with you - environmental groups are definitely marginalized to a certain extent, although not always. However, the ones that do have an impact and are well funded are best funded through street teams, such as the above article mentions.
3) On enlightenment (sp?), good point.
Cheers!
Guest 5, aka Gabe
Let's think about this for a second... What is the harm in a group being on the street building their organization? I can certainly see how you would classify this as annoying. I don't necessarily like being approached on the street either, but I have the common sense to politely decline to talk.
You know why organizations like Greenpeace have to put people on the street? It's because the good people of this world are often too busy or too wrapped up in their own lives and consumption to seek them out. These groups do a lot of great work and the only way that that work will continue is with increased support. Support means active members and money.
Nonprofit organizations like Greenpeace are working for you whether you want to believe it or not and well I know you do, because you said you do. Instead of looking at those folks on the street as a nuisance, perhaps you could look at them as what they are. They are a part of the organization that you recognize does good work. They are recruiting new members and bringing in the funding that the organization relies on in order to operate. The sad fact is that without those boots on the ground, groups like Greenpeace would be a thing of the past and then the ExxonMobils will have won. That's a sad sad reality.
Those people are on the ground organizing for whatever group they work for, because the issues are urgent and someone needs to bring them to the attention of the public. On top of building their respective organizations or raising money, those folks on the ground are planting the seeds that allow things to change. More people + more funding + more education = a better future. It's a pretty simple equation.