Thursday, February 26, 2009

Red Envelope Fools?

::OPEN LETTER::Re: Red Envelope Day

I'm really not sure what to make of the Red Envelope Day phenomenon.

I agree with it in principle. It sounds like a great way to emphasize a great cause.

But I have one question, why on March 31st? The way I see things playing out is for everyone to mail their thousands of red envelopes on Tuesday, March the 31st. They then hit the USPS system that night, concentrating towards Washington DC the next morning, and hitting the White House that same day, April 1st, a.k.a. April Fools Day.

Granted, I will admit that not all of them will get there in one day. The material point, however, is that the massive influx will begin that next day.

I'm really curious, does anyone know the significance of why the founder of the Red Envelope Day movement picked March 31st? Did he ever state his reasoning for that day?

Also, why are any discussion boards or forums disabled on the facebook group/page/event? (which is the place I would have rathered to publish this open letter)

It seems to me that this is one massive April Fools prank on President Obama, the Capitol, the USPS, the gullible American populace, and, ultimately, on the very group seeking to make their point. Won't the pro-lifers be the fool when the news broadcast throughout the country on the evening news on April 1st, 2009 is all about a massive prank pulled over on the ignorant conservatives of the United States; and if anything is said about the supposed intended purpose, I see it as a footnote to the stupidity of those who participated.

Please anyone, chime in! I'm curious to see this thought has occurred to anyone else? I'm also curious to see if I can actually get in touch with the administrators of the movement.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

March 31 was a random date. I did not pick that date--there have been three "dates" so far. Two were promoted by anonymous individuals, and one by someone who contacted me. I joined the March 31 effort because I saw the momentum behind it. Outside of the immediate DC area, most of the letters, after going through security, will arrive early during Holy Week, not April 1.

You might be shocked to know that there are no "administrators" of this event. There is no budget, no long range plan, and no staff. And no, it is not a practical joke on conservatives.

So far this idea has gained the endorsement of several major organizations and the blessing of two catholic dioceses. To date my conservative estimate is that just over 1 million envelopes have been sent.

I hope that answers your questions.

Anonymous said...

PS, Facebook disabled messages. They say it is due to the size of the groups, but there are other groups that are larger.