At what job do
you get to stand in the freezing cold being rejected time and time again, while
people avoid even making eye contact with you because they know you want to
take their money and will make them, too, suffer in the cold or be late for
class or work? Behold the amazing
job of a Greenpeace solicitor. Everyone has encountered those Greenpeace
representatives who stand on locust or walnut and stare you down from the end
of the street until you approach. It turns awkward as you attempt to avoid
their deathly gaze because you just know they are going to try to weasel you
out of the $10 you just made at the behavioral lab.
Don’t get me
wrong, I am a full-fledged environmentalist, but I have a hard time supporting
those Greenpeace representatives. I am happy to show my support by going to
events, signing my name to a petition, or doing a lobbying visit to the local
congressman, but it is hard as a college student to give over my money to an
international organization that operates on a very large scale with
implications that are hard to see for myself. Not only are they annoying, but
they make me feel guilty. In fact they make a lot of people feel guilty. People
want to be able to help the environment, just not in the way they are
demanding. Recently a friend said she wasn’t able to donate money, but would be
happy to sign up for their newsletter to receive more information. The
representative would not let her sign up unless she paid her dues. However, the
newsletter is not limited to money-paying members online. You would think that
to increase the organization’s support the rep would have gladly added her to
their list and potentially increased their numbers at some events, but those
solicitors only have one thing in mind – getting your money. I usually just smile at them, say that
I am an active member who participates in meetings [which is true in my home
state of New York], and wish them a good day. That usually gets them really
excited and their faces brighten up. It’s worth the white lie to see that joy
after being rejected all day long.
I propose we set
up a simpler way of supporting Greenpeace and other organizations that want to
wave down our students. Students are so glued to their computers and smart
phones that they are often willing to receive newsletters and will learn
something from them. What if students were simply given the option to sign up
for the newsletter without being hounded for money? In order to be efficient,
organizations need two types of power – money and PEOPLE. They need
constituents to lobby to their politicians, citizens to show up to events,
voters to pass new bills and elect the best politicians for the cause. They don’t just need money. Maybe if we
didn’t think they were going to try to weasel us out of our few pennies we
might stop more often or actually learn something about the cause from their
newsletter.
