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Forum Post: This is a way for everyone to occupy

Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 19, 2011, 12:46 p.m. EST by Teamster (102)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

This is a good way for everyone at home to help out with the movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JlxbKtBkGM&feature=colike

6 Comments

6 Comments


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[-] 1 points by mserfas (652) from Ashland, PA 12 years ago

I'm reluctant to watch political videos, especially monologues, but this one is a keeper!

In case others here have been reluctant to click on the link, some ideas it suggests are:

  • To use the "business reply mail" envelope from a free credit card offer as a way to message a bank

  • Each envelope, even empty, costs them 24 cents; filling it more might drive up the price. (Note this is less than you pay!)

  • Sending a piece of wood, roofing shingle etc. drives up the price further as a "rigid envelope"

  • You can include political or personal messages to the bank, and perhaps get them to have a meeting about it, making your cause something they have to react to.

Now some potential issues I see with this are:

  • I'm not sure it's actually legal. I find two hits claiming it isn't ( https://www.google.com/search?q="misusing+business+reply" ). On the other hand Harris v Time Inc, 1987 ( http://luyulei.net/cases/07_02_Harris-v-Time-Inc.html ) appears to support the right to send a business reply envelope empty or with a message enclosed. I don't actually know. (of course, how it is that it can cost you 44 cents to mail a letter and them 24 cents and they can accuse you of robbing them is another issue).

  • The banks might have other snide retorts, like finding some way to dub you a problem customer, cancel or worsen the terms of a credit card, or get those credit reporting agencies, who are accountable to no one, to abuse you.

  • Sending the envelope you got the offer in certainly means there's no doubt who sent this to them, and the envelope itself may well have a code of some sort, so these are plausible risks.

Bottom line: it's cute, it's entertaining, but I prefer a protest that increases our knowledge about them, not their knowledge about us.

[-] 1 points by ciavlad (85) 12 years ago

Vote petition on the Internet : http://wh.gov/jkl

[-] 1 points by forOWS (161) 12 years ago

I don't get bank offers or credit card junk mail because I told the banks and credit card companies to f*ck off a long, long time ago. I bank with a local credit union and use only an ATM card.

[-] 1 points by ciavlad (85) 12 years ago

Vote petition on the Internet : http://wh.gov/jkl

[-] 1 points by mserfas (652) from Ashland, PA 12 years ago

I'm sorry, but I just don't find this petition to be coherent. The only thing I understand of it is a plan to have the government track transactions of $50,000 or more, and they already do that on $10,000 or even less, something which many people find disturbing. I see it has one (1) signature...

[-] 1 points by Nevada1 (5843) 12 years ago

Hi Teamster, Thank you for link. Best Regards, Nevada