Leighton and Dorr Township Boards have been grappling with a solicitation ordinance, seemingly with the belief that hucksters have a right to annoy homeowners by attempting to sell them things they don’t need.
I suppose I will be regarded as as Libtard by some of my right-wing “friends,” but I don’t believe anyone has a right to to intrude on our privacy unless we permit it expressly. Though I support freedom of expression, such as Colin Kaepernick taking a knee, I don’t think it’s the same thing as the Fuller Brush man knocking at my door, Jehovah’s Witnesses canvassing my neighborhood to covert us or a telemarketer interrupting whatever I’m doing in the privacy of my own home to sell me some snake oil.
I just don’t think freedom of speech should protect someone who is making unwanted advances on my home, my space or my time.
In these modern times, we consumers have plenty of opportunities to select what goods or services we want to buy, and the omnipresent market and advertising certainly does a bang-up job of clamoring for our attention and ourbusiness. It is virtually as impossible as death and taxes to escape being exposed to advertising and marketing messages.
Because of that, I don’t see how it’s necessary or desirable for anyone to go door-to-door to bother residents, with the obvious exception of verifiably charitable causes. And even they should register with local government authorities in this day and age of scams.
Leighton Township this past week decided against crafting a solicitation ordinance, maintaining that it can best be handed through common sense regulations and guidelines. There was much more hand-wringing over the issue in Dorr Township, where Township Trustee John Tuinstra seemed to indicate his belief that people selling wares and services have a right to do so and should be given every opportunity.
I personally am fed up with constantly being marketed to, whether it’s the overabundance of ads on TV, the pop-up ads on the Internet, billboards trying to get your attention while you’re driving your motor vehicle or even during a visit to a gas station, a dentist’s office or doctor’s office.
I now consider virtually all door-to-door salespersons to be in the same ballpark as telemarketers. They interrupt our personal business and invade our privacy, all to try to con us into buying something that we don’t want or need. I don’t understand why they should be protected.
I believe all business people have a right to try to sell something, but they should be relegated to certain places and certain times that are clearly understood by buyer and huckster. And that doesn’t include my home or telephone.
I am very disappointed in our local, state and national politicians and their efforts to “create a healthy bidness climate” while doing virtually nothing to stop telemarketing calls and invasions of our property. If politicians really worked for us, they’d insist the carnival barkers leave us alone.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Dave
“Yes, robocalls are getting worse. They will soon account for 50% of calls. – Yahoo Finance”
This right leaning old man agrees with my libtard friend. Dave, I also believe the vacuum salespersons, book salesman, etc should not be allowed to bother me at my home door or my phone. Sick of getting the marketing calls (most are likely scams) which I no longer answer if I don’t recognize the number. Not many door to door sales lately thankfully.
If you opt for a VoIP phone service like Ooma that uses your internet connection or choose to use your cable provider’s telephone service they provide a call blocker for no additional fee called Nomorobo.
Nomorobo requires you to register your number. When you get an unwanted call you go online, log the number that shows up on caller ID. From then on if that number calls it rings once. At our home we’ve blocked over 150 calls because the scammers get smarter changing the ID.
If you have an iPhone you can block calls after they call once by going to recent calls, tap the circled i to the right of the number and scroll to the last choice which is “Block this caller”
If I don’t recognize a number and the caller leaves no message the number gets blocked. You can’t stop everything the first time but consumers have a better arsenal of tools to block calls after the first attempt than we had 18-24 months ago.
When was the last time you had a true door to door salesman stop at your house within the last 5 years or more? Telemarketers are used extensively now and ads on the web are the most annoying. I guess Al Gore’s invention has taken over our lives!
As for Kapernick’s protests, it would have been more effective if all the consternation were completely true and relavant, but truth is second to a good protest. How’s that working out for you Mr. Kapernick? On the outside looking in sucks doesn’t it? The NFL doesnt understand the base audience and they are insulted by taking a knee during the national anthem. The number of viewers lost is hurting advertising rates and revenue. The NFL is “not for long”.
I also dislike candidates for public office and their door knockers….send me a brochure….since I have to get my mail anyway …than you are not a nuisance. But limit yourself to no more than two mailings ….and if you “lean”in my direction you may get my vote.
Since the subject of kneeling during the nation anthem has already been broached; how many of the “Insulted” “base audience” bother to put their right hand over their heart during the anthem. Or even stand up, for that matter. How about criticzing anyone in the bleachers if they do not stand for the anthem? If Trumpy and the general public had not put up such a clamor over this, Kapernick could have made his statement and the rest of the world could have gone about their business as usual.
Mr. or Ms. Brewer,
If Mr. Kapernick would have called a press conference and cited his protest position, that’s on his time, and I’m sure the fake news media would would have been all over it, getting mucho coverage and on national news.
The majority of NFL fans at the time and now were insulted in the way he did it. I completely understand his misplaced motives, and they are as insulting today as they were then. What happened to Kapernick should have also extended to others protesting during the anthem. The league and owners tried the politically correct way to address this breach of conduct and contract, so now the league faces the consequences.
But I’m sure that doesnt bother you since you’re not a fan of the NFL and would love to see the game go away forever. Then you liberals could make real inroads with soccer and tiddly winks.
I thought this article started out about annoying robocalls, telemarketers, and solicitors. Why did you feel you needed to bring up the Kapernick situation and now you Boo Hoo when you get some backtalk about it?
You are right in assuming that I am not a Die Hard NFL football fan! That’s not all! I don’t like hockey either. The action is so fast I can’t keep up with what is happening. Ditto soccer. And while you are on the subject of FAKE, I can’t stand pro wrestling. I don’t mind baseball, basketball, golf, track or tennis. I am so tired of everything revolving around sports in general. By saying “what happened to Kapernick should extend to others” do you mean people in the bleachers who didn’t stand should lose their jobs and be blackballed from ever working in their chosen field?
Your remark about me being a liberal and tiddlywinks makes me think you are one of those sore losers who get mad whenever they don’t win.
By the way, it is Mrs. to you. anyone else can call me by my first name. I don’t feel the need to hide behind an aka.
To offer a bit of the devil’s advocate:
First and foremost, I AM annoyed by the unwanted phone calls and door-knockers. But where there is no prohibition by local ordinance for folks to contact me either way, and unless you post your property with a no trespassing sign, people still have the freedom of speech to get their crass or offensive message to you.
Honoring that spirit of freedom, I have adopted my own, personally acceptable methods, to cope. I hang up on telemarketers who won’t take a polite declining of their pitch. Religious proselytizers are greeted politely, and then informed that my own spiritual needs are being satisfactorily met. They have always responded with respect and a speedy departure. Always.
Here in Chandler AZ it is an accepted protocol to leave door hangers and fliers wedged in our screen doors for the appropriate disposition (read it and/or recycle it!).
For me it is a compromise that works. But as I said, as devil’s advocate, I’m just offering a different slant and alternate coping mechanism.
By the way, one of my pet peeves is the inability of some folks to stick to the topic at hand, which, for this piece, was NOT Colin Kaepernick’s freedom of speech. But that pet peeve is not the subject either, is it?
You may want to re-read the authors original piece, he brought up Mr. Kapernick.
Yes, he mentioned Mr. Kaepernick, as an example of free speech, not as an annoying door-to-door peddler, which IS the theme of the piece.