Like most column readers, I do what I can to make the world a better place. Sometimes, it’s by getting involved and volunteering; sometimes by sending a check or clicking a gift. And yes, sometimes it’s simply by showing up, a somewhat feeble effort to demonstrate that I’m aware, that I care, and that I want to do my part.
Not surprisingly, people who engage, even at minimal levels, quickly find their names on mailing lists. More accurately, mailing lists quickly find YOU, and will make your name and address available -- for a price, of course -- to entities seeking to inform you about their cause. I understand this business (indeed, it’s a business) at a basic level. Accordingly, I’m not shocked after I engage with Organization “A” or Candidate “B”, when Organization “Y” or Candidate “Z” also discovers me and sends postal or electronic mail. But there are still occasional surprises.
Two months ago, our household received a newspaper entitled “The Epoch Times”: two sections, 24 pages, addressed to “Current Resident”, at my street address (which sounds far more sophisticated than my gravel road address). In bold uppercase letters, this tabloid proclaims: “WE MAILED YOU THIS FREE COPY TO BREAK THROUGH SUPPRESSION BY BIG TECH.” Then, in similar font, it suggests I could save 70% off my first subscription and, in somewhat smaller type, urges me to “please read and stay informed.”
Fearing perhaps that I didn’t read and stay informed, an enclosed, one-page, front-and-back flyer says “this complimentary edition of The Epoch Times is for me to enjoy. It consists of a sampling of content previously published in The Epoch Times newspaper.” Apparently, they didn’t think highly enough of yours truly to send me hot-off-the-presses news, but rather their greatest hits version. The flyer quickly explains that I can get my very own copy of their weekly newspaper AND unlimited digital access for $139 a year, saving 70 percent over their normal subscription price of $545.
That’s a rock-solid no on both their “news” and on their offer. The Epoch Times is part of a far-right media company affiliated with the Falun Gong religious movement. (If you’re not familiar with them, you might wish to google Falun Gong.) I’d no more turn to them for my news -- or my religion -- than to the man in the moon. Their version of news is scary, slanted, and completely bogus. A 2019 news story assembled by NBC News noted this company was the second largest funder of pro-Trump Facebook ads, coming in second only to the Trump campaign itself.
What I find frightening is not what they print -- so one-sided (the far-right side) it’s almost comical -- it’s that they’re mailing it… to ME. And, that they didn’t bother to address me by name, which leads me to believe they’re sending it out broadly across rural Iowa, onto gravel roads like mine where more readily available newspapers are often pretty thin and news coverage is rather spotty.
Within weeks of receiving propaganda masquerading as a newspaper, I received a more personal (meaning addressed individually to me) free “poster” from Turning Point USA, shouting “FREE and BRAVE”. So, how did THEY get my name? My theory: TPUSA bought a list of households labeled politically active in Iowa and, given Iowa’s (ahem) rightward tendencies of late, assumed rural households like mine would welcome their right-wing blather. Ha, they’re mistaken.
“Dear Kurtis: They don’t love the America that you and I love. —Big media. —Big tech.* —Radical professors and biased reporters. They’ve convinced millions of young people that America is evil to its core. That they should hate its heroes and tear down their statues. And they’ve unleashed their forces to loot our cities, burn our suburbs, and bring our country to our knees.” Blah, blah, blah.
Continuing… “Will you stand up for the America you love with a contribution of $25, $50, $100, or even $250 to Turning Point USA to help share our message of PATRIOTISM and LOVE OF COUNTRY with millions of students** who need to hear it most? I’m here to tell you, straight from the frontlines of the fight: The radical Left may seem like a powerful enemy, but they’re no match for Turning Point USA!”
This breathless, erroneous message is from Charlie Kirk, Founder and CEO of Turning Point USA. Kirk and his organization, like The Epoch Times, is far right, extreme right, radical right, pick your favorite description. Apparently, both entities have enough funds to prospect (foolishly, in my case) in my rural mailbox, seeking access to my billfold.
Let me add one more “right”. I fervently support their constitutional right to do exactly what they’ve done, mistaken and delusional as I find them. Their disgusting, dystopian, anger-filled worldview is antithetical to mine. I hope their plans are a colossal failure, a waste of their money, and costing them dearly. Meanwhile, I’ll be vigilant and stand up to their wrongheadedness at every opportunity.
As a matter of fact, I just did.
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* - It makes me wonder what dreadful things “Big Tech” did to get on BOTH enemies’ lists?
** - Kirk’s organization is active primarily on campuses… but students generally don’t have much $$$. So, they reach out to people with a bit more gray hair, hoping to access a greater supply of available cash.