<nettime> white powder in the mail

[cisler <cisler@pobox.com>]

As a former mail carrier for the U.S. Post Office in Kentucky, I think it's
excessive to talk about 'the ruling class' shitting on postal workers.  I
feel very bad about the death of Joseph Curseen, the postal worker who
reported to the hospital and was sent home and who later died of anthrax.
They should have been warned, of course.

The US Postal Service is the butt of many jokes and a lot of criticism, but
the carriers' union and the USPS have been responsive in the past.  The main
fear, up to the current crisis, that mail carriers had were problems with
dog bites. 12 of 1000 carriers are bitten every year.  There are workshops
on this problem at the U.S. Post Office academy. The Center for Disease
Control keeps statistics on this (Each year an estimated 4.7 million
Americans suffer from dog bites. Nearly two million of those victims  are
small children. According to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, dog
bites have become the number one  public health risk for children. Children
are 900 times more likely to be bitten by dogs than letter carriers.) My own
house is on a watch list at the post office because I have a loud
ferocious-looking dog that barks at all visitors but has never bitten a
human or other dog. They take this very seriously, and they now are doing
what they can in this confusing time. I don't think it is very reassuring
yet.

Here is a tongue-in-cheek solution to human mail carriers in the United
Kingdom:
http://www.postmanpat.org.uk/patf/patf.htm

A friend received this fax from a company she does business with:

"Attention ZZZZ customers:
We recently sent out a customer mailing containing free samples of
individually-wrapped Buttermints in a white envelope imprinted in red
and black. You may have already received your sample package or it is
on its way. Unfortunately the packages entered the mail stream before
the recent anthrax scare and may have become crushed during delivery,
leaving a yellowish-white powder inside your envelope.

Please accept our sincerest apologies if this mailing has caused you
any concerns. Our only thought was for you to enjoy the Buttermints.
If you have any questions, please call..."

Steve Cisler

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