Philadelphia Will Do  
 

Jan

30

Racial Harmony Through Free Stuff

Above Average Jane directs me to something I missed in the December issue of Philadelphia magazine.

Weeks before Election Day, Local 98 boss John Dougherty sent a message to union members, 80 percent of whom are white: Don’t let Obama’s skin color impede your vote. Even more intriguing than his plea to bridge the racial divide was how it was delivered — J. Doc mailed 5,000 one-time-use MP3 players loaded with his pro-Obama stump speech, plus words from building trades manager Pat Gillespie, Rep. Pat Murphy and Senator Bob Casey. Operation MP3 ran a cool $90,000 — but Dougherty says it was worth it: “Everybody loved it. I even saw one on Craigslist for $150.”

What I really like is that Johnny Doc sounds like he was pretty stoked when he saw one of those MP3 players on eBay. (Also: One-time-use? Is that even possible? I guess so, but you think it’d be a cooler gift if it were an iPod Shuffle.)

Anyway, It’s good to know we’ve reached a point in society where just a little free MP3 player can turn even the most racist men into diversity-loving Obama voters. Or something like that.

Interesting Note From Dec. Phillymag [Above Average Jane]
 
dmac | 10:18 AM | 3 Comments
Johnny Doc, MP3 Players, President Obama, Racial Harmony, WTF
 
  1. dmac Says: Jan 30 10:18 AM

    Also: “J. Doc.” Really??

  2. R. M. Says: Jan 30 10:58 AM

    I let the content of Obama’s character impede my vote.

  3. aajane Says: Jan 30 9:09 PM

    The “one-time-use” comment seemed odd to me, too. And if you can only use it once does that mean the one on Craigslist was used and therefore useless, or that someone got one and didn’t want it and so offered it for sale unused? Seems very zen somehow.

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