In a struggle to be happy and free

Drystone Wall

And then the phone rang

Here I am this evening. I’m not feeling terribly well with the world. My situation could be better, and while there are many reasons, the biggest one at the moment is my mother is in the hospital. It’s not life-threatening at this time, and I’m not telling you this for sympathy or comment, but rather to give you an idea of my current mindset.

The phone rang, and I did not recognize the number. I decided to pick it up anyway. It was a call from the Liberal Party. The woman making the call wanted to know if Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne, along with the local candidate Joyce Morocco, can depend on my support.

My mind immediately flashed to the Do Not Call list and how political campaigns are exempt from not calling. After that, I was speechless because the last thing I’m thinking about now is the by-election.

I finally managed to put some words together and said, “I haven’t given much thought to my vote, but your call has made my support less likely.” I wanted them to know that despite their being legally entitled to call me, their decision to call still involves consequences.

To my surprise, the woman said, “Well, you’ll be getting lots of calls from lots of candidates, but thank you for your time.”

My translation of her statement is, “We’re allowed to call, and others call as well, so don’t blame us! Not our fault!”

Ms. Morocco’s representative tried to pull the move for which politicians are infamous … evading responsibility. Tried and failed, that is. My Mom’s situation is not her fault, but Ms. Morocco’s decision to place cold calls to the members of the riding was certainly her decision, so I will absolutely not allow her to evade responsibility for it.

You’ve left a terrible first impression, Ms. Morocco.

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4 Comments

  1. Ryan

    Short-sighted, to say the least, but not surprising. Hope your mom is home soon.

    • Rick

      Thank you, Ryan, I hope she’s home soon, too!

    • Rick

      That said, I need to post an update about the call. I wrote the post quickly because I was so pissed off. I have further thoughts after some reflection, including that the call was made outside the hours allowed by the CRTC telemarketing rules. The more I think about it, the bigger a FAIL it becomes.

  2. Julie

    I hope your mom gets better soon, Rick. As for the politicians, ever notice that you ONLY hear from them when they want your vote? There are no phone calls between elections.

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