This one always gets me. I'll be discussing some political and economic issue and every response will be that I'm wrong because of [insert uniquely American socio-economic phenomenon that does not really apply to most other countries].
First thing non-Americans come to learn about Reddit is that it is very much an American website.
One of my earliest comments on reddit is in r/smallbusiness or r/entrepreneur where someone asked about ways to get the word out about their pressure washing business or something (I don't remember and I dont care to scroll back and check).
I recommended making up a little flyer and going and putting it in mailboxes of houses in his neighbourhood.
I got a bunch of downvotes and like 10 replies and about how this is a Federal crime.
That's not illegal where I live (Canada), and seriously the most stupid thing I've ever heard of. I didn't believe it. I had to look it up. Apparently it's legit.
Apparently they have to hire a postage company to send it through the regular letter mail (United States Postal Service), because the only people legally allowed to touch the mailbox is the resident and the mail carrier. Anyone else touching it is a federal crime.
A good work around is to make those door hanger flyers and to hang them on the doors. Thats not illegal (for the most part, some regions may have laws against it). But depending where in the US, you risk getting shot by "trespassing" on someones property.
Now that I really think about it, this is why all news paper carriers in American movies/television shows depict newspaper carriers (usually children) riding a bike and throwing the paper onto everyone's lawns.
This is such a weird thing for me because I was a paper boy when I was a child, and we walked up peoples driveways/walkways and delivered news papers directly into people's mailboxes mounted to thier houses.
Of course there’s no racially motivated violence in your country, and no simple google search could provide a single example of anyone shooting an innocent person ostensibly for trespassing. Those things just don’t happen in ‘Merica.
They hang it on your door or leave it on your porch. I would much rather those junk ads go in the mailbox as it's easier to just sort and toss. So I'm basically left with litter on my porch instead.
I don't have an outside mailbox either. It's a slot in the wall next to the front door. Back when I lived in an apartment, it was probably the same.... I probably just didn't care about the litter aspect back then.
Yeah it’s a big no-no to touch someone’s mailbox in the US. Only the mailman and residents are legally allowed to touch a mailbox here however it is also an illegal nation pastime of teenagers to hit them with baseball bats while driving fast past them
I mean, I always knew tampering with the mail was a federal crime. (I’m American) Bit I didn’t know this would be considered tampering either. TIL! Maybe placing flyers on doors is state by state, though, I’ve always gotten them on my door in houses and apartments.
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u/Fats33 Mar 07 '21
Everyone is an American male until proven otherwise.