I Think We Are Being Used....

January 22, 2004

I'm pretty disturbed about seeing some religious coins and booklets stuck to poles and surrounding areas with 2 sided foam tape. One was stuck right on a benchmark and another on a historical marker. We tried to get all the "sticky" off but couldn't. These are in rural areas and it certainly looks like it was either a geocacher or someone using the cache locations to place their items. I don't even have an issue with people putting them in the cache themselves if they choose. Just not stuck all over everything. We are putting some alcohol in the cache pack just for removal of sticky white foam stuff. I can't imagine how anybody would think that this is a cool thing to do. Why not let your kids scribble all over everything with crayons or let the "taggers" have a shot at it with a couple of cans of spray paint???????? These people probably don't even read the boards so we are going to add some kind of statement on the discription of the cache and encourage all of our friends to edit their existing cache sheets reminding everyone to take care of our fragile environment. Thanks for listening. We love our desert.

1.2k · January 22, 2004

I am sure if they tried they could come up with less destructive ways to get their message out. I have come across some religious documents in caches which doesn't bother me, but to have it defacing property?

I have seen a product can Goo B Gone or Goo off, basically smells like lighter fluid but does wonders for removing adhesive.

24.7k · January 22, 2004

Not much you can do when someone hears the call and the call says "Stick coins to everything" other than photograph them and get them a fine for littering. That would remind them that while getting the word out is their job, so is obeying the law of the land.

January 22, 2004

I have no clue who left the stuff. There were also cassette tapes laying around on the ground. We will start taking pictures of these things if we find any more. We were re-visiting some of our local caches because we had family in from Indiana who love the game.

2.2k · January 22, 2004

please report all littering to 1-800-44 TRASH. it is a $500.00 fine. i hope they think it is worth it. if you can't find the individual, find the main source.

January 22, 2004

i don't understand the nature of this type of "spreading the word". has anyone ever found a religous coin taped to a tree and been saved? would damp, moldy pamphlets hidden in a box under a tree stump in the woods be enough to convert someone?

if i was trying to push an agenda i would find a more productive-and effective-way to do so.

3.1k · January 22, 2004

So did they leave an address? Perhaps such items should be returned to their doorstep if they did. A nice large pile of returned items would be fun.

Edited January 22, 2004 by Lazyboy & Mitey Mite

January 22, 2004

Halden wrote:

I have seen a product can Goo B Gone or Goo off, basically smells like lighter fluid but does wonders for removing adhesive.

Try WD-40 or PB Blaster. Great for taking off sticky stuff. Leaves oil though.

A lot of the little religious books or tracts as they are called around here have the name of the distributing church stamped on them. Makes it easier for the Litter Police to find them.

1.3k · January 23, 2004

This is a good example of how litter is all about perception. Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy if I never saw another religious tract anywhere. But it's interesting that while we don't want to consider a cache "trash", we consider the tracts to be trash. I'm sure whoever placed them there would disagree. The same arguments for differentiating between caches and trash could be applied to the tracts. It shows the weakness of the argument that a cache is not trash when applied to tracts. So, perhaps a better way to ensure people can't possibly mistake caches for trash is in order? <_<

2.2k · January 23, 2004

I'm pretty disturbed about seeing some religious coins and booklets stuck to poles and surrounding areas with 2 sided foam tape. One was stuck right on a benchmark and another on a historical marker.

it looks to me like it's more than just a few tracts on the ground. they shouldn't be stuck to benchmarks or historical markers.

24.7k · January 23, 2004

This is a good example of how litter is all about perception. Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy if I never saw another religious tract anywhere. But it's interesting that while we don't want to consider a cache "trash", we consider the tracts to be trash. I'm sure whoever placed them there would disagree. The same arguments for differentiating between caches and trash could be applied to the tracts. It shows the weakness of the argument that a cache is not trash when applied to tracts. So, perhaps a better way to ensure people can't possibly mistake caches for trash is in order?

"Official Geocaching Gamepiece, Please do not remove" comes to mind.

6.5k · January 23, 2004

This is a good example of how litter is all about perception. Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy if I never saw another religious tract anywhere. But it's interesting that while we don't want to consider a cache "trash", we consider the tracts to be trash. I'm sure whoever placed them there would disagree. The same arguments for differentiating between caches and trash could be applied to the tracts. It shows the weakness of the argument that a cache is not trash when applied to tracts. So, perhaps a better way to ensure people can't possibly mistake caches for trash is in order?

I guess I don't consider them trash (but that is where the few pamlets/etc ive found go), I consider them SPAM. To me its not really any different than putting in flyers for a dealership, stacks of reality agent cards, or whatever else. If Im looking for a new [insert whatever you're offering here] I'll consult the yellow pages or ask people I know for references, otherwise please don't sell me on anything. Thank You.

January 23, 2004

I also live in arizona (rural area nw of tucson). I have been noticing these poster stuck to everything. Several were put up near benchmarks and caches as you stated. Also the same ones are at big (for the rural desert anyway) intersections and several on the no parking signs near the schools

1.3k · January 23, 2004

Then again...

January 23, 2004

I generally agree. I don't see the sense in randomly making messes with religious

tracts. As we all can see, it doesn't generally accomplish much but disturb people

and create another excuse (as if we needed another) to be angry with the

religious establishment.

But if someone found a pornography stash near a cache site, should they send

an accusing forum thread to everyone claiming someone is lurking around cache

sites with porn and talk about sending the porn back to Larry Flynt ?

I would think not.

Seems to me that we are being a little unfair and imbalanced here.

My two cents.

<_<

January 23, 2004

Seems to me the proper thing to do would be to hide geocaches under all the pews in the local churches. What goes around, comes around...

2.2k · January 23, 2004

But if someone found a pornography stash near a cache site, should they send

an accusing forum thread to everyone claiming someone is lurking around cache

sites with porn and talk about sending the porn back to Larry Flynt ?

I would think not.

Seems to me that we are being a little unfair and imbalanced here.

My two cents.

i would complain if it were stuck to benchmarks and historical markers. other than that, i wouldn't care.

2.7k · January 23, 2004

Seems to me the proper thing to do would be to hide geocaches under all the pews in the local churches. What goes around, comes around...

As an aside, please don't equate all Christians with this activity. I would venture a guess that at most 2 or three people had a brain fart and decided to do this admittedly stupid thing. I've even seen people do stuff as "Christians' out of spite for them, not because they had any belief. (A visit to Landover Baptist website comes to mind).

Anyway, please don't lump us all in like this. Just be the better person and remove them from inappropraite spots, contacting the church, if listed, to find out if anyone was 'authorized' by the church to do what they did with them.

(edit, spleling)

Edited January 23, 2004 by New England n00b

2.7k · January 23, 2004

Seems to me the proper thing to do would be to hide geocaches under all the pews in the local churches. What goes around, comes around...

I'm sure the local pastors wouldn't mind <_< More people in church that way!

I actually thought about hiding a cache at my church. The cache page would say something like "stop on in on sunday morning, have a prayer and a cache".

I figured it would be more than just a little "commercial".

But a cache at a church or religious site of special historical or other significance, placed in a way that would not detract from the site's purpose, is fine. I own one and have found several others like that.

As to the people who littered the landscape with religious trash, shame on them. The only "word" this gets out is that "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God". "Look at me!", they are saying; "I can excuse my illegal behavior because I'm God's messenger. I can sin all I want- I'm forgiven."

The Apostle Paul warned about this.

(edit- wrong smiley)

Edited January 23, 2004 by ChurchCampDave

January 23, 2004

I have started seeing these stuck on ATM's around town.

I Think We Are Being Used....

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