Opportunistic

Spent most of the Labor Day weekend doing basically everything contrary to labor. In other words, nothing. What I did find interesting on the web is the sudden proliferation of businesses announcing that a portion of your purchase will be donated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, while there are others who just completely donate all of their sales to the victims. Lastly, there are also businesses that just make a donation without making any grand announcements to their customers. The issue, here, that bothers me a bit is that some businesses have used this tragedy to promote their sales and even making their company appear somewhat righteous in their efforts. I personally find it very distasteful to find a business that has to post a message on their website stating they are donating a portion of the sales. Why do they have to announce it? Will it really make us (i.e., consumers) into buying customers? I don’t think so. We are smarter and more cynical! Such a practice would most likely make me never want to buy from them. I think most people who are compassionate in light of this terrible event will make a donation whether it is in the form of money, clothes, etc., out of the kindness of their own heart.