Postal-partum help
Carriers can look out for mail theft
Dear John: I am a mailman in Wichita, Kan.
Regarding the recent letter about identity theft, it happens that the US Postal Service does send out a confirmation letter to the former address that has the name of the person whose mail is to be forwarded.
And the words “or current resident” is on the notification, which means the identity theft victim got a notification, just didn’t pay attention.
Also, get to know your mailman.
We all are not as bad as some of the stories you hear. The majority of us care about our customers, and in many cases have looked out for them and they don’t even know it.
The USPS request to look out for is Individual Temporary Forward. It does not generate a notification. I wish it did, and feel it should.
As a mailman, whenever I see an ITF, I ask someone at the residence if it’s legit. Hope this helps. Billy Dear Billy: I love my mailman, who happens to be a lady. And thanks for the information on temporary forwards.
Either this is going to force the post office to fix this loophole, or we just gave thieves the tip of their lifetime.
Dear John: As a VFW member of 17 years (I joined immediately upon eligibility after a year in Iraq), I find the attitude of Joe appalling and not up to the standards of VFW — especially of an officer.
Here was an immigrant family flying Old Glory. No one spoke directly to them, but once they received the passiveaggressive note from Joe, they lowered the flag.
All good thus far. But while Joe — and the neighbor who initially wrote to you about the situation — considered replacing the flag, Joe said he chose not to because the family didn’t care enough to learn how to fly it properly.
That’s the arrogance of a certain generation of veterans.
I’m not sure what language was spoken or what country the family was from, but upon learning something was wrong, they took down the offensive display.
That they did so suggests to me that it wasn’t a political statement. It sounds like they were proud of their new home and flew the flag.
I know plenty of natural
born Americans who don’t know proper flag etiquette.
So here’s what should have happened. After the note prompted action, Joe or another VFW member should have approached the family with a brand new flag in exchange for the tattered one, along with some guidance on how to properly fly it.
That Joe left the family with a torn and tattered flag — likely to be thrown in the trash or perhaps ripped into rags — is the real issue here.
Let Joe know what he should have done. S.K.
Dear S.K.: Joe and the neighbor will know your opinion when they read this. Thanks for sharing it. It’s clear they were both afraid of confrontation. It’s easy for you and me to criticize, since we weren’t there and our safety wasn’t an issue.
Still, your point is valid. Sometimes you have to take risks to correct a problem. There’s nothing that says someone can’t take a flag to the family now. The people involved know where they live. And all they have to say is that they are bringing a flag after seeing your suggestion in The Post.
And welcome them to America.