Sometimes You're the Windshield, Sometimes You're the Bug

Well you win some, you lose some. But at least I'm learning alot.

Successes:
1. When Heidi kindly asked a manager at a different Walgreens to remove the display of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and she promptly did. I later went into that same Walgreens and asked the manager to remove the SI mags in the check-out lane. She did again. It was funny because the cashier said, "I've had so many people complaining about those. I don't know why the magazine rep just threw them all over the store! Where does she think we live anyway? We're not that kind of community!"

2. When I kindly asked the manager at Barnes and Noble to remove the offending SI issue from the checkout lane and he did. (This happened yesterday and I was totally unprepared because I thought we were done with that issue sinces it's a new month.)

3. On a completely different note, I told the dance teacher 2 years ago that A couldn't participate in the dance concert because it was on Sunday and that's our day reserved for worship. So this year, S is in that class and the teacher moved it to a Saturday, just because we had said something before.

Disappointment:
Walgreens district manager wrote back and defended the selling of the mags, without addressing the "displaying appropriately for children" issue.

What I am learning when talking to managers:
Some of this corresponds with the tips I've gotten from People Speaking out for Decency: How to Establish a Community Standard by JoAnn Hibbert Hamilton, available for download here.
1. Speak kindly and politely. I compare how likely I am to respond positively to one child who asks for things with a smile and the other who tends to demand.
2. DON'T use the term porn. Use the term "appropriate for children." Although not everyone agrees with what is porn or even that it is damaging, people still seem to understand that some things are not okay for kids to see. I can see that I should have done that in my letter to Walgreens, because their response focused on the fact that they don't sell hardcore porn, rather than on how they could make their store family-friendly.
3. Have your kids there. I noticed that both Heidi and I had success when the manager could see that the mags were on the eye-level of our children. The tricky part is having the manager see that without the kids seeing the garbage.
4. Make a direct request. "I noticed that this magazine is right on eye-level with my child. It does not seem child-appropriate. Will you please remove it?"
5. Whether or not the manager responds the way you want, politely let them know that you will financially support stores that are "family friendly." Show gratitude for their positive efforts.
6. Partial success is still success. In my perfect world, all the dirty mags would be removed and burned. At least they should be covered up. But for where I live and for the resources I have right now, getting them moved from the high traffic areas and displays to the magazine aisle is still success. I do hope for greater success though in the future.

Thanks Heidi for your support with this and for your example on how to do it right.