When the stream finally decides to load, we're ordered to pledge now. The message is too long and not friendly, but demanding.
This is particularly annoying when the stream breaks up repeatedly and we hear it over and over.
Other stations and media manage to thank their subscribers, too -- not KUNM, which sounds bossy.
Alternative: "Your pledge at kunm.org keeps steaming on the Internet. Thanks for subscribing!"
I realize, after three years of close proximity, this posturing of arrogance is a prerequisite among the subculture of KUNM staff. But the rest of us, out here in the real world, just find it unattractive and laughably snotty. I mention this because my neighbors in Fort Sumner have heard it, have curled their lips at it, have laughed at it and said, "That's the best example of why I'd never live in Albuqueruqe I've ever heard!" I simply agree with them, remind them I have no plans to move back, and we listen to the program together.
Nobody out here, including me, plans to subscribe. We need groceries, water, electricity and gas a lot more. And, although there is NO entertainment in Fort Sumner beyond cable TV, 2 bars and 2 scratchy radio stations over the air, we don't perceive KUNM as having any need for us. We get bossed around enough in every day life by arrogant jerks who think they're better than we are because they shower before, instead of after, work. We only put up with it when we HAVE to.
Maybe they eat that stuff with a spoon in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, but bad manners won't cut it in the real world; common courtesy says a lot about motives and upbringing in the real world.
Rogi Riverstone
http://rriverstone.com | |
