Mailboxes in Oregon, going for a little ride (pic)

[intrepidity]

This Tweeter says he took this pic on 8/8/20 in Portland.

Link to tweet

[Hoyt]

1. In 1985, nearly 400,000 blue mailboxes graced American streets. Now only 160,000 remain

In 1985, nearly 400,000 blue mailboxes graced American streets. Now only 160,000 remain, and more are vanishing every day.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/usps-mailboxes-removed-oregon/

[HotTeaBag]

2. I wish that was a video, as those mailboxes on the truck look pretty new.

Social media is a funny thing - just because someone says it's one thing doesn't always mean it is. Could be mailboxes being put down as easily as it could be mailboxes being taken away.

Though the latter is more likely.

[Sapient Donkey]

4. I would like to see historical data on the count of mailboxes totally removed from service

Compare that to what is currently being removed as we approach the election. If the numbers are much higher than usual, then that gives a lot of credence to the argument that it's purposefully being done to screw up the election. But if the numbers are roughly the same, then that changes the conversation. Even if they are not removing more than usual, the Post Office stated they don't have the capacity to handle voting by mail. So, the question is why are they continuing to remove capacity instead of adding to it? Are they taking these mailboxes and also the sorters out of commission fully, are they being relocated to places where there will be more demand?

[HotTeaBag]

5. Excellent questions.

Context is everything.

If they are simply being relocated to where they anticipate more demand (which would actually make sense), that's an entirely different story from straight-up removal.

The photo in and of itself doesn't give any information, probably because the person who took it has no idea about the 'why'.

[crickets]

7. +1

Though in the context of what is currently going on with the USPS, my suspicions are high.

[Sapient Donkey]

12. Totally suspicious and I too am concerned

I need to look to see if I can find any data on the questions I mentioned above, because having that on hand will make it easier to expose it if there is a concerted effort to sabotage the USPS. It also helps make sure I don't go down a path that can be proven wrong because I made incorrect assumptions. For example, the sorting machine issue. Based on the documents they USPS has, it looks like it's purely a reduction of capacity rather than relocating capacity as someone from USPS stated. However, I haven't seen anything to suggest they are moving the machine elsewhere. Based on not seeing anything that suggests they are moving them, I am assuming they are just taking them out of commission. But that's just an assumption based on my limited information. I would like to see someone with the ability to force the USPS to tell us where those machines are going.

My questions are not a defense of Trump or what's going, but just to try to have enough information to make effective arguments that can be supported by data and evidence. I'm not even sure if that information is accessible to us normal people, though. If not, I hope some people who do this whole research and journalism stuff for a living can dig into it.

[SheltieLover]

3. K&R!

🤬

[Cha]

6. Good.. I already Rt it!

[HotTeaBag]

8. If you go to googlemaps street view for the address where the photo on Twitter was taken

(NE 70th Ave & NE Sacramento Street in Portland) there is no mailbox there in June of 2019 so I wonder if this is a mailbox being put in and not taken out.

Everything on the internet is true - Abraham Lincoln

[intrepidity]

11. Good sleuthing. However, maybe it wasn't there yet?

Ok, *obviously* it wasn't there yet.

Maybe it had been a fairly recent addition, and they decided to remove the most recent ones first?

ETA:

Link to tweet

[HotTeaBag]

13. Could be.

USPS confirmed that four mailboxes were removed from Portland in areas where there were multiple boxes next to one another.

https://www.wweek.com/news/2020/08/13/united-states-postal-service-confirmed-it-has-removed-mailboxes-in-portland-and-eugene/

...certainly the Trump administration is doing all that they can to disrupt service - this photo just struck me as odd so I just wanted to see what was what - and I still don't know. I trust very little on Twitter and wish it was a video rather than a photo so we could actually see what was happening with the mailbox...if it was being taken away or placed.

[intrepidity]

14. Understood nt

[Kingofalldems]

9. I see some trying to minimize Trump's attempts--

to destroy the Post Office. They are curtailing mail in the Post Offices as we speak, making service much slower.

[Demovictory9]

10. Kick