My ex caught chicken pox from our children around the time he turned 32. Chicken pox in adults is much more serious than in children. I finally dragged him to a doctor against his will after watching his fever go up 0.8 degrees a day every single day until it was over 104F. Above 105 is dangerous. It was on track to hit that mark within the next 24 hours. Years later, he swore it was never really that bad (ie his life was never really in danger). I suspect he partly just didn't remember how bad it was. He wasn't lucid for much of the time. He was left with much worse scars than the kids. He had fantasies he would stay home from work and play computer games, like the kids. For at least a week, he laid on the couch, unable to sit up for long. I had to leave meds in a covered candy dish to get any sleep. His hands were swollen and his palms had spots on them, so he couldn't open his medication bottles.
I imagine it is illegal (someone else already said that here). Law and morality are not the same thing and are fairly often at odds. Historically in the US, slavery was legal at one time in some states. After it was abolished, racism was embodied in the legal code. Plenty of morally high minded people disagreed with those laws.
Whether legal or not, I don't find it acceptable. Similarly, on CF lists, people routinely post announcements that they have leftover medical supplies of some sort and are willing to give it away for free (sometimes on the condition that the recipient cover postage, sometimes not). This is generally viewed as socially acceptable on most CF lists because medical expenses for CF are extremely high and people coping with CF are typically financially devastated by that fact. On the only CF list I own, I announced that this was not an acceptable practice because I think the price of exposure to the germs of another person with CF outweighs the value of the supplies. So I think that's Not Cool either, even in cases where it happens to be legal (and legality of it varies by jurisdiction in this case and probably also depends on exactly what is being offered).
Given the way entrenched interests warp and these days even write the laws, I try to keep an independent mindset.
In this case, I have two points:
- If you're going to do something like this, coordinating it on FB is a stupid idea. (Mailing contagious materials without taking defined precautions is seriously frowned upon.)
- Mail is sometimes inspected. Misdelivered. Undeliverable. Damaged. In this case, it is most likely not marked as hazardous. What might one be inflicting upon the unsuspecting handler of such an error condition?
If you're going to do something like this, coordinating it on FB is a stupid idea.
Yes, I totally agree that coordinating something like this on FB (or many other websites) is pretty darn dumb. (Isn't there some Einstein quote about stupidity being infinite or something?)
As for your second point, I was an environmental studies major for a time. I really don't think most people think that far ahead. I hope, if nothing else, this does draw enough national attention to educate people as to how foolish and dangerous it is to mail contagious items. And, oh, breaking federal law by messing with the mail is very serious business. Much more so than many people might realize. Even if they don't get enlightened as to how dumb this is, perhaps they will at least get a clue that this detail is no small matter and can seriously impact their lives. I'm very okay with fear of the law being a deterrent to such activities in cases where "common sense" seems absent.
Local "pox party": I have no problem with it.
My ex caught chicken pox from our children around the time he turned 32. Chicken pox in adults is much more serious than in children. I finally dragged him to a doctor against his will after watching his fever go up 0.8 degrees a day every single day until it was over 104F. Above 105 is dangerous. It was on track to hit that mark within the next 24 hours. Years later, he swore it was never really that bad (ie his life was never really in danger). I suspect he partly just didn't remember how bad it was. He wasn't lucid for much of the time. He was left with much worse scars than the kids. He had fantasies he would stay home from work and play computer games, like the kids. For at least a week, he laid on the couch, unable to sit up for long. I had to leave meds in a covered candy dish to get any sleep. His hands were swollen and his palms had spots on them, so he couldn't open his medication bottles.