Whether you’re looking to sell an antique taxidermy dolphin or buy a cheap beach cruiser to get around campus, Craigslist.com’s online network featuring free classified advertising is probably a good place to start looking.
It allows you to barter with local people for commodities and services like a virtual swap meet, proving that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
But many people have been speaking out against the innovative website and its knack for attracting criminal activity.
Committing crimes that range from indecency and soliciting prostitution, to fraud and even murder, Craigslist’s clientele has earned a sketchy public reputation.
A man from Savannah, Ga., was recently indicted on murder charges after fatally shooting a man who had posted an ad to sell his Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle on Craigslist, according to the Associated Press.
But if the website is so dangerous, then why do so many people continue to use it? What can be said about the upshot of Craigslist?
Other than keeping business local, finding shopping gems and smoking deals, it is now responsible for helping to care for the homeless and spreading holiday cheer.
According to a Colorado 9news.com report, Monique White, a woman from Littleton, Colo., posted an ad on Craigslist inviting people in need over for Thanksgiving dinner. She had 32 strangers in her home last Thursday to help her eat the four turkeys and six pumpkin pies she prepared.
Few people would be willing to offer the same gesture. Most would consider an ad like White’s unsafe due to the lack of adequate screening on Craigslist.
Like anything else, Craigslist has had a few bad apples that spoiled the barrel. It can only be as good as the community that it services. But most of its patrons are normal, harmless citizens like you and I. There is no reason to fear meeting dangerous and psychotic people via Craigslist anymore than in the grocery store or walking down the street.
For this reason, Monique White plans to continue her newfound tradition.
And this type of thinking is catching on, as suggested by an article in The Huffington Post. White was not the only person to open her door on Thanksgiving.
Christine Baines, a 46-year-old single mother of two teenagers in Marietta, Ga., also posted an ad to invite another single mother to join her family for turkey and stuffing. For her peace of mind, her safety restrictions were a little tighter: no men, drinking or smoking.
And Tammy C., 37, from Crystal Lake, Ill., another Craigslist philanthropist, told The Huffington Post that her security method is to tell all of her neighbors about any strangers that will be visiting.
"We're not nervous about it," she said. “There's no reason we can't feed other people. It's a hard holiday to be home alone."
So as much bad press as Craigslist gets, it is certainly refreshing to hear about its beneficial aspects finally receiving some well-deserved, positive attention.
While everyone else focuses on the bad, I am thankful to finally have something to point to that affirms what I’ve felt since I made my first Craigslist transaction: this is great.
Post an ad idea to djoconn1@asu.edu
