Reader John Owens supplies  perspective and expertise on carnivals and local fairs in his Comment of the Day regarding the post “Ethics Quiz: The Peculiar Ethics of Carnival Games.”    Here it is:

“Having been around this Industry, in the fair and carnival sides, I have to say that perception is the bigger thief of ethics than the carnivals. The carnivals have made tremendous conscientious and positive strides in the past 10-15 years. The games can be difficult to win, BUT are now much less a scam today than their reputation paints them. Public perception is poor when it comes to the fairs and carnivals. Towns and cities dislike  them because they think they come into town and take all of their dollars earned on the rides, games and food to their winter quarters. Not true! A lot of that money stays in town and has a very positive economic impact, because the carnivals spend money on goods and services everywhere they set up. They give a percentage back to fairs, which are integral parts of the communities. The fair gets the gate (admission tickets). A lot of the money made by the carnivals goes to pay for competent personnel to set up/operate/maintain/tear down and move to next venue. They are buying and using diesel fuel to run their generators on the midway to power the rides and concession stands. They have huge insurance premiums and have to meet different building, health, electric and safety codes in each place they set up. They dress and train their employees and screen for drug use as well as do background checks. Does all this always work? No. But it is much better than 10-15 years ago.

“If you have not been to a Carnival or Fair in a while, it might be time to toss your preconceived perceptions about this event out the door and take a new look. I’m not going to guarantee that you will win a huge stuffed Snoopy, but you WILL have fun without feeling victimized. The perceptions need to change and that is always a difficult thing . Time and positive experiences will fix that.

“The carnival/fair industry has heard the rumblings about ethics and the change has come. Ethical standards are being tweaked all the time.”