Long man of Wilmington to be defaced in the name of charity

An ostomy pouch is to be added to The Long Man of Wilmington on Saturday “to help raise awareness of World Ostomy Day”.  It appears also that “By supporting the day the Long Man is also helping to support himself and his on-going care and maintenance with a kind donation from SecuriCare.”

This is just the latest of a very long list of brandlism and disfigurement of monuments for commercial, charitable or political purposes. (Here’s an account of a previous time the Long Man was mistreated back in 2007). We don’t think it’s right as it erodes respect and encourages other, sometimes damaging stunts. We published a very compelling article on this subject from a guest contributor a couple of years ago. It’s well worth reading. World Ostomy Day may be a very worthy cause but that’s no excuse for doing this.

If you agree you might wish to say so to the European Ostomy Association info@ilco.de and their President president@ostomyeurope.org