United States Postal Service

:This article describes the United States Postal Service. For the band named The Postal Service see The Postal Service.

Public reputation

In the early 1990s, there was a widely publicized wave of workplace shootings by disgruntled employees at USPS facilities. Thanks to sensationalistic media coverage, postal employees gained a mostly undeserved reputation among the general public as being mentally ill. This stereotype in turn has influenced American culture, as seen in the slang term "going postal" and the computer game Postal. Another example is the movie Men in Black II, where all of Tommy Lee Jones' co-workers at the post office turn out to be aliens.

Related Topics:
1990s - Mentally ill - Going postal - Postal - Men in Black II - Tommy Lee Jones - Alien

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The Setting the Record Straight section of USPS.com features letters to newspaper editors, television producers, and other media representatives which USPS has sent in response to criticisms of the Postal Service and to uses of the term "going postal."

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