In response to "Gimme...Gimme" a piece I wrote for WalkaboutJones.com about the frustration I feel when I am accosted by those "clipboard-wielding guilt mongers" that hang-out in front of Whole Foods, I give you this Amnesty International video, originally shared with me by Alison Quinn.
For all of you who read the piece, thank you.
By the way, it's not that I don't care about the causes I listed. It's that I don't like being made to feel guilty if I don't want to stop to sign a petition before or after shopping.
Also, I believe strongly that one should research the cause before just willy-nilly signing a petition. That's why I often pass on the opportunity to put my signature on petitions outside of grocery stores, etc. I do, on the other hand, often go to websites made specifically for signature gathering, check out the causes, research them, then put my signature on petitions I feel I agree with. It takes more time, but that's just the way I operate.
To put your signature on a petition just to muzzle the petition circulator who asked you for it, to get home to your dinner is, in my not-so-humble opinion, not a responsible way of using your signature for change.
13 April 2008
Your Signature is More Powerful Than You Think.
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1 comments:
As a ballot rights professional I appreciate you thinking seriously about signing any petition. Unfortunately I can assure you that signing an electronic form does absolutely nothing in regard to getting initiatives on any ballot in most states. Only actual ink signatures with verifiable voter-registration information are accepted by secretaries of state. The best thing to do is do your research at home and then catch the person at the grocery store with the petition you want to sign and sign it there.
On a side note people wouldn't have to stand at the grocery store to get signatures if state legislatures didn't put so many restrictions on the process which make it hard to qualify measures. If you really want to do something about the "guilt mongers" call your legislator and ask them to ease restrictions and lower thresholds on ballot qualifications.
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