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OK. So suppose your voting preferences are available online. Your boss happens to be a friend of the candidate, or a member of a political party. You are told

OK. So suppose your voting preferences are available online. Your boss happens to be a friend of the candidate, or a member of a political party. You are told to vote a certain way or lose your job. You are turned down for a bank loan because your bank manager doesn't like liberals. You are refused an apartment because the people on your street don't like conservatives. You fail at an interview because the interviewer only likes people who vote the way she does. This is so bloody obvious it shouldn't need to be spelled out. Secret ballots are secret so that people can exercise their democratic rights without fear of discrimination, recrimination or intimidation.

sp332 15y ago
WTF? Maybe the interviewer only hires tall people, or the people on your street don't like your race, or you are turned down for a bank loan because you're a woman. There are lots of stupid prejudices in the world, but people don't go around hiding who they are all the time. It's just not worth it.
- zeemonkee 15y ago
  You really don't want to let go of this idiocy, do you ? The examples I gave are ways in which the democratic process can be subverted. It's more than just whether you are black or gay. It's the very basis by which a citizen can freely exercise their choice. If that choice can be interfered with then the whole principle of one person - one vote goes out the window. If I know my vote will impact my personal future - that I, or my family could be attacked or threatened, or my career ruined, because of the way I vote - even if that is just a potential threat then I will not vote at all, or if forced to will vote safely with the herd.
  - sp332 15y ago
    The examples I gave are ways in which the democratic process can be subverted. OK, I finally see what your point is. I just disagree with it.
- beatpanda 15y ago
  >people don't go around hiding who they are all the time What a strange and naive life you must lead if you truly believe this.
- skybus 15y ago
  The identities people have difficulty obscuring (gender, skin color, weight, etc) just so happen to be the aspects that have the most enduring prejudice against them.

sp332 15y ago

WTF? Maybe the interviewer only hires tall people, or the people on your street don't like your race, or you are turned down for a bank loan because you're a woman. There are lots of stupid prejudices in the world, but people don't go around hiding who they are all the time. It's just not worth it.

zeemonkee 15y ago
You really don't want to let go of this idiocy, do you ? The examples I gave are ways in which the democratic process can be subverted. It's more than just whether you are black or gay. It's the very basis by which a citizen can freely exercise their choice. If that choice can be interfered with then the whole principle of one person - one vote goes out the window. If I know my vote will impact my personal future - that I, or my family could be attacked or threatened, or my career ruined, because of the way I vote - even if that is just a potential threat then I will not vote at all, or if forced to will vote safely with the herd.
- sp332 15y ago
  The examples I gave are ways in which the democratic process can be subverted. OK, I finally see what your point is. I just disagree with it.
beatpanda 15y ago
>people don't go around hiding who they are all the time What a strange and naive life you must lead if you truly believe this.
skybus 15y ago
The identities people have difficulty obscuring (gender, skin color, weight, etc) just so happen to be the aspects that have the most enduring prejudice against them.