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As concerned citizens who would sign a white house petition to block the renewal of the NSA data collection order?
by startupfounder 13y ago
As concerned citizens who would sign a white house petition to block the renewal of the NSA data collection order?
- 1337biz 13y agoAs a concerned citizen I believe white house petitions are the most counterproductive tool to channel citizen rage.
- junto 13y agoIndeed. It is somewhat of a faux-vote. You are given the impression that you 'vote' counts. It doesn't really. I'd never thought about it that way before.
- thisisdallas 13y agoIt's a manipulative way to discourage action. Oh, I can just sign a petition and everything will be cool? Sounds good, no need to call my representatives or take further action.
- 00rion 13y agoWhat would be a good alternative?
- 1337biz 13y agoHonestly - anything that makes elective representatives experience it. Best would probably be showing up at town hall meetings and asking smart questions. But even a two line email "I disagree with your stand on x. Please reconsider your position on x" is in my opinion making a much higher impact than any of these petitions.
- ensignavenger 13y agoI'm going to try to attend my congresswoman's town hall next Thursday to ask questions about NSA surveillance. What "Smart" questions would you recommend that I ask?
- nawitus 13y agoOne effective strategy that was used in Finland was buying huge posters of the politician in question and placing them in key areas where said politician had a lot of voters.[1] The socialist minister tried to impose new copyright-related taxes. The poster says "Exploitation of the workers! Arhinmäki wants the buyers of computers and phones to pay a blank media tax". A few days later he succumbed to pressure. Demonstrations haven't been that effective. 1. http://imgur.com/b58pLB4 http://imgur.com/b58pLB4
- 1337biz 13y agoThis is great stuff. Now who is up for a kickstarter? Feinstein definitely deserves a few NSA billboards of her own!
- fu9ar 13y agoPaper letters force staffers to use time on them. Pissed off staffers makes hell for the officials. The more letters, the better. It's like a DDoS, but legal.
- 1337biz 13y agoCould make a great API where users can either compose a short letter or donate for the postage.
- lukejduncan 13y agoPerhaps just as much of a "faux vote" but... Right now the White House is promoting the hashtag #WeTheGeeks to talk about tech on Twitter. I'd love to see We The Geeks reclaim this hash tag to talk about how we feel about NSA Spying.
- fixxer 13y agoTerm limits.
- mindslight 13y agoCertainly not the most counterproductive - the ballot box takes that cake.
- ChrisAntaki 13y agoMost people on HN & Reddit.