Your opinion on PETITIONS

[blunomore]

(If this does not belong in current affairs, please move elsewhere, mods.)

What is your opinion of petitions?

Most of us regularly get asked to sign petitions to oppose this, that or the other.

Whilst I have no problem with publicly linking my name to a cause, I think that -

1. They have no legal power or status; and

2. They are for lazy people (what we call slacktivists instead of activitists) who do not want to get their hands dirty or put their hand in their wallet.

I stand corrected, but has anything of serious significance been achieved by petitions?

Flame me if you like.

 

[Nerfherder]

I have never seen a petition that actually worked... also they use your details to sell to spammers.

 

[killadoob]

Bunch of crap.

Significant things happen when you get off your arse and make them happen.

 

[Voicy]

I wanted to start a Facebook petition group against Facebook petition groups. Just to screw with people's perceptions about the uselessness of petitions.

My boss's wife got upset with me the one day when I refused to put my name on an email petition about some christian cause. The more I tried to tell her that a petition email isn't 1 list that grows, but rather a pyramid of recreated emails with different names on, each time being recreated when sent to more than one person simultaneously, the more she contested the uselessness thereof.

Either way, mrs Blu, you're right. Petitions are for lazy people who couldn't be arsed either way to actually DO something about it.

 

[racer]

2. They are for lazy people (what we call slacktivists instead of activitists) who do not want to get their hands dirty or put their hand in their wallet.

3. stupid people who think that "send this to everyone in your address book" is a legal requirement