If it’s not handed to them on a plate, or inconveniences them is some way, IT’S A PLOT AGAINST THEM! The notable part from this Treehugger post about the inhumanity that she has actually do some homework (reformatted, emphasis mine).
…The U.S. didn’t seem to want me to vote…People complain that young people don’t vote. But America makes voting hard for young people. You have to register ahead of time. You have to figure out all the particular complicated rules for documentation and registration, which vary by state. And as an early career employee, you have to convince your boss to let you take time off work to actually go to the polls. Young people are more likely to move around, meaning they have to either re-register or figure out the complications of absentee ballots.
Go read it all at the link. Be assured however, that I was very surprised in that it did not go well for Llana Strauss – the enviro-Collective there pretty much had their way with her in almost all of them agreeing she was, indeed, whiney. These lines, I though were rather delicious:
- Fastening shoelaces can be a real struggle for some folks, even when their laces are velco
- You had 2 years prior notice that this day was coming
- Are people picking on you because you’re a millennial? No. You are being blind to your own privilege
- Sounds an awful like whining to me
And, of course, I had my own take on this:
“The U.S. didn’t seem to want me to vote.”…”But America makes voting hard for young people”
Oh please, spare us the victimhood language. It’s no harder for you than for anyone else. Period. Proof? Recent elections have shown larger and larger turnouts. Which means, there is a ton of folks that easily can navigate the rules that seem to be confounding the “generation of instant gratification and participation trophies”. Stop making excuses for yourself and your fellow cohort – do your homework and get to it. Voting is not a participation trophy moment – while here it in the US it is your right and privilege but it is also a RESPONSIBILITY! A responsibility on your part to figure it all out (especially that your education failed you in basic civics and teaching you how this all works) on both the mechanics of the process + figuring out the issues and the candidates (be they conservative, libertarian, liberal, green, or socialists) that match up best with your outlook.
No, it isn’t the US that doesn’t want you to vote so stop with that silly rhetoric. it was either a clerk that had no clue or having a bad hair day or just being lazy / pitiful. It happens;you’ll find it happens a lot through the rest of your years. All of us older folks than you know this – learn it, live it, and then work to change it so that you don’t have to love it. But don’t denigrate the whole for the stupidity of the one – that’s just as lazy (intellectually) as what the clerk told you.
Sorry, but this article did torque me off – I’ve moved around a bit in different states. I’ve voted absentee while in school and in person in different areas all my life. I’m sure others here have done the same. The rules are NOT that complicated and not that hard to learn (even if you live where there’s a “jungle primary” process). Tens, if not hundreds, of millions seems to successfully vote each and every time – and we senior citizens are viewed by Society as the doddering fools? Sorry, I’m just not empathetic to your view.
One last thing – did you snailmail the absentee request in or FedEx it? Even the USPS does overnight / two day for a very reasonable cost. Sure, it could have sat on some flunky’s desk for a while. I used to pay extra for the tracking / recieving and then followed up on it – MY responsibility to make sure things got done, got done right, and got done quickly – not some unknown clerk. Take charge – don’t take it for granted.
Maybe all this mess with students isn’t just about partisanship. If the Democrats can raise the age where these youngsters can buy a pack of cigarettes or a handgun from 18 – 21, and call them “children” and allow them to piggyback on Mommy and Daddy’s insurance until 26, then perhaps Republicans should raise the age to legally vote.
Maybe to 30; after all, it’s for “health and safety” reasons so they won’t feel so stressed out at such a “tender” age.
