Facebook group "Queer the Census"- What are some people thinking?

[mollymae]

So I was on Facebook and I stumbled upon this group called "Queer the Census". It only has a couple hundred people in it, but apparently their problem is that on the census, there is no box for sexual orientation, and they feel "left out" because of it. This makes no sense to me. Why would you want the government to be more invasive than it already is? Why do you want the government to know you're gay?

In the group desription, it says: "It seems like a dry, bureaucratic, policy issue but in reality, Census data is the basis for how the government spends $400 billion each year. Census data affects everything from local school board funding to roads to Federal Policy; without an accurate count of the LGBT community, we lose out on funding for real, everyday services." Now I'll admit that I am ignorant about just how much the census affects government spending, but I am skeptical about this. For one, that's not even the purpose of the census. And second, even if the government did ask for sexual orientation, would it really affect how they spend their money? Moreover, why should LGBT organizations get special benefits at all?

Here's the link to the group - hope it works:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Queer-the-Census/316328526111?v=info&ref=nf

What do you think?

 

[MelissaWV]

So I was on Facebook and I stumbled upon this group called "Queer the Census". It only has a couple hundred people in it, but apparently their problem is that on the census, there is no box for sexual orientation, and they feel "left out" because of it. This makes no sense to me. Why would you want the government to be more invasive than it already is? Why do you want the government to know you're gay?

In the group desription, it says: "It seems like a dry, bureaucratic, policy issue but in reality, Census data is the basis for how the government spends $400 billion each year. Census data affects everything from local school board funding to roads to Federal Policy; without an accurate count of the LGBT community, we lose out on funding for real, everyday services." Now I'll admit that I am ignorant about just how much the census affects government spending, but I am skeptical about this. For one, that's not even the purpose of the census. And second, even if the government did ask for sexual orientation, would it really affect how they spend their money? Moreover, why should LGBT organizations get special benefits at all?

Here's the link to the group - hope it works:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Queer-the-Census/316328526111?v=info&ref=nf

What do you think?

Part of the entire propaganda of the census is that it does, in fact, dictate spending. One of their new commercials even points out that, if you don't send back your form, you might not get as many playgrounds for your children!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not sure what special "projects" one could expect in a community with a large concentration of LGBT. Everything that comes to mind seems stereotypical and dumb.

The census really should just be a headcount, and I question the need since we have so many other means to track people in this society as it is.

 

[Reason]

idiots

 

[zach]

whatever..

all I know is, insecurities scream for attention.

 

[FreeTraveler]

Gee, let's institutionalize yet another way to make people different from each other and foster the "us vs. them" mentality.