More petitions
The Downing Street petition for the Iraqi translators is showing 601 signatures at the minute. That’s pretty pisspoor frankly but, let’s face it, what are the lives of a few wog collaborators against, say, road charging? It’s all about capturing the public imagination of course and people can more readily visualise having to cough up a few quid than being drilled in the face. It’s the British disease.
And to muddy the waters further, the Lib Dems thought it useful to split the vote by starting their own petition. Anyway, it only take a few seconds to sign but isn’t sophisticated enough to tell you who and how many have signed up.
Posted on August 8th, 2007 at 4:59pm under Activism, Iraq, Iraqi interpreters and employees, UK politics
If it becomes an Opposition party stick to beat the government with that might be a good thing, the Lib Dems getting on to it.
It’s not because people don’t care. I believe they should be allowed to come here too but I also know after that road pricing petition that the government won’t take any notice of petitions so it’s a total waste of our time.
Yes, but it can’t hurt, it takes so little effort and its a tangible display of some kind of solidarity. It’s not even as if people are being asked to get off their arses other than to waddle to the keyboard.
The problem with online petitions is it gives people an easy way out, a quick few seconds and they have ‘done their bit’. To some extent I wonder if such petitions are counter productive.
I commend your efforts on writing to your MP and I hope more follow your lead.
Agreed – online activism with petitions does have a large element of ‘fire and forget’ about it. Writing (online) letters is a better way and (away from form letters ) doesn’t really take much more effort and places an obligation on an MP to at least reply with some kind of considered response.
The Lib Dem “petition” also seems designed to harvest contact details for their marketing database. Why else would they want my mobile number? Apparently one can opt out of receiving SMS at any time in the future. Well thanks for that.
Thanks for the reminder – have signed as I should have before now.
Thanks, Mopsa, but I have to second James and Justin (or third them): signing the petition is okay but what we really need is people to send letters to MPs. Every letter so far, even to Government loyalists, has led to questions being asked of the Home Office and FCO. That’s what counts.
Oh come, you can’t seriously be suggesting that the Lib Dem petition is “splitting the vote”! Yes, I’m sure there are people out there thinking “hmm, Downing Street petition, or Lib Dem petition, cos I can only sign one”.
Frankly, if the Lib Dems get a good return they’ve got a far better chance of making a successful noise than the Downing Street petition. Has anyone actually had a tangible result (apart from “yes, we’re thinking about it) from one of those?
You’re probably right, Katherine and I have signed it and linked to it. But I’d be more comfortable if the Lib Dems had made some noise about this before it hit the Times yesterday, and their petition was transparent and didn’t give off the distinct impression of being a fishing expedition for email addresses and mobile numbers.
We may all be a little cynical about the timing of the Lib Dem initiative, or indeed about the spectacle of William Hague and Liam Fox pleading for the rights of refugees, but remember: it’s not about us. It’s about some poor bugger hiding in a room in Basra praying that the death squads don’t find him and his family.
More letters to MPs help that guy; more press and TV stories help him- whatever the source, whatever their motivations.