After a long period of beautiful Spring-like weather, last night it rained and today it snowed.
I may have mentioned that I got a census job. I deliver census forms out in the countryside. The census doesn't mail the forms to post office boxes, and since a number of small towns in our part of the country only have P.O. Boxes and no home delivery, we have to hand deliver the forms everywhere except (I believe) the city of Kalispell. My form was hand delivered last week.
Today's snow made going up and down the steep narrow driveways "interesting". Sometimes I had to take a run at the driveway to make it up. One time I started slipping sideways towards the edge as my car struggled to get up a steep driveway only a car width wide. Yikes!! But I always made it. Some driveways are narrower than some forest service logging roads I have been on - and that's saying a lot. I guess some people don't have money left over after building their large log house mansion on top of their small mountain/hill to build a better driveway. Else they only visit their house in the summer and don't mind a narrow, steep and winding driveway.
I guess a new hire went off the road on Monday down in the Swan Valley - and that was before today's snow.
When I get time I'll try to upload some icy road photos from when the weather was nice. A few times I parked my car at what I thought was the top of an icy driveway in order to walk the rest of the way. Two different times when I leaned against my car for a moment as I was getting ready for my walk, the car began to slide down the hill until I grabbed it and stopped it from sliding further.
The gloomier weather today appears to affected the mood of people I met. After some interesting and sane people the past few days, today a larger number of people were grumpier and anti-Census. Sometimes I think the Flathead valley has a larger number of 'idiots' (for a lack of a better word at this late hour) than other areas. Very short sighted people.
This morning I had a discussion with one guy who planned to only fill out the question about the number of people in his household and asked me what would happen if he only answered that question. It is not in my job description to "sell" or explain the census questionnaire as the form has a toll free number to call if the person has questions. I didn't know the answer to his question other than I think the census will later send a person to talk with him in an effort to get the rest of the form answered. I believe in the census and tried to save the government money from sending another person by explaining the census's importance. I don't think I changed his mind unless he chews on what I said and later decides to fill out all of the form.
On sunnier days for other people in a similar mindset I might have have made more of a dent in changing their perceptions. By the end of my talk I did have one guy apologize for being so rude to me when I first approached him. He even apologized twice.
I do find that the 'anti' women are less receptive to a discussion. I don't know why. They probably don't like some man disagreeing with them. Out of the hundreds of forms I have delivered I've only had two people slam the door in my face when I tried to deliver the census form and they were both women. I barely got the words out that I was from the census when they slammed the doors. And one time when I held the envelope up and wouldn't go away the lady then yelled at me "This is a free country and I don't have to take the census!" before closing the curtains to her sliding glass door. So much for my ego and thoughts of charming the ladies.
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11 comments:
It seems like you are more annoyed by the 'anti' women. Perhaps you simply don't like some woman disagreeing with you?
Perhaps I was a bit glib in my post after a long day.
I wasn't annoyed with the 'anti' census women because they were disagreeing with me, I was annoyed because they wouldn't discuss their opinions and give me a chance to respond.
I will discuss and debate most any issue and can still respect the other person, but I expect the same from them. To believe in something you must be willing to defend your belief, and be knowledgeable about it. How else can I respect you and your belief?
From my small and decidedly unscientific sample of people who were anti-census, I found the men who were anti-census would engage and explain why and then listen to my opinion, while the few anti-census women would make a statement and then shut the door without listening to my side of the story. They were flat out rude.
As regards to the woman who claimed this is a 'free country' my undelivered answer is yes, but as a U.S. citizen you also have responsibilities in addition to rights. One of the responsibilities is to fill out the constitutionally mandated census. It is your responsibility to help ensure we all have proportional representation among other things. Too often people selfishly think of their rights and not their responsibilities.
Do you think it's possible that some people might feel that the questions contained therein are intrusive and rude? Perhaps they were behaving as they felt they were being treated? Think about it. If a random stranger approached you and wanted to know things like the ages of everyone in the home, their races, where else they spent their time, etc., wouldn't you consider that kind of rude?
People know, or should know, that the government is conducting the census. It has been advertised, and most everyone should have gotten a letter recently informing them the census questionnaire will be arriving soon. So I am not a 'random' stranger. Only a couple people indicated surprise that the census was going on.
As a census worker I identify myself as a census worker and show identification. I tell them I am here for the 2010 census and I have 3 questions to ensure I give them the correct census envelope. I also give them a paper explaining the confidential nature of my visit.
Question 1: what is your address?
Question 2: do you get mail at a post office box?
Question 3: Are there other living quarters, occupied or vacant, on the property?
Question 1 is to ensure I have the correct address. Here in the Flathead, the county has recently named/renamed a number of streets due to 911 emergency locating. Also I had many places that were on the boundary of zip codes and a good number of those addresses and zip codes on those boundaries were also incorrect. I have a few people tell me that depending on what part of their property they are on, they are in different zip codes. Also a number of people don't have their address on their mailbox or their house so I have to ask.
Question 2 is because in Montana a number of people do not get mail delivery and only have a P. O. Box.
Question 3 is to ensure I give a renter or other people living there their own census questionnaire.
That is all I ask. I do not ask the questions you mentioned. Apparently you did not personally receive your census questionnaire and either it was mailed to you or dropped off when you weren't home.
I approach people in a friendly open manner as that is a better way to get cooperation, and that is how I would like to be treated.
I don't think the questions I ask or my manner are rude. And even if you still think I was being rude and wrong, then do you also think two wrongs make it right?
Even when people are rude to me I shrug it off and don't take it personal and still try to engage them. People could just be having a bad day. Many rude people softened when engaged and behaved better. Some people didn't.
And, no, I do not think the questions in the 2010 census are intrusive or rude. They are basic questions necessary to govern the United States.
Actually, the United States was governed just fine for the vast majority of its history without most of those questions. And most of those questions have nothing to do with the one Constitutional purpose of the census: apportioning Congressional representation. See Article 1 Section 2, and Section 2 of the 14th Amendment.
I am interested to know how having a government name tag would make you not a random stranger. Were your credit and criminal background checked before you were offered the job? Were you drug tested? Are these results available to the people who you are investigating? Will you provide to them on request the same information you are demanding of them? Or is this a one-way transaction where they are required to give information to you without knowing anything about you other than that you are from an organization that can hurt them if they don't comply?
Imagine if you did not have that name tag and started asking these same questions of your neighbors- or if someone without that name tag started asking you those questions. That would be somewhat rude, wouldn't it? How does having a bully backing you up who can fine them $100 bucks for not answering make it more polite?
"the United States was governed just fine for the vast majority of its history without most of those questions"
Apparently you have not seen the old census questionnaires and all the questions they used to ask. The census answers are kept private for 72 years and then released to the archives where the public can see them. Genealogists love old census questionnaires and all the questions asked. My mother was a genealogist and quite a number of those old census questions are quite interesting, and I could see useful for the country back then.
"And most of those questions have nothing to do with the one Constitutional purpose of the census: apportioning Congressional representation. See Article 1 Section 2, and Section 2 of the 14th Amendment."
And what questions do you believe those to be? Keep in mind that many cities and states would love to "stuff the ballot box" and have a higher count and therefore more representation in Congress and the legislatures and also more federal dollars for roads, health, education, etc. So more questions than merely 'the number in the household" is necessary. Especially since some properties get more than one questionnaire due to apartments, guest quarters and other living quarters. Without the additional information one resident could easily collect the other residents' questionnaires and fill them out with false data with no way later to validate the questionnaire. Or is this not a concern to you? Or are you an ACORN supporter? :-)
"Were your credit and criminal background checked before you were offered the job?"
Yes. I also had to be fingerprinted by two different people to ensure the government had a good set of fingerprints to run a background check. And they do run the check on the fingerprints. I heard of a case in Montana where a person was pulled from a training class the day after the fingerprints were taken.
"Were you drug tested?"
I can understand drug testing for people who fly airplanes or run heavy machinery. Why would a drug test be relevant for a person delivering census questionnaires? Or do you believe everyone who applies for any job should be drug tested?
Since you seem to be concerned about safety... perhaps I can then suggest another one. I delivered a questionnaire to a house where the sheriff dept left a notice on the doorknob stating that the previously convicted violent sexual offender must now immediately call the sheriff's office and be registered. And I heard first hand from other census workers where the local sheriff's department was called because a resident's action to the female census worker. Perhaps the people we deliver census questionnaires should be more thoroughly checked out before we deliver the questionnaires.
"Are these results available to the people who you are investigating?"
I don't know. However, just as a census worker is fingerprinted and background checked and must sign documents to ensure the information we learn remains confidential else I believe a quarter million dollar fine and up to 5 years in jail, then if you want the same information about us I expect you to submit to the same back ground check, fingerprinting and confidential signing and that information be available to me. Are you willing to do that?
Also, I am not 'investigating' you. I am just trying to deliver your census questionnaire.
"Will you provide to them on request the same information you are demanding of them?"
What? The 3 questions I mentioned in an earlier comment so I can correctly deliver their census envelope? Their address, if they have a P. O. Box, and whether they have an additional living quarters on their property for which I should deliver another census questionnaire. If I can provide these answers to them, then why would I have to ask them?
"Imagine if you did not have that name tag and started asking these same questions of your neighbors- or if someone without that name tag started asking you those questions. That would be somewhat rude, wouldn't it?"
Your imagining is irrelevant. It cannot happen. It appears you are struggling for a reason for a person to be rude. We must have a badge and identify ourselves else we are not allowed to work. I clearly stated in an earlier comment that we had identification. If your census questionnaire had been delivered to you personally you would have seen the id badge all census workers must have to deliver questionnaires.
By the way, my anecdotal tally of 'anti" census people still has the women acting rude and the men reasonable. One 'anti' man listened and politely considered what I said. One woman grudgingly took the census envelope and then told me that if I came back and the dogs were outside not to get out of my car. The other woman - whom I wasn't even delivering a census questionnaire, just asking a question to ensure I was in the correct area, adamantly told me she did not want a census questionnaire and didn't care anything about it and being counted. Apparently she is not a supporter of Flathead County and Montana.
"Were your credit and criminal background checked before you were offered the job?"
Credit background?! How is that relevant to delivering census envelopes? Too many people have access to a person's credit history when it is not necessary and this information should be more private. You are a contradiction. On one hand you appear to be arguing for privacy and on the other hand you are not. Which is it?
Hi! It was interesting to me to read some of your stories about taking the census in Montana. I was a Field Operations Supervisor in NRFU in Tampa, FL. We are the opposite of rural and encountered many difficult respondants. I'm kind of glad NRFU is over! We had a push to finish NRFU by june 18th. Thurs I start training my crew for vacant delete. It sounds like your area is much different then mine! Very interesting!
Amber... Interesting. And here I thought people who lived up in the mountains to get away from society and had too much time to think and obsess about things would be more difficult to deal with than people who live in cities and have to get along with others.
I believe Missoula (western MT) finished NRFU on June 14. I believe our area was in the top 5% (or something like that) of the Denver region.
Last week I trained a group of people for VDC. Today I got some of the binders for my district and started VDC.
Good luck with your VDC operation in Tampa.
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