Stop Taking Yourselves So Seriously, or Die

Matt Welch | October 12, 2004

I see that I'm more than late to this party, but walking by these "Vote or Die" celebrity posters down the street from Reason HQ was certainly a jarring experience. Sure, I'll vote, but I'm confident that Mr. Doherty next-door will be -- and even should be! -- very much alive come Nov. 3.

Comments

|10.12.04 @ 7:41PM|#

Actually it should be "Vote and die" since we're all doomed, so to speak. Unless they intend to hurry things along if you're caught not wearing an "I voted" sticker come November.

I did a little Googling and came up with a P. Diddy interview of Senator Clinton. Here's an excerpt:

I really think that this year more than any other that young people have their lives at stake. When I go to the floor of the Senate to cast a vote, I'm casting a vote about what the economy is going to look like and what kind of jobs are going to be available, whether there is going to be health care, whether there is going to be good education, every issue that you can imagine has a direct impact on how every young person is going to live his or her life. So I would hope this year more than any other people would stop and think, "Hey, do I want to wake up in five years and have more violence in the streets than we do now, more homelessness, more people out of work? Kids not even having a chance to get educated, hospitals closing down?" This is a direct impact on their lives and I believe your slogan, "vote or die," is accurate.

I may think both parties are crazy and full of it, but this kind of rhetoric really scares me--Gosh, without constant help from the government, our society will collapse and we will all die. Really.

Xrlq|10.12.04 @ 7:54PM|#

Never forget: if too few people vote, rape will be legalized. Just ask actress/political analyst Cameron Diaz.

|10.12.04 @ 8:30PM|#

"Death and Taxes" (and now Voting too).

|10.12.04 @ 8:37PM|#

So if I vote I won't die? Sweet!

BTW, the snarky comments remind me of my grandfather, God rest his soul. When he was sick and in bed at the hospital, the doctor told him that if he didn't stop smoking, he would die*. His response, "What and you're not going to die?"

*He was dying of something unrelated to tobacco smoking, yes, I know it doesn't help to smoke when ill, bear with me.

|10.13.04 @ 12:05AM|#

js,

In some countries, such as Australia, you are required by law to vote. If you abstain, the government fines you.

Pro Libertate,

P. Diddy interviewed Hillary? He he he.

And yes, her response was nauseating.

|10.13.04 @ 2:52AM|#

Who is the woman on the lower-middle poster here?

|10.13.04 @ 4:07AM|#

I don't know -- but I, too, noticed she has incredible ... er, dignity.

Kabowza!

|10.13.04 @ 4:18AM|#

The N.E.R.D. dude just slipped a notch in my book of kool...

|10.13.04 @ 6:08AM|#

Looks like a good place to stand with my "Liberty or Death" T-shirt.

I have a few of these shirts and wear one almost every day. I've recieved a suprising number of compliments on them.

So far I've seen two people wearing Che shirts while I was not wearing a Mickey Che shirt - I'm wondering if the atmosphere catches on fire or something when people wearing the Che and Mickey Che shirts meet.

I've also been warned by a 90 year old man that wearing an "Enjoy Capitalism" shirt "might get me beaten" and to "be careful" wearing that shirt.

|10.13.04 @ 8:59AM|#

Does anyone seriously agree with the Lew Rockwell post, that the message on the shirt is a death threat?

|10.13.04 @ 9:20AM|#

The woman in the poster is Mya.

|10.13.04 @ 9:55AM|#

that depends, joe.

would the message "VOTE REPUBLICAN OR DIE" be a death threat?

depends on how many people were there and how dark the alley was, right?

it's just smug 7th grade social studies bullshit, especially coming from so many people who have never voted before and whose only credentials are that they're entertainers. that and it's fucking retarded.

i want to hold a non-voter die-in on someone's lawn.

OMG I SHOULD HAVE VOTED GAAAAAAAH!

jonathan greenlee|10.13.04 @ 10:21AM|#

"i want to hold a non-voter die-in on someone's lawn"

I'm with you here. You get the award for best comment on the topic. I'll look up P. Diddy's hizzy. I think his campaign was actually intended to be "Vote Democratic or Die," but the FEC would have treated that as an in-kind contribution to the democratic party under rule 5F47AD12.b.c-1.2 ...or something.

|10.13.04 @ 10:47AM|#

Makes me want to respond, "I'm gonna vote Republican 'cause they'll lock your shaggy ass up!"

|10.13.04 @ 11:29AM|#

Neb Okla,

Just bought the Capitalism-Tee. I am sure all my liberal friends will have a shit fit. :)

|10.13.04 @ 11:30AM|#

Joe, I suppose it's no more fair to ask if there's a threat implied by "Vote or die" than if there's one implied by "Liberty or Death". Speaking as someone who has a front license plate with the Culpeper Minutemen flag (snake, "Liberty or Death", "Don't Tread on Me") on it, I certainly hope that's not what people think while I drive around. I got it after 9/11, as a compromise between putting something American on my car and voicing my, ahem, strong preference for liberty.

Cain is for Delta (Jason Bourne for all you non-Ludlum readers), you can get more P. Diddy political fun at the official site for this campaign, Citizen Change.

|10.13.04 @ 11:34AM|#

I'm just curious, why are there so many non-voters hanging out at Reason? Why aren't y'all voting Libertarian? Or for another third-party, or writing in yourself? I think that would be more constructive than not voting. I'm not lecturing anyone, it's just my two cents. Or my $1.05 ;)

|10.13.04 @ 11:35AM|#

I regret I have but one life to lose for not voting!

But why aren't pollsters identifying citizens who conscientiously object to voting? They and the media want to continue keeping us smeared by mixing us with the riff-raff too shiftless to vote.

|10.13.04 @ 11:41AM|#

dead elvis,
Librarians could easily quadruple--or greater--their impact if they would unanimously adopt the strategy of not voting. But, first, they'd need to get a better handle on other conscientious objectors to voting.
It's called building a coalition.
Either that or The Sealtest Bigtop?

|10.13.04 @ 11:53AM|#

dead elvis,

I am voting Libertarian this year, at least for a few offices (including El Presidente). In another thread, I rather ranted about the non-voting sentiments prevalent among libertarian types. It's not surprising, given our anti-government biases, but it is unfortunate. I don't mean that we should all go out and vote Libertarian, but I think there are enough of us to push libertarian issues and somewhat more libertarian candidates to the forefront.

I've got to get one of those Bureaucrash shirts. I actually corresponded with Heather, the Minister of Propaganda over there about some new designs. According to her, if you come up with one they use, you get 15% of the profits. Too bad I have limited art skills.

|10.13.04 @ 12:00PM|#

dead elvis, you have an interesting question. Over this last weekend I met a few younger people who are considering the Libertarian platform in a serious, studious manner. I was heartened by that, as they had been somewhat reflexive as either Democrats or Republicans before. Nader was mentioned only in passing.

|10.13.04 @ 12:03PM|#

If you choose not to vote, you still have voted.

|10.13.04 @ 12:09PM|#

Help!

My City Council is going to take up some sort of motion re: the USA Patriot Act. They delayed action, because they wanted to read the bill - until someone pointed out that it's 600 pages long. Where can I get a good summary, for these purposes, that doesn't scream "Fruitcake Paranoia?"

|10.13.04 @ 12:22PM|#

The ACLU has a summary of the Patriot Act and similar acts on its Safe and Free site. The Office of Thrift Supervision has a PDF summary of the provisions relevant to financial institutions. There should be a summary at THOMAS, though it wouldn't have much anaysis.

Unfortunately, most of what I have is like the OTS link above--my expertise with the USA Patriot Act is limited to how it affected financial institutions. If your city is going to step into this, they should also be informed that the Patriot Act really is more of a symbol than a source for government overreaching. Most of the things we hear about that shock us aren't included in the Act.

|10.13.04 @ 12:27PM|#

Geddy,
I agree, but you see why it's important to separate the "voting" non-voters from the shiftless hoi-polloi--not to mention the disenfranchised, e.g. those made felons by the WOD.
Pollsters could do it... if they would. But who would pay them to do this poll?

|10.13.04 @ 12:54PM|#

Does anyone seriously agree with the Lew Rockwell post, that the message on the shirt is a death threat?

No. I think it's a play on the old old old political cartoon of the 8-segmented snake with the caption "Join or Die":

|10.13.04 @ 1:02PM|#

joe,

there's no reason for them to take a motion on it if they're going to be in favor of it. They've already made up their minds.

|10.13.04 @ 1:50PM|#

"If your city is going to step into this, they should also be informed that the Patriot Act really is more of a symbol than a source for government overreaching."

Well, since any action they take would be purely symbolic, it's all good.

|10.13.04 @ 4:19PM|#

I only vote for candidates who will vote the way I want them to 100% of the time. If they don't, they are not being my representative so why vote for them?

|10.13.04 @ 6:35PM|#

I don't live in a swing state, so my vote is purely symbolic. I plan to vote Libertarian without fear of being a spoiler. I think voting Libertarian THIS YEAR is particularly important. The mainstream media is finally recognizing the GOP's unrest and that the LP might (finally) be a Nader-like spoiler. Every Libertarian vote strengthens this GOP wake-up call! Do your part!