2010 US Census thread because we can't move forward until you mail it back

Today at Goodwill I saw Census forms for people to be counted who do not have an address.

I think the "live/stay" language is because they want to count people who may be staying somewhere on a temporary basis and won't otherwise be counted.

i think this is because the census is worried that if the significant population of americans who are latino/hispanic aren't given an option to list that as their ethnicity, they might get tripped up and choose white.

Wait, but most Latinos *should* be choosing white as their race, right? (Unless they're not, of course -- e.g., many Dominicans, Panamanians, etc.).

The thing that I found most interesting was that "Asian" was not an option for race, but specific Asian nationalities (like Indian, Chinese, etc.) were. I guess it makes sense why the Census would want to break that down, especially since the term "Asian" in the U.S. tends to connote East Asian and so you might have a Pakistani-American who gets confused and decides that they're not actually Asian. But there's a weird implication there that "Chinese" or "Japanese" is a race instead of a nationality or ethnicity, which probably only makes things more confusing for some people. Like, I can imagine a Mexican-American looking at this and thinking "if Chinese is a race, then Mexican is a race" and checking the "Some other race" box.

Inspired by a friend's FB status: how many or you women who live with one or more dudes listed yourself as person one on the census form? *raises hand*

I listed myself as Person 1 only because I'm way more excited about the census than Kr is.

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/2708/census.jpg

This is what I look like holding my 'person no. 1' status.

You look super fly.

go get you some benefits girl

i don't know why i am paranoid about this, but filled it nonetheless
mailing it tomorrow

I had a twinge of paranoia, too, but then realized that the US gov't already knows my name, address, birthday, and lots more stuff just by virtue of my being a tax paying citizen. Not to mention all the info they have based on the fact that I'm legally married and a licensed attorney and government employee. Comparatively, the census is about as invasive as asking me if I habitually breathe oxygen.

people - govt or otherwise - would easily know more about us from reading ilx than they would from our completed census forms

I have an irrationally negative angry reaction to people who question the census.

I mean, just fill out the fucking form and send it back. I may be naive, but I am assuming that the government has better things to do than freak out about me. Anyway, I think all of the information I disclosed in my census form is on my facebook page.

well jaymc how do you define race?

aren't most latinos (black and non-black) also some type of "amerindian"? if i was latina i wouldn't want to pick white unless i knew i was all spanish. they certainly aren't treated as a "white" category at the moment. but yeah then it gets messy because it really does depend what race means.

i can't look at the special latino question though because i sealed my envelope to mail out tomorrow

Hey you can track the return rates!
http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/

The upper Midwest is shaming us all.

Florida, get your act together.

filling out forms is one of the central tenets of lutheranism

hey will somebody take a moment and copy the questions to this thread so we all can scrutinize them once again, plz?

i was in a conversation with a coworker and really wished there was a place where i could go and look at the exact wording of the questions . . .

oh nevermind i found them at

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php

hmm in the explanation for the part where they ask yr name it's all 'federal law protects the confidentiality . . ."
then in the explanation for the sex question it's all 'also sociologists, economists and other researchers analyze . . ."

is that a contradiction?

not really..........it's still confidential if they don't give out identifying info

filled this out today. was kind of looking forward to a long questionnaire, but it was like four questions and peace out. honestly, i'm disappointed.

i just want future generations of genealogy researchers to know my eating and moviegoing habits. i guess for that they'll have to check ILX.

http://contexts.org/socimages/2010/03/29/the-census-and-the-social-construction-of-race

http://contexts.org/socimages/2010/03/29/race-and-censuses-from-around-the-world

kenan, with the amount of photos you post to the internet, i'm pretty sure the government knows you exist at this point

Super-interesting posts, Jenny. Thanks.

np!

they stratify the asians so thoroughly cause when the us eventually wars with china they'll know who to round up

^.^

kenan, with the amount of photos you post to the internet, i'm pretty sure the government knows you exist at this point

Well, just in case, I did enclose a glossy photo with my census form.

Of my balls.

Actually, I just got my second census form in the mail today. I filled it out, sealed it up, and stuck it in a mailbox. (No balls this time.) I mean, if they fucked up enough to send me two forms, they can figure out how not to count me twice.

Or not! If not, I am helping my community!

probably means you will pay double the taxes

Yeah, I got a second census, too. What does one do?????????

me too. wasteful idiots.

My second form arrived as well.

same

http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12244764

second form came yesterday.

Garcia said forms are not available online, even though the bureau has embraced social networking to help get the word out this year. The bureau began preparing for the 2010 census in 2005-06 and officials did not feel they could guarantee the confidentiality mandated in the process.

“We’re keeping up with the times and sparking a conversation. This spreads awareness to a new segment,” she said. “Confidentiality trumps everything else. In 2020, the Internet might be a thing of the past. Who knows?”

bahaha

Awesome! Yeah I kind of hope Chatroulette is the most internet thing that could possibly exist and from now on it's best to focus on how we're gonna live with regional augmented virtual reality nets.

Actually, I could imagine the Internet breaking back up into seperate national networks someday.

what a disaster for ilx

http://www.censusdiscriminationlawsuit.com/

http://ccrjustice.org/johnson-v-locke

Williamsburg hipsters not submitting their census forms.

ROBERT SMITH: The biggest census procrastinators in New York City happen to live in the most self-consciously hip neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Williamsburg is a magnet for kids just out of college, home of indie bands and ironic mustaches, wacky bikes and skinny jeans, and honest to goodness record stores like this one, Academy Annex.

http://nymag.com/images/2/daily/entertainment/07/07/24_robertsmith_lgl.jpg

SMITH: The Census Bureau is spending $133 million on advertising in dozens of languages telling people that the census is their civic duty, that it helps get federal funding in their communities, but the message isn't sinking in here in Williamsburg.

I just got this today.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i191/fluxion23/community-survey.jpg

Which I will happily fill out, of course. But apparently this only goes out to about three million households, which puts me in a pretty small percentile. Smaller still, since my household has one person in it.