# For the love of your country, fill out your census form! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 17, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713 "2010-03-17T00:55:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/21 "2010-03-17T02:58:51Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > There’s porn on the internet? Very little; you have to pay money for it, and it’s hard to find, but it does exist. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/22 "2010-03-17T03:04:52Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > (it’s in The Constitution, after all) Well, the headcount is in there. The rest of the crap isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/23 "2010-03-17T03:06:52Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > There’s porn on the internet? Yep. Census porn. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/24 "2010-03-17T03:07:24Z")
Give your gf’s father a break. The US has only been doing the census since 1790. Give him some time to get used to the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/25 "2010-03-17T03:09:08Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > My favorite story is the dipshit who saw my badge while we were in line at Rite Aid. He insisted that the Census is unconstitutional. :rolleyes: That’s beautiful. What, is everything that somebody doesn’t like now “unconstitutional?” Health care reform? Unconstitutional! Gay marriage? Unconstitutional! Digital television? Unconstitutional! Spinach? Unconstitutional! ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/26 "2010-03-17T03:11:17Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > It took me well under 10 minutes, but I was a bit thrown by the fact that they entreated me to send it in “today,” giving information about how many people were staying at my address on April 1st, 2010. Yeah, I’ll be screwed if eight people move in with me in the next 15 days! Then, if that happens to everybody …wow. The thought is just mind-boggling. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/27 "2010-03-17T03:12:49Z")
When I saw the big ol note “US Census Form Enclosed YOUR RESPONSE IS REQURED BY LAW” on the envelope, I just _knew_ it would send the conspiracy nutters into a frothing frenzy. But… really, Census Bureau? You want to imply that you’ll _arrest_ people who don’t fill out their census form? Really? > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Whoa, whoa, whoa, ten whole minutes? Where are people supposed to find that kind of time between the hours spent goofing off at work, and wanking to internet porn? Eh. I just bang at the keyboard with my penis, leaving my other hand free for filling out the census form. Makes tabbing back and forth from the porn to the Avatar threads less painful, anyway. Pardon me while I bang Submit Reply a few hundred times, now ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/28 "2010-03-17T03:15:34Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Uh-oh. There was an income question? I don’t remember seeing that, and it’s already sealed up and ready for the mail. I didn’t see any income question either, which surprised me–I expected to be asked that. All they asked was how many of me there were, how old, and what color. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/29 "2010-03-17T03:33:26Z")
Who gets stuck filling out the long form for the prisons? ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/30 "2010-03-17T03:38:03Z")
I don’t have a problem with filling out the census. At the same time, a tiny part of me wants to know whose goddamn business it is whether my children are adopted or biological. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/31 "2010-03-17T03:42:13Z")
Oh, please everyone, please turn in your census forms. I’m a grad student in public policy. I look at this shit all the time (granted, not the US census very often, since I’m studying international development) and you just have no idea how frustrating it is to try and critically analyze policy when there isn’t good data. I’ve tried to do policy analysis of countries with terrible census data\* and I don’t care how much you like Glenn Beck, it’s bad for everyone when there’s incomplete census information. \*I once wrote a memo on HIV prevention and treatment policy in Haiti. It was basically along the lines of “since no one knows how many people in Haiti have HIV, or what the infection rate is, it’s impossible to tell how effective its programming is and impossible to figure out what steps to take next” over and over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/32 "2010-03-17T03:44:53Z")
I agree with the OP regarding the importance of the census, and I filled out mine honestly. But I confess - the race question _rankles_. I consider it entirely irrelevant, and was sorely tempted to fill in “giraffe.” ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/33 "2010-03-17T03:48:59Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Who gets stuck filling out the long form for the prisons? That’s one of the duties of the worst of the worst, child molesters. It’s why none of them want to go to prison. That and daily shower rape. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/34 "2010-03-17T03:51:39Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Digital television? Unconstitutional! Don’t know if you added this one to make your list seem absurd, but I actually heard this a _lot_ during the changeover, that the government didn’t have the right to regulate broadcast standards (though the folks complaining usually wouldn’t have known or understood the concept of broadcast standards)… the government’s doin’ something’ and it must be bad! And lots of “ **Obama** is doing this on purpose so granny can’t have her soaps!” type talk, too, but I doubt that surprises anyone. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/35 "2010-03-17T03:52:08Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Who gets stuck filling out the long form for the prisons? Prisons, nursing homes, college dorms and the like are considered Group Living Quarters and the residents therein are counted separately. Generally speaking, the Census Bureau works with the administrators of these facilities to make sure the information is correct and to make sure that these people aren’t counted elsewhere; i.e. college students may be counted while at school (where they should be counted) and at home (where they shouldn’t). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/36 "2010-03-17T03:57:18Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > I agree with the OP regarding the importance of the census, and I filled out mine honestly. But I confess - the race question _rankles_. I consider it entirely irrelevant, and was sorely tempted to fill in “giraffe.” I’m wondering why specifically all the Asian races seem to be enumerated, but everyone else gets lopped into one big racial pile. edit: Don’t read that the wrong way–it just seemed weird to me that the choices were white (one category), black/African-Am./Negro (one category), and then multiple Asian nationalities as separate ethnicities. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/37 "2010-03-17T04:28:18Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Prisons, nursing homes, college dorms and the like are considered Group Living Quarters and the residents therein are counted separately. Generally speaking, the Census Bureau works with the administrators of these facilities to make sure the information is correct and to make sure that these people aren’t counted elsewhere; i.e. college students may be counted while at school (where they should be counted) and at home (where they shouldn’t). When I was an undergrad living in a dorm in 1990, I filled out a long form for that census. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/38 "2010-03-17T04:31:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m wondering why specifically all the Asian races seem to be enumerated, but everyone else gets lopped into one big racial pile. > > edit: Don’t read that the wrong way–it just seemed weird to me that the choices were white (one category), black/African-Am./Negro (one category), and then multiple Asian nationalities as separate ethnicities. Probably because given the size and breadth of the populations that the area of “Asia” covers, it’s insufficiently descriptive. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/39 "2010-03-17T04:31:39Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > I don’t have a problem with filling out the census. At the same time, a tiny part of me wants to know whose goddamn business it is whether my children are adopted or biological. Well, yours. And in discovering in general how many kids in the country are adopted or biological and so on, a more accurate knowledge of which might well end up helping your kids in the end. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/40 "2010-03-17T04:43:17Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > Probably because given the size and breadth of the populations that the area of “Asia” covers, it’s insufficiently descriptive. I suppose. I was going to say that “Hispanic” was lopped into one category, but it turns out the question before the race question addresses people specifically of Hispanic/Latino/Spanish ancestry. I would say given the size and breadth of African populations, that’s insufficiently descriptive, too, but I guess the amount of African immigrants here is probably way less than Asian immigrants. It just jumped out as a little odd to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713.md?page=3)