# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/121 "2010-03-18T02:18:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > You really only need to answer three of the questions for it to be a valid response. Actually, tonight I found out you really only need to answer ONE question for it to be a valid response: “How many people live here?” Supposedly, that’s enough to counted as being counted, and they won’t send anyone to your door if they get at least that. I’ll try to confirm that next week, so take it with a grain of salt tonight. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/122 "2010-03-18T02:47:19Z")
> [@waterj2](#): > > Why not just use paper? I mean, Glenn Beck strikes me as being a remarkably poor surface for note-taking. He’s kinda squishy and moves around a lot. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/123 "2010-03-18T03:02:32Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > 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? Actually, I believe the penalty is $50,000. I don’t think there is any jailtime involved, but I could be wrong on that. > [@txobbin](#): > > Short form filled out and will be mailed tomorrow. IIRC I filled out the long form in 2000. I don’t recall getting a short form afterwards. Does the ACS usually come before the short form? I got the Community one in 2008, near the end of the year. And got the regular census form Monday, sent it out Tuesday. Took about 2 minutes to do, since I live alone. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/124 "2010-03-18T03:09:05Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > Except skipping pass the ethnicity question I finished the whole thing. I see no reason why the U.S should inquire on what ethnicity I am but won’t ask whether I’m a U.S citizen. But they’re not really asking what ethnicity you, **Honesty P. Honest** , are. They are asking what is the ethnic make-up of your district and the U.S. as a whole. I don’t believe they record anywhere, by name, what _your_ particular, individual ethnicity is. So your privacy is fully intact (AFAIK). ---
**Author:** ![Piker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@Piker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Piker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/125 "2010-03-18T03:34:37Z")
[QUOTE=Honesty] Except skipping pass the ethnicity question I finished the whole thing. I see no reason why the U.S should inquire on what ethnicity I am but won’t ask whether I’m a U.S citizen. [/QUOTE] It’s because asking people to document their citizenship status on a government form is kinda a touchy subject amongst people who are here illegally, but we sure as hell want them to fill out the forms anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/126 "2010-03-18T08:14:44Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > We’ve been doing censuses in this country for generations, and world-wide since at least the time of the Roman empire. I’ve told my girlfriend to appeal to his religion (he’s nominally Christian). According to his holy book, Jesus’ parents registered with the Roman census when he was a child. If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s got to be good enough for dimwit like him, right? The Book of Numbers, the fourth book in the Bible, is a census of the Hebrew people. I thought you might like some additional ammo. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/127 "2010-03-18T13:06:45Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > They’re just going to assume all the people who put “human” are white, because only a white person would be so indignant about a harmless question. God, exactly. One of my friends posted that she wanted to do exactly this and I loved the people who said that’s the whitest way to answer the question. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/128 "2010-03-18T13:39:33Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > This makes as much sense as splitting the Asian contigency down into (essentially) nationalities. And why not do black/African the same way? I truly don’t see the difference between Korean vs Chinese, yet “white” is considered all the same. :dubious: (of course, we are all the same under the skin, but not for purposes of the census). > > Me, I’ve always wanted to answer “pacific islander”, but won’t. Should I put in WASP instead? 😉 The problem is accuracy. There really ARE some distinct physical differences between Koreans and Han Chinese, and there really are differences between Norwegians and Armenians. Not just physical ones, but certainly in terms of historical access to services, wealth, and jobs. Remember when the Irish weren’t welcome in many cities in the US? If the point of the census is to accurately help with services, then breaking down the “white” black" and Asian" categories into a few more distinct groups would be helpful. Consider: Let’s say that over the last twenty years Acidville has had a large wave of immigration from the Slavic countries. Acidville is aware of this but would like to better serve it’s new residents through dual language programs, library lending, etc… But in the census they all put “white”. Now Instead of the feds having on record that Acidville has had a rising “Slavic/Russian” population that might need additional services it merely knows that we don’t need funding for minorities. Acidville now has to petition the state, county, etc. to make it’s case; who will undoubtedly refer to the census, and probably return the reply that we don’t qualify for additional help for minorities. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/129 "2010-03-18T14:30:31Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > Actually, I believe the penalty is $50,000. I don’t think there is any jailtime involved, but I could be wrong on that. > > . Has anybody ever actually been charged and convicted? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/130 "2010-03-18T14:44:20Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > For sex (if they didn’t change the word to gender), it’s more fun… Oh, that reminds me of the one thing that did actually piss me off about the form. I don’t remember if it was labeled as “sex” or “gender,” but it definitely specified that you could only check one. It’s sure a nice “fuck you” to people who are, say, intersexed. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/131 "2010-03-18T15:02:59Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Oh, that reminds me of the one thing that did actually piss me off about the form. I don’t remember if it was labeled as “sex” or “gender,” but it definitely specified that you could only check one. It’s sure a nice “fuck you” to people who are, say, intersexed. 1 to 1.7 percent of the population is intersexed in some manner. Most identify as one gender or the other. further, only .01 % is ambiguous enough to not be assigned gender at birth. I doubt the govt was trying to be insensitive there. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/132 "2010-03-18T15:09:27Z")
> [@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? You only have to answer that question on the long form. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Facts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@The\_Facts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Facts)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/133 "2010-03-18T15:12:24Z")
> [@](#): > > There are “black only” congressional districts as a result of gerrymandering. In a plurality voting system you can wind up severely disenfranchising minority groups depending on how the districts are drawn, and since human populations don’t neatly cabin into arbitrary voting district lines (which is what would happen if you didn’t have the relevant population data or if you used county lines) the odds are that without the data necessary to engage in “good” gerrymandering, you’re going to decrease their representation. > > Oh, also, gerrymandering by race is unconstitutional. Right. Sure. The white folks went out of their way to make “black only” districts. Buuuulshit. ---
**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 18, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/134 "2010-03-18T16:19:18Z")
> [@The\_Facts](#): > > Right. Sure. The white folks went out of their way to make “black only” districts. Buuuulshit. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia%27s\_13th\_congressional\_district](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia%27s_13th_congressional_district) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois%27s\_7th\_congressional\_district](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois%27s_7th_congressional_district) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois%27s\_1st\_congressional\_district](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois%27s_1st_congressional_district) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania%27s\_2nd\_congressional\_district](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania%27s_2nd_congressional_district) i’ll stop now. edit, no… i’ll save the best for last: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia%27s\_3rd\_congressional\_district](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia%27s_3rd_congressional_district) > [@](#): > > The district’s current configuration dates to 1993, when the Justice Department ordered Virginia to create a majority-minority district. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/135 "2010-03-18T17:03:42Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > 1 to 1.7 percent of the population is intersexed in some manner. Most identify as one gender or the other. further, only .01 % is ambiguous enough to not be assigned gender at birth. I doubt the govt was trying to be insensitive there. Most do identify as one \*gender \*or the other, yes, but what if the form asked for _sex_? And if it asks for gender, what about people who identify as asexual? You can check more than one race; people should be able to check more than one sex or gender if they so desire. ---
**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 18, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/136 "2010-03-18T17:45:22Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Most do identify as one \*gender \*or the other, yes, but what if the form asked for _sex_? And if it asks for gender, what about people who identify as asexual? You can check more than one race; people should be able to check more than one sex or gender if they so desire. oh for fuck’s sake. not this bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/137 "2010-03-18T18:05:11Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Has anybody ever actually been charged and convicted? No one has been charged since 1960 when two people were charged and neither were fined. It’s all hot air to get you to fill out the form. Search and you will find many, many people indignant about the threat of a fine, and you won’t find anybody who has been issued one. Issuing a fine is beyond the power of the Census Bureau. Since overall response for 2000 was 67% you would imagine that several million people were fined, right? Or a couple thousand at least? Or maybe a couple hundred? What? Nobody? And the allowed fine under US code Title 13 is $100 for failure to complete the form and $500 for providing false information. This language exists so that the manditory statements can be made. It is never applied. Relevant part here: > **[Govinfo](https://www.govinfo.gov/app/browse/category)** ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/138 "2010-03-18T19:10:27Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Has anybody ever actually been charged and convicted? > [@ghardester](#): > > No one has been charged since 1960 when two people were charged and neither were fined. It’s all hot air to get you to fill out the form. > > Search and you will find many, many people indignant about the threat of a fine, and you won’t find anybody who has been issued one. Issuing a fine is beyond the power of the Census Bureau. Since overall response for 2000 was 67% you would imagine that several million people were fined, right? Or a couple thousand at least? Or maybe a couple hundred? What? Nobody? > > And the allowed fine under US code Title 13 is $100 for failure to complete the form and $500 for providing false information. This language exists so that the manditory statements can be made. It is never applied. > > Relevant part here: > [Govinfo](http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+13USC221) ^What he said. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/139 "2010-03-18T19:15:30Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I don’t like the fact the federal funds are given based on total head count and not U.S citizens. Why? Immigrants pay taxes too, you know. [QUOTE=eleanorigby] This makes as much sense as splitting the Asian contigency down into (essentially) nationalities. And why not do black/African the same way? [/QUOTE] Because 90% of the black population of the US has no idea where their ancestors came from beyond “Africa”, and half of the remainder have no idea where their ancestors came from prior to the Caribbean. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713/140 "2010-03-18T19:19:12Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > oh for fuck’s sake. not this bullshit. :rolleyes: > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Because 90% of the black population of the US has no idea where their ancestors came from beyond “Africa”, and half of the remainder have no idea where their ancestors came from prior to the Caribbean. Funny how being kidnapped into generations of chattel slavery with no ability to enforce familial cohesion will cause you to lose track of your family tree like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-love-of-your-country-fill-out-your-census-form/532713.md?page=8)