# I'm now an Official Card-Carrying Member of the A.C.L.U.! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 8, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049 "2002-08-08T23:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/1 "2002-08-08T23:43:17Z")
And I’m glowing with pride about it. I announce it in here for what I think are obvious reasons, and I open the floor to those who would like to take this opportunity to publicly state or explain why they believe this to be a bad thing. (“this” meaning the ACLU itself, not my particular membership in it, which most of you probably assumed anyway) Because I think the ACLU is desperately important to the preservation of our freedoms, and I am deeply grateful they (we! Hehehehe) exist.I continue to be amazed that there are those who refer to the ACLU as though it were the equivalent of the Communist Party, when nothing could be further from reality. Anyone? stoid ACLU Member. Official. Card-Carrying. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/2 "2002-08-08T23:51:02Z")
As a Libertarian, I have much to like about the ACLU. I would prefer they treated all portions of the Bill of Rights as if they should be protected, though they have a definite emphasis on some and no action at all on others if a look at their website says anything about them. Yet, to say they could be doing more is not to say that what they do is bad, I expect that the ACLU generally finds itself populated with liberal Democrats due to the public perception of it as a liberal Democrat group. So if the ACLU decided to treat the 2nd Amendment with the same level of protection as the 4th and 5th and 1st Amendments, perhaps some members would be disillusioned with the group. So be it. When I got to law school I had intended to join the ACLU student division. I decided instead for the Federalist Society, as they appear to defend all of our liberties with equal vigilance (though we have to drag the Republicans along kicking and screaming on some of the search and seizure issues.) As a bonus, I get the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, all three volumes per year, free for my membership dues. So anyways, carry till your heart’s content, any organization opposing government power is alright by my book. ---
**Author:** ![quarx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/50afbb/32.png) [@quarx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quarx)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/3 "2002-08-08T23:53:01Z")
Congratulations, Stoid, you did the right thing. When it comes to supporting individual freedoms, I don’t think _anyone_ quite matches the ACLU. It’s just about the only liberal institution I’d be willing to cross party lines to support and defend. (OK, I know that it doesn’t _claim_ to be liberal, but it has been identified with the left. Still, it does a pretty good job of avoiding partisan politics in the course of its mission.) ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/4 "2002-08-09T00:01:40Z")
All right, Stoid! Now let’s hope that you can singlehandedly drive the effort to break down the barriers that prevent TV stations from showing hardcore porn on network channels. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/5 "2002-08-09T00:08:29Z")
How’d you get them to send you a card? [whine]I’m a member, I pay my dues, they never sent _me_ a card. They send me everything else - but a card. Nope. So I’m just a “member”, not a “card carrying member” which is much cooler.[/whine] ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/6 "2002-08-09T00:08:37Z")
Do the cards still actually say “…card carrying member…” on them? I thought that was funny. I agree with **Rexdart**. I find that the ACLU tends to cherry pick the parts of the Constitution that they like and forget the rest. Generally speaking, I am glad the ACLU exists and would consider joining again. Much like Amnesty International, the good usually outweighs the bad. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/7 "2002-08-09T00:26:04Z")
Good for you, Stoid. from reading your posts, I’ve found that I pretty much never agree with anything you say. however, I agree with you on this. I share the concerns that others have posted, namely that the ACLU seems be much more into protecting _some_ of our civil liberties, rather than all of them. That said, with the current political climate in this country, civil liberties in general need all the help they can get. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/8 "2002-08-09T03:09:05Z")
Hah, I’ve been a card-carrying ACLU member for _weeks_ now. I joined when Congress started talking about a Constitutional ammendment to keep “under God” in the Pledge of Alliegance. They’re not exactly entirely in agreement with me about everything (I’m more of a libertarian than a civil libertarian, and not just because I’m uncivil), but I support the work they do. And I like the whole “card-carrying member” aspect. Of course, if I’m in league with **stoid** , it’s either a really good cause, or a sign of the apocalypse. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/9 "2002-08-09T04:06:19Z")
Another fan of the ACLU here. I sometimes disagree with individual policies of theirs, but they are definitely in the minority. Most of what they do is great. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/10 "2002-08-09T04:18:15Z")
And this is in GD because…? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/11 "2002-08-09T04:24:09Z")
Well, I guess there was some expectation that _someone_ would come in here and argue that the ACLU are a bunch of godless, un-American, nuclear-family-wrecking, values-destroying, criminal-coddling, smut-peddling, flag-burning, namby-pamby bleeding-heart Constitution-huggers, or words to that effect. So, any takers? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/12 "2002-08-09T04:55:08Z")
Gee, **Stoid** , you had to actually _join_ the ACLU? I thought pornographers were, like, _automaticly_ members. You know, like atheists, Jews and hippies. As to its partisan stance: as some of you may already know, I stand with the conservative wing of the extreme left. I tend to think of the ACLU as being lefty, but that’s mostly because I agree with them. I remember going into spasms when they defended the right of Nazis to rally. But they were right and I was wrong. Equal rights means equal for assholes, too. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/13 "2002-08-09T05:58:48Z")
Aw c’mon, there isn’t ONE doper that thinks the ACLU is a bunch of godless, un-American, nuclear-family-wrecking, values-destroying, criminal-coddling, smut-peddling, flag-burning, namby-pamby bleeding-heart Constitution-huggers? You guys are just no damn fun anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/14 "2002-08-09T06:01:03Z")
Well, I once heard that Nadine Strossen shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/15 "2002-08-09T06:21:17Z")
The ACLU has made some (IMO) whacky stances, but they’ve also made some couragious stances. So, good for you. The ACLU definitely has its place in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/16 "2002-08-09T09:20:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > \*\*Aw c’mon, there isn’t ONE doper that thinks the ACLU is a bunch of godless, un-American, nuclear-family-wrecking, values-destroying, criminal-coddling, smut-peddling, flag-burning, namby-pamby bleeding-heart Constitution-huggers? > > You guys are just no damn fun anymore. \*\* Reduced to trolling, then? ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/17 "2002-08-09T11:07:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brutus \* > \*\* > > Reduced to trolling, then? \*\* My thoughts exactly. The whole thread seemed more about irritating people than debating anything, but I digress… My feelings on the ACLU are similar to others: I feel they do a decent job, but should quit picking & choosing their fights. I appreciate that when they find a topic to stand behind, they seem to do their best at fighting the good fight, even if it means fighting themselves at times. I.e., the GLAAD vs Eminem debate. ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/18 "2002-08-09T11:29:04Z")
Just out of curiosity. Can a non-american, non-US resident become a card-carrying member as well? ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/19 "2002-08-09T11:39:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coil \* > \*\*Just out of curiosity. Can a non-american, non-US resident become a card-carrying member as well? \*\* I don’t think they care as long as you cough up the [cash.](https://www2.virtualsprockets.com/transactions/SecureTransaction.cfm?sts=1&cfid=194223&cftoken=78984643) They wouldn’t do you much good…Being the **_American_ Civil Liberties Union** and all. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049/20 "2002-08-09T17:58:03Z")
> [@](#): > > I stand with the conservative wing of the extreme left OK, I am dying to know what this means! Conservative Liberal? Wel, I for one think the ACLU is a little… flaky (I’ll use that term for politeness sake). If Neo-nazis want to make fools of themselves, well, OK, so long as they do not hurt anyone. I don’t always agree with their stances on many other issues. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-now-an-official-card-carrying-member-of-the-a-c-l-u/123049.md?page=2)