Althouse: "I hate mailing stuff; it gives me anxiety.... I have ADHD, and it makes it hard for me to do certain tasks where the payoff is far off in the future or abstract."

October 30, 2018

"I hate mailing stuff; it gives me anxiety.... I have ADHD, and it makes it hard for me to do certain tasks where the payoff is far off in the future or abstract."

"I don’t find [voting] intrinsically motivational. The amount of work logically isn’t that much: Fill out a form, mail it, go to a specific place on a specific day. But those kind of tasks can be hard for me to do if I’m not enthusiastic about it.... After 2016, a couple friends became a lot more politically active, and they helped me register and mail the form. So I actually am registered now. I’m leaning toward probably voting in the midterms. It feels like the reason to vote is symbolic. The motivation isn’t about the actual value my vote has; it’s more like a theoretical signaling value. If that’s the case, I would rather signal that Democrats should have more progressive candidates, rather than assuming that everyone on the left will automatically vote for the candidates they run...."

From "12 Young People on Why They Probably Won’t Vote" (New York Magazine).

43 comments:

Darrell said...: Always remember this-- Don't be a fuckhead and vote Democratic.; 10/30/18, 5:27 PM
Michael K said...: Good. Probably Democrats.; 10/30/18, 5:28 PM
rcocean said...: Good. The worst amendment to the constitution is the one that lowered the voting age to 18. This is one of Nixon's worst ideas, he thought he could pander to "young people" and gain some votes and appear "With it".

Today, the percentage of 18-21 in the military has never been lower. The number of 18-21 in School has never been higher.

In the old days, it was different. My mother was married, had a kid, and been employed at 3 different jobs before she was 21. I had an Uncle who joined the MC, fought in Korea, and got married - all before he was 21.

Now, when young people are more CHILDLIKE than they've ever been, they can vote.

Lets admend the Constitution. No voting till you legally drink before hand.; 10/30/18, 5:33 PM
Chuck said...: That was like reading a National Lampoon parody of millennial non-voters. I am so grateful to Althouse for blogging it. I would surely have missed it otherwise.

Althouse commenters; please do not miss clicking on the link and reading all of the mini-interviews. Althouse's blog post is representative, of course. But there is so much more to it. I was laughing out loud. What on earth were the New York magazine editors thinking? It couldn't possibly have been a sequel to Tom Brokaw's book, to be titled, "The Worst Generation."; 10/30/18, 5:36 PM
ALP said...: Ugh, on the fence regarding following this link and reading. How much stupid have I exposed myself to today and do I want to risk it? The Seattle Times ran an article a few years back going on about the burden of completing our mail in ballots when they still needed stamps. The author pointed out that even after getting the stamp on, there was still the burden of **remembering to mail it**. My god, how many **obstacles** to voting can one human endure? Why, the absent minded and overly busy vote is being **supressed** I tell ya - where is the outrage?; 10/30/18, 5:38 PM
PM said...: Apparently, Amazon is missing a big opportunity to stamp and mail ballots. Perhaps even fill them out when 'that pentel is way over there in the drawer.'; 10/30/18, 5:43 PM
Rob said...: Poor Tim, with the ADHD and the mailing anxiety and the being asked to do things he's not enthusiastic about. Better he should lie down and rest. Better for him--and better for the less anxious voters of Texas.; 10/30/18, 5:46 PM
Chuck said...: The funny thing is that 2018 Democrats and progressive activists are all about stopping states like Georgia from relying on electronic voting machines with no paper ballots or other paper trail. They think Russia will steal the election.

While their millennial voters prolly wanta vote using their phones.; 10/30/18, 5:46 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I absolutely agree with Chuck- you should read those explanations- those are the future of the country- a bunch of morons.; 10/30/18, 5:47 PM
Yancey Ward said...: In short, it shocks me that all twelve seem to have the mental capacities of a toddler.; 10/30/18, 5:51 PM
mockturtle said...: Gee, New York Times, New York Magazine, The New Yorker. Well, you do sometimes include the Washington Post. These papers really represent the hearts and minds of Americans across the country. So nice to have a variety of sources, isn't it?; 10/30/18, 5:55 PM
Chuck said...: Yancey Ward said...
I absolutely agree with Chuck- you should read those explanations- those are the future of the country- a bunch of morons.

Honestly; I kept reading and expecting that there might be a convincingly sensible or introspective millennial who might say something redeeming. Some politically refreshing comment that made the whole thing worthwhile for a NY Mag editor.

I think we agree; there was nothing like that. It all read like an SNL sketch script, where the ridiculousness kept ratcheting up with each new character until we got to where it was "easier to get my medical marijuana card than a voter registration..."; 10/30/18, 6:03 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Chuck, there was a exactly one that sounded like he had an IQ above 95.; 10/30/18, 6:07 PM
George Grady said...: Well, then, just don't vote. I sure won't lose any sleep over it if you never get around to it.; 10/30/18, 6:09 PM
rcocean said...: You need to understand the whole point of the article. Its to get NYT readers energized to help get out the "Youth Vote".

The NYT is in "campaign mode" - and helping the D's win is all that matters.; 10/30/18, 6:28 PM
rcocean said...: You laugh all you want about the WaPo, the New Yorker, the NyT, etc.

But they have the microphone.

We all dance to their tune.; 10/30/18, 6:29 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Corrected NYT headline:

"Young Dem Voters Too Stupid to Vote"; 10/30/18, 6:32 PM
funsize said...: I always vote, even if no one gives me a damn cookie or cares an iota whether or not I did. For the record, I am supposed to be one of these millenials we keep hearing about.; 10/30/18, 6:32 PM
Michael K said...: Blogger Yancey Ward said...
I absolutely agree with Chuck- you should read those explanations- those are the future of the country- a bunch of morons.

I am still reading "Citizen Soldiers" and could not stand to read them. The Army in Europe by the Battle of the Bulge was almost 100% recruits who hd not been in the Army on D day. Some units had 160 and 250% casualties.

Most were 18 to 25. I just finished reading the chapter on the slackers and crooks. JHC Lee the head quartermaster had 250,000 rear echelon types based in Paris. The hotels were full of armchair troopers while the guys on R&R had to stay in barracks.; 10/30/18, 6:32 PM
Darrell said...: A few days ago, somebody said the NYT was the Manhattan Penny Saver.
I disagree. The Penny Saver is at least useful.; 10/30/18, 6:34 PM
Michael K said...: Blogger rcocean said...
You laugh all you want about the WaPo, the New Yorker, the NyT, etc.

But they have the microphone.

We all dance to their tune.

The Tucson Star News is as left wing as the NY Times. They had an article on how to vote on propositions. I emailed the editor to tell him I had used his list and voted the opposite on all but one. He replied. "Glad to be of help."

At least they have a sense of humor, not like the lefties around here.; 10/30/18, 6:35 PM
Lyssa said...: Are people who suffer from anxiety just incredibly desperate to talk about it at every possible opportunity? It seems like I read statements like this (“I can’t do X because I have anxiety.”) on a near daily basis. It cannot be possible that there are so many members of our species that suffer from disabling mental conditions.; 10/30/18, 6:35 PM
Chuck said...: funsize said...
I always vote, even if no one gives me a damn cookie or cares an iota whether or not I did. For the record, I am supposed to be one of these millenials we keep hearing about.

Point taken.

If we scoured every generation's cohort of non-voters, we'd find some equally uninspiring stories. There are must be some Boomer non-voting stories to rival these for personal irresponsibility. But the nature of the non-voting in the NY Mag story; the attempted explanations; I could never have made them up, even with the help of The Onion's staff writers.; 10/30/18, 6:39 PM
Sam L. said...: New York young people. Not gonna have a good future, mostly by choice.; 10/30/18, 6:52 PM
Michael K said...: It cannot be possible that there are so many members of our species that suffer from disabling mental conditions.

That's why I took my youngest daughter to Normandy and had her, and two of her cousins, walk among the graves at the Omaha Beach American cemetery,

She ended up conservative.; 10/30/18, 7:16 PM
Howard said...: Millennials are not the baby-boomers. the Democrats fucked up that calculation by going all-in on Hillary. Now it may possibly sustain Trump through the mid-terms; 10/30/18, 7:38 PM
Henry said...: Weirdly, I still write out checks and mail certain bills because it's easier than creating an account on an unusable web site, validating the payment account and dealing with the notification spam that follows. Even I find that hard to fathom.

There's a growth industry for people who are good at filling out forms and navigating phone trees. In Massachusetts we call it MassHealth.; 10/30/18, 8:18 PM
Michael K said...: Blogger Howard said...
Millennials are not the baby-boomers. the Democrats fucked up that calculation by going all-in on Hillary.

The Baby Boomers fucked up their children. Then the children they fucked up fucked up the millennials.

Several of my kids are OK but a couple, as Inga will gladly tell you are lefties. They are struggling a bit but don't want to admit it.; 10/30/18, 8:31 PM
Kathryn51 said...: Our kids are millennials (mid-20's) who live in apartments and have not changed their voter registration. Washington State is all mail-in, so we BBQ'd steaks, grilled veggies and then over dessert talked about the ballot and pros/cons of issues. Only one really contentious issue (gun rights - or as the progs label it "gun safety") - and my son (who was leaning on behalf of "safety")actually opened up the Voter's pamphlet to read pros/cons. The gun-grabbers didn't have good arguments and couldn't quantify the "financial impact" (required) of their Steyer/Bloomberg financed initiative. Win for the 2A in my family.; 10/30/18, 8:33 PM
Renee said...: Millienials this, baby boomers that.

Whatever says the invisible gen x-er.; 10/30/18, 8:39 PM
gilbar said...: That was an onion article, right? I mean; PLEASE TELL ME THAT WAS AN ONION ARTICLE!!

When I was at the post office to register, this poor girl, clearly also a college student like me, didn’t know what “postmarked” meant and had no idea how to send an important document by mail. Most people my age have zero need to go to the post office and may have never stepped into one before. Honestly, if someone had the forms printed for me and was willing to deal with the post office, I’d be much more inclined to vote.

If only someone would hold my hand, and pull the levers (rhymes with Evers) for me; i'd be glad to vote... Why do *I* have to make these hard decisions about things that affect me? WHY can't the government just do what i want? </sarc; 10/30/18, 8:42 PM
Henry said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/30/18, 8:47 PM
Henry said...: That's a crazy article.

But a few of these kids actually have something interesting to say. I understand cynicism well enough, the annoyance of voting against a candidate instead of voting for one; the little game of make-believe you play with yourself to go vote in a solid-blue or solid-red district; the sour difference between a candidate you actually like and the awful party they represent.

And the post office is archaic. Funny how the big fight is about voter ID and how hard it is to get an ID card and no one is saying "what a bitch it is buying a stamp." Except for these kids. They are ridiculous. But so is the postal system.; 10/30/18, 8:48 PM
Leora said...: When I see interviews like this, I always think of the reporters who were told you could high by smoking banana peels and took it seriously. I think the current generation may have a similar sense of humor.; 10/30/18, 8:56 PM
D 2 said...: To Lyssa's statement: "It cannot be possible that so many ....."
What's the downside to the self-labelling? Where is the floor on expectations when you have a trump card to play?
~
Crack posts about the cult-like aspects found in culture. These appear to be the poster children of a fostered dependency syndrome, or something to that effect.
~
Words never truer, Renee; 10/30/18, 9:00 PM
mockturtle said...: Kathryn51: Good for you and your kids! :-) I'd like to think families can safely get together and discuss politics w/o killing each other.; 10/30/18, 10:07 PM
mockturtle said...: Rcocean asserts: You laugh all you want about the WaPo, the New Yorker, the NyT, etc.

But they have the microphone.

We all dance to their tune.

I don't dance to anybody's tune.; 10/30/18, 10:09 PM
mockturtle said...: Henry sez: And the post office is archaic. Funny how the big fight is about voter ID and how hard it is to get an ID card and no one is saying "what a bitch it is buying a stamp." Except for these kids. They are ridiculous. But so is the postal system.

As a child I was made to hand write thank you letters and put them, stamped, into the mail box. I wasn't traumatized by this experience, AFAIK. I get thank you texts from my grandkids.; 10/30/18, 10:13 PM
Robert Cook said...: Like, I didn't have any stamps...it's such a drag, you know?! Why is everything so hard?; 10/31/18, 6:51 AM
Robert Cook said...: "That's why I took my youngest daughter to Normandy and had her, and two of her cousins, walk among the graves at the Omaha Beach American cemetery,

"She ended up conservative."

Anyone who would develop their political views simply from walking along a battlefield cemetery is flaky and superficial.; 10/31/18, 6:57 AM
Robert Cook said...: "And the post office is archaic."

Why? How so?; 10/31/18, 6:59 AM
Biotrekker said...: These millenials are such a joke. I almost peed myself laughing. BTW, you can get stamps at bodegas, banks and drug stores as well as the post office. Also, consider this: "Forever' stamps are one of the best inflation-proof investments you can make. They are guaranteed to go up in absolute value over time and preserve their nominal value....forever.; 10/31/18, 7:10 AM
Michael K said...: Anyone who would develop their political views simply from walking along a battlefield cemetery is flaky and superficial.

How did your political views end up "flaky and superficial ?"

You purposely misunderstand and expect anyone to pay attention to what you write ?

Stalin has been dead a long time. Time to stop mourning.; 10/31/18, 7:46 AM