Peace concert brings political ideas to youth....

Dear freedom-seekers, progressives, queers, and allies:


[1] THANKS to Mahtin
for taking + posting photos of
Power to the Peaceful
concert/festival ( 9 Sept. 2006):

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/09/09/18307398.php



[ 2] I attended the latter part of this concert,
stayed till the end.
Photos confirm what I saw there --
this crowd is hella younger,
on average,
than my fellow leftists ( as seen at peace demos, etc)
or my fellow queers & pervs
( as seen at Dore, Folsom, sex parties, etc).


[3 ] So Pwr2Peaceful is,
IMQO,
a brilliant way to deliver progressive ideas
to young people.


[ 4 ]
Alas, I don't know how to get the college-age youths
(like 18 to 26 )
to actually VOTE in California elections.


The general guesstimate is that voting percentage
ROUGHLY matches decade of life --
like around 20% of 20-somethings usually vote,
30% of 30-somethings,
40% of 40-somethings,
50% of 50-somethings,
60% of 60-somethings,
and so on upwards
--- on AVERAGE.

If a precinct contains a college dormitory,
you can expect relatively low turnout
(compared to the median precinct of the county).
If a precinct contains a convalescent "home" for elders
and the physically ill (like SF's Laguna Honda),
you can expect relatively high turnout
(compared to median precinct).


[ 4 A ] Of course, "average" only predicts behavior of
large classes of people,
numbered in thousands or millions.

Your individual actions AREN'T predicted by statistics
of your age-class,
your money-class, your ethnicity, whatever.

Even if most queers vote for Democrats,
some vote for small progressive parties,
and some (yuck!) even support the homophobic Republican Party.



[ 5 ] Political activists may not notice this age/turnout problem,
as activists tend to hang out with activists.

Some young activists may deny
the percentages cited above;
with rebuttals like,
" Bullshit!
I'm 33 --
and at least three-quarters
of my 30-something friends vote!"


[ 6 ] But personal experience isn't everything.
The voter/age statistics are simple and objective.
Computers can easily compare
millions of public records;
to see which of the registered voters actually voted,
and what each person's birth-year is.

Thus I'm willing to bet
that Californians born in 1956
are way more LIKELY to vote in November 2006

than Californians born in 1976 or 1986 --
on average.



[ 7 ] Because of history,
some issues are "generational" --
like, you usually make up your mind
by the time you finish your formal schooling,
and you usually keep that stance until you die.
Often these issues involve private life
( sex, reproduction, drugs, religion, etc.);
more than volatile public issues
( world affairs, economics, etc.).


Among non-queer Californians born in 1976 or later,
who know very little of the pre-Stonewall USA,
most favor equal rights for queers.


Among non-Q Californians born in 1946 or 1956 or earlier,
who were alive (and maybe aware) when Stonewall happened,
a much smaller percentage support equal rights for queers.


So queers and our allies should HOPE that
more post-1976 citizens would register AND VOTE.



[ 7 A] Indeed I'd like to see U.S. voter turnout increase among ALL age-groups;
not just among younger citizens.
In western Europe, turnout is usually far higher than in U$A.


[ 8 ] I wish I could offer some useful suggestions
on how to increase voter turnout.
Unfortunately,
I don't know the answers. (Oy!)



[ 9 ] So I'm asking fellow progressives
to think about this,
and to publish their constructive ideas.


-- TBL
politically active since 1956 or so;

writing on the day after p2p
and the day before Nine-Eleven 2006...

in San Franistan

....
............