oh man. that just made me laugh hard. Amen Erik. Now can you please also keep the people selling window replacement, oil changes, magazine subscriptions, candy, and those wanting to landscape my yard and take away my scrap metal from ringing my doorbell constantly?
I would love that.

ahhhhh
a breath of fresh air.
sometimes I have to curb the urge to push these people into traffic.

what gets me is that this is seen as somehow different than "agressive panhandling" by the city. etc. I dont give a shit if the guy is trying to bully me out of money for himself or greenpeace, its equally as annoying. a bully is a bully.

The difference is that these people are ostensibly college students or other Trustafarian types, whose parents would raise a stink if the Portland Patrol or other rent-a-cops bother them.

Never mind the fact that most homeless people aren't even a quarter as pushy and aggressive in their panhandling - the dirty street kids or the wino don't have wealthy parents in the suburbs (or might have them, but are estranged from them) who will complain for them.

It's shameful that even very legit organizations like Mercy Corps have used this tactic...

You're talking about the ones in the red jackets, yeah? There's usually a cluster of them on 6th ave, between Main and Taylor, with one posted on every corner like cops setting up a speed trap. Aggressive as fuck.

"Hey! What's goin' on, bro? You like helping kids, right, bro? Bro? Hey, bro, I'm talkin' to you! DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME, BRO!"

Agreed!

And Hawthorne is just as bad.

I actually just recently moved to the 28th/Burnside area from 37th/Hawthorne in part because I couldn't even get a cup of coffee or return a movie without being inundated by these people.

the george bush comment was good tho...

we need to simply reply with a middle finger and a smile. that's what I'm doing from now on. who's with me?

That's funny, I never even get approached by these people. They always go for the sucker walking next to me. I must look mean. Or like a republican.

No hablo Ingles!

"I'm on the 'do not fucking talk to' list!"

They make me miss the simplicity of hanging up on telemarketers.

I've been on both sides of this dynamic, and can definitely say that these folks need to go fuck themselves.

Not only are they playing the most stupid variety of emotional con game on people who are trying to walk down the damn street, but generally speaking the orgs. they work for are ineffectual slush fund gathering services like any of the PIRGs, and aren't worth the offices they inhabit.

Often, they end up paying these carp on the street (or in the phone banks) less than minimum, depending-on-productivity, just like the fucking Scientologists.

Mind you, telling them to get A Real Job won't exactly get you a great reaction, either.

Erik's rant has made it clear he's the Biggest Douchebag of Them All. Not funny. What a tool. Go Greenpeace!

SCG @ 9: You mean you're not a Republican? What?!

You "guess" you care, yet you say you don't have time for it and call it "bullshit."

Come on, let's be real. You don't have to generalize and vilify canvassers, just say you don't care or don't have time. There's probably a less, shall we say, douchebag way of saying it than "I honestly don't give a fuck." Unless, I suppose, you quite frankly really do not give a fuck. Otherwise it might be disingenuous to suggest to your readers otherwise.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the douchiest of them all?

You may only see yourself.

Ooh, we're being real now! One of those canvassers tried to be real with me today. It made me uncomfortable.

Why dont you treat them like telemarketers and talk to them for a long time without actually signing anything? That hits them where it hurts. Granted it doesnt help if you're in a hurry. Maybe if you did it enough, they'd recognize you. Or take a lunch and waste their time, or picket them.

Same as it ever was . . .

Avoid eye contact and walk on by, saying nothing or "no" (just like with panhandlers). I walk through downtown daily and rarely get bothered, but I am (and look like) an old republican.

Reading these comments made me think of one comment though, that might work with the "green" canvassers; “I should have driven. You're not bothering those people." gesturing toward the omnipresent traffic.

Amen Erik!

Erik, I couldn't agree with you more. It's gotten so bad that I sometimes cross the street to avoid the clipboard nazis.

As someone stated earlier, Hawthorne is a breeding ground for this shit too. It's gotten so bad that I walk down side streets instead of using Hawthorne.

The worst collection of assholes on Hawthorne are the Socialists hawking their Godforsaken newspaper. Suck it socialists!

They know the law though. If you watch them closely they will move out of your way if they are in your path on the sidewalk and attempt to shake your hand from a side angle. Alas, they can't legally impede the flow of pedestrian traffic.

They are ALWAYS on Morrison between 3rd and 5th. Every day. My latest strategy is to stare at them with direct eye contact as I walk by. This apparently freaked them out enough that at least some of them recognize me on sight and leave me alone.

Wahh! My life is SO difficult! Nice people often ask me to help out with progressive causes when I am walking on the street and TOO BUSY to talk to ANYBODY!

Get some perspective, you dickfaces, and maybe consider THANKING these people for doing difficult work that you could never do. Try spending just one afternoon asking selfish and self-involved douchebags like yourselves for money. Seriously. I double-dog fucking dare you.

Hey Galen,

Can I have some money?

Portland's clipboard brats are not nearly as bad as the ones in Paris. They hang around all the big tourist sites and slide up next to anyone trying to take a photo. They'll ask "Do you speak English?" and, if you say "yes" they break out a sales pitch. If you ignore them, they'll grab you by an arm and demand an answer. Very aggressive, very freaky.

Galen,

God I hate you. Give me a fucking break! Do you even know what the overhead costs are for some of these organizations. Find out how much of your donation the organization spends on administrative costs...

However, that's not the frigging point. I have a right to walk down the street and not be harrassed by every hobo, every street kid "spangin" on the street with their adorable puppy, and clipboard fascist asking for a handout.

I worked for one of these organizations for a week in Chicago. The idea that they sell you is "that you can make a difference." In reality, you're simultaneously begging for money and exasperating the fault lines that divide this nation ideologically.

The most effective canvassers were the ones who polarized contributors by simplifying complex problems down to a few talking points.

Grassroots fundraising is nice in theory, but (like many things) often bullshit in practice.

Obviously, the Merc has just alienated their entire canvasser demographic, which I would bet is no small number.

oooooo, a city wide canvasser boycott of the mercury? This will be better than Tape-gate! wait til channel 2 gets a hold of this!? I bet the merc goes belly up in less than a week's time!! get a grip.

Why not try, "Sorry! I'm late for my job at the homeless shelter!"

I've resorted to holding my cell phone to my ear for an imaginary conversation when I walk by these guys. It's lame, but it works. They don't dare interrupt.

I had this job once. It fucking sucks being that guy who has to bother strangers on the street, and it sucks being that stranger, but you should sign petitions anyway. Have a little empathy! The reason they are so eager is because they fire you if you don't get enough signatures. Also,
-people gathering signatures will not ask for money. I don't think they can even accept money.
-it's part of democracy, which is a nice thing.
-you're not voting for anything, only deciding what ought to be voted on.

If you don't want to talk to them, they'll let you go if you say "I'm registered to vote in Washington," "I already signed that one," or "no thanks."

Part of life is putting up with some bullshit occasionally. I never asked to talk to the crackheads at the Fremont Chevron or hear that "hey Delilah" song, but it happens and you deal with it. Give the petitioners a break.

I had this job once. It fucking sucks being that guy who has to bother strangers on the street, and it sucks being that stranger, but you should sign petitions anyway. Have a little empathy! The reason they are so eager is because they fire you if you don't get enough signatures. Also,
-people gathering signatures will not ask for money. I don't think they can even accept money.
-it's part of democracy, which is a nice thing.
-you're not voting for anything, only deciding what ought to be voted on.

If you don't want to talk to them, they'll let you go if you say "I'm registered to vote in Washington," "I already signed that one," or "no thanks."

Part of life is putting up with some bullshit occasionally. I never asked to talk to the crackheads at the Fremont Chevron or hear that "hey Delilah" song, but it happens and you deal with it. Give the petitioners a break.

I had this job once. It fucking sucks being that guy who has to bother strangers on the street, and it sucks being that stranger, but you should sign petitions anyway. Have a little empathy! The reason they are so eager is because they fire you if you don't get enough signatures, and not everyone can get a real job like you have. Also,
-people gathering signatures will not ask for money. I don't think they can even accept money.
-it's part of democracy, which is a nice thing.
-you're not voting for anything, only deciding what ought to be voted on.

But if you don't want to talk to them, they'll let you go if you say "I'm registered to vote in Washington," "I already signed that one," or "no thanks."

Part of life is putting up with some bullshit occasionally. I never asked to talk to the crackheads at the Fremont Chevron or hear that "hey Delilah" song, but it happens and you deal with it. Give the petitioners a break.

Mike,

You idiot. You posted your comment 3x. I could care less if you get fired for not getting signatures. Get another job.

They're not just "gathering signatures."
They're asking you to fork over your credit card number or checking acct number.
Give that away to a stranger downtown?

I'm all for helping starving whales and shit... but they really gotta find a better way.

I am not signing another initiative petition in this state ever again. Initiatives have seriously fucked up this state almost as badly as California. Conservative fucktards like Bill Sizemore abuse this Progressive Era political reform whose original intent was to make gov't more responsive to citizens.

Unfortunately rich douchesacks like Sizemore use the initiative system to implement every idiotic, ass-backwards "small gov't" idea they have (also see Measure 36, Measure 37, and the incredibly stupid kicker and the double majority required for raising local property taxes).

my favorite experience was the guy who yelled "thanks for aknoledging me!!" at the top of his lungs, i had just said "no thanks" to him and was in a hurry to get to my car to pick up my girl friend, give me a break i don't have time to listen to these peoples schpeal. if i wanted to give money to an organization i would give it to them, not have some upity asseyes harass me for it. ugg, what would happen if you went up to a rent a cop and complained about them?

My breakdown of this:

For all... they shouldn't be allowed to be aggressive after a simple "no thanks" they should leave you the fuck alone

It should not be allowed for people to ask for financial information on the street. What's to stop a crafty hustler from impersonating one of these organizations?

Signature petitioner should be allow; it's a part of free speech and even if it may be annoying at times must continue being as it's part of the process of government that brought us things like voting rights for minorities and women, etc.

Totally. Even having to say NO to 5 or 10 of these people in the space of a 5-block walk is too much. I think there needs to be some sort of backlash against these overbearing paid-by-the-sig idiots. Maybe create a "signature gatherer zone" where people who actually have the time or interest can sign up en-masse? Personally, I'm ready to make a big sign that says, "I'M JUST OUT FOR A SIMPLE WALK. DO NOT ASK ME FOR ANYTHING," for the next time I go out...