I used to be one. Then they called me 20 times asking for 25 more bucks. So I figure the money would be better spent by sticking cash in an envelope and sending it without a return address so they couldn’t waste it on calling.
I do love the ACLU and everything else they do, though.
I first joined the ACLU shortly after the USA PATRIOT Act passed. I set up regular monthly donations this past October. I sure didn’t guess back then that so many Americans could perform xenophobic hysteria without fatigue for 15 years.
I sent ACLU some money late last year, and signed up for a monthly contribution this year. I dropped the Sierra Club years ago because they would send letters at least twice a month and called incessantly. I hope ACLU doesn’t end up like that.
I’ve been a member for over 50 years. I sent them $500 in December, but I’m gonna toss in a bit more. Yeah, I wish they wouldn’t send me so much mail, but it’s no biggie.
I re-upped last night (Sunday night) as well. I’ve been member* for 25 years now (and 2nd generation at that), ever since my son had to deal with writing letters to Santa in his public school first grade class. I sent a much larger contribution than usual. Same for Planned Parenthood (though I don’t know that my membership history goes back a full quarter century yet).
*Not card-carrying – the wallet already has too much stuff in it without that.
I’ve been a card-carrying member for some years and considered upping the contributions in light of the excellent work by ACLU this weekend, but given how much they’ve been taking in, I don’t think that’s necessarily the best investment at this point. Local structures — such as refugee or immigration rights organizations — still urgently need your money.
For years I gave to the ACLU and then I took to sending their mailers back with two words writ large across the pledge card: “Citizens United.” They stupidly supported the reich-wingers position on that one and nobody currently in the ACLU has to my knowledge recanted that support. This is about as close as it gets:
While I was doing my dissertation on execution in 16th century English literature, I walked out of the library one day, after reading pamphlets describing the torture and execution of the Jesuits from the late 16th century.
That’s when I joined the ACLU, because I realized that we hadn’t really come that far in 1986. Sad to say, in 2017…
Yes, I’ve just joined the ACLU, and I don’t even live in the States.
In the UK I support Liberty, and make monthly payments to 38 Degrees and Avaaz.
But perhaps equally important, I support the Guardian to the hilt with subscription and membership, and I’ve just subscribed to the electronic NY Times and the electronic Washington Post. Before the election I could scarcely have imagined that supporting a for-profit newspaper could seem a markedly political act in itself.
Looks like donations to the ACLU picked up over the week-end:
The ACLU, in an average year, fundraises around $4 million. After stridently opposing Trump’s unconstitutional immigration ban last weekend, the civil liberties watchdog was rewarded by the American public with a windfall of donations totalling $24 million — six times its average annual income
{ 12 comments }
cwalken 01.30.17 at 3:44 am
I used to be one. Then they called me 20 times asking for 25 more bucks. So I figure the money would be better spent by sticking cash in an envelope and sending it without a return address so they couldn’t waste it on calling.
I do love the ACLU and everything else they do, though.
Matt 01.30.17 at 5:17 am
I first joined the ACLU shortly after the USA PATRIOT Act passed. I set up regular monthly donations this past October. I sure didn’t guess back then that so many Americans could perform xenophobic hysteria without fatigue for 15 years.
Don K 01.30.17 at 5:20 am
I sent ACLU some money late last year, and signed up for a monthly contribution this year. I dropped the Sierra Club years ago because they would send letters at least twice a month and called incessantly. I hope ACLU doesn’t end up like that.
George de Verges 01.30.17 at 1:25 pm
Done.
Raven Onthill 01.30.17 at 1:44 pm
Reportedly, the national ACLU has taken in $24 million in donations this weekend. Typically, they take in $4 million in a year.
Theophylact 01.30.17 at 3:35 pm
I’ve been a member for over 50 years. I sent them $500 in December, but I’m gonna toss in a bit more. Yeah, I wish they wouldn’t send me so much mail, but it’s no biggie.
marcel proust 01.30.17 at 3:52 pm
I re-upped last night (Sunday night) as well. I’ve been member* for 25 years now (and 2nd generation at that), ever since my son had to deal with writing letters to Santa in his public school first grade class. I sent a much larger contribution than usual. Same for Planned Parenthood (though I don’t know that my membership history goes back a full quarter century yet).
*Not card-carrying – the wallet already has too much stuff in it without that.
Sebastian 01.30.17 at 6:00 pm
I’ve been a card-carrying member for some years and considered upping the contributions in light of the excellent work by ACLU this weekend, but given how much they’ve been taking in, I don’t think that’s necessarily the best investment at this point. Local structures — such as refugee or immigration rights organizations — still urgently need your money.
Kalkaino 01.30.17 at 6:09 pm
For years I gave to the ACLU and then I took to sending their mailers back with two words writ large across the pledge card: “Citizens United.” They stupidly supported the reich-wingers position on that one and nobody currently in the ACLU has to my knowledge recanted that support. This is about as close as it gets:
https://www.thenation.com/article/why-aclu-wrong-about-citizens-united/
Still, perhaps they’ve suffered enough. Can’t let perfection be enemy of the good….
to my knowledge
PatinIowa 01.30.17 at 7:40 pm
While I was doing my dissertation on execution in 16th century English literature, I walked out of the library one day, after reading pamphlets describing the torture and execution of the Jesuits from the late 16th century.
That’s when I joined the ACLU, because I realized that we hadn’t really come that far in 1986. Sad to say, in 2017…
Michael 01.30.17 at 11:22 pm
Yes, I’ve just joined the ACLU, and I don’t even live in the States.
In the UK I support Liberty, and make monthly payments to 38 Degrees and Avaaz.
But perhaps equally important, I support the Guardian to the hilt with subscription and membership, and I’ve just subscribed to the electronic NY Times and the electronic Washington Post. Before the election I could scarcely have imagined that supporting a for-profit newspaper could seem a markedly political act in itself.
rwschnetler 01.31.17 at 9:12 pm
Looks like donations to the ACLU picked up over the week-end:
The ACLU, in an average year, fundraises around $4 million. After stridently opposing Trump’s unconstitutional immigration ban last weekend, the civil liberties watchdog was rewarded by the American public with a windfall of donations totalling $24 million — six times its average annual income
https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/31/aclu-signs-on-with-y-combinator-after-24-million-donation/
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