I decided to take down the petition that I started over the weekend.
It’s not that it wasn’t going well. It was great. It grew really quickly, and even inspired a copycat effort from a troll, so we’ll call that flattery.
But after it got going, a couple of things happened.
- I had some people tell me they signed and donated, and they were glad that I could get some money to help in the cause. The problem is that I didn’t ask for money. The petition site did. I’m sure this was all in the Terms of Service, etc., but it felt really spammy and gross, and I didn’t want anyone else getting fooled, so I shut it down.
- COVID-19. I have written before about the kind of “whataboutism” that leads to nothing getting done on anything, but the Coronavirus has escalated rapidly in every way, and it just seems intrusive to be pushing this issue at this moment.
- I actually did make some progress on one of the goals of the petition, which was to get this on the radar of a certain senator and a certain committee in Washington.
I can’t say too much more about the last bit just yet, but I am hopeful for some good news that I’ll be able to report soon. When I can announce it, I will do it here, or on my twitter feed, first.
So, to those of you who did sign, thanks! And if you donated, thanks even more. I didn’t get the money, but that’s probably a big part of why it went so well.
And I hope that you’ve all now adjusted to having an hour of sleep yanked away from you. Things will quiet down now a bit on this blog, but you can rest assured that I’ll be working for you in public, and behind the scenes, until the government stops making us change the clock twice a year.
Stay healthy, and keep in touch.