Pollsters and me

Once again I was interrupted while doing something I felt was important, i.e. making dinner.

Who would do such a thing? Another supposed pollster wanting my opinion on something or another.
I find this more than a bit irritating at best and an intrusion into my mental process for dubious reasons.

1. Even with caller ID, I have no idea if the person calling is who they say they are.
2. I have no idea who they are contracted with to perform this poll.
3. I have no evidence that it is actually a poll or just a fishing expedition.
4. If it is a fishing expedition, I have no idea what the reason is for it.

5. There is no guarantee that anything I say will be used.
6. I have no idea of what I say will be used for.
7. The polling contractor and the phone operator are getting paid and I get paid nothing.
8. There is a substantial body of persons, agencies and businesses that I have no intention of helping.
9. If the poll is for real, the outcome will be used to manipulate not just myself but countless others as well.
10. Though not the last, I will cut this off with one final beef: The pollster interrupted me while I was cooking dinner.

I have a real problem with people I don't know asking to speak to me and using my first name. Do they really think they can disarm me by using such a tactic? No doubt it is effective otherwise the phone jockey's instructions would be otherwise. This infers intent to disarm me.

Many of the times I get called by the pollsters, right after confirming that they are speaking to me, they will ask how I am doing this evening, morning or afternoon. Do they really care or is this another phrase used to disarm me?

On several occasions I have asked who the pollsters are polling for. EVERYTIME I have been told either they don't know or they can't say. Supposedly ISIS, you know them fellas in the middle east causing all the problems, liberated a substantial amount of money from robbing banks in the region. What if the pollster is working for them to identify people antagonistic to their continued survival? The pollsters have my name and phone number. A simple web-search can get them a physical address. Next thing I know I could be facing a beheading in my own driveway. Ridiculous? Perhaps, but just a few years ago nobody would have dreamed of Arabs turning commercial aircraft into guided missiles either.

No matter what data is collected, nobody is forced to use it. The question everyone should ask, "Does it ever go away?" Remember, they have your name, phone number and opinion on file. Ya s'pose anything like that chunk of data might be marketable? Do you really think it will be kept in the strictest confidence? Yes, I know they assured you and I that it was only meta-data. No laws exist forcing them to delete anything about you.

Now we have another election process beginning. All the queens of the dark triad are seeking campaign contributions and contracting pollsters to determine what key issues the sheep are concerned about. I refuse to help these politicians. They crap on my Constitution daily. They are entitled to nothing of mine including my opinion. Well if they read this blog, they will get this morsel.

Do as you inevitably will. Tell them whatever you want. Obviously there are no end to the number of sheep out there willing to hand the politicians the sheep shears and contribute one or more of their offspring to go to far away lands, meet exciting people and kill or be killed. Everything you say can and will be used against you.

It is said that the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said, "There is no such thing as society." There are only individual men, women and families. I know the word doesn't exist in the Constitution. Neither does the word Democracy exist in the document. Even the so-called fathers of America were abhorred by democracy. They saw it for what it was; mob rule. The only real difference between democracy and socialism is the spelling. So just go ahead and help those politicians that spout off about democracy by answering a pollster. They have everything too gain and you have everything to lose to them. How do you suppose income tax came to be?