Over at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, sociologist Neal Caren and a team of graduate students have worked up on image showing the locations of people signing secession petitions on the White House website in the wake of Obama’s reelection.
For context, here’s the text of one such petition, from Alaska:
ALLOW ALASKA TO SECEDE FROM A DYSFUNCTIONAL UNION.
As an American Veteran on behalf of the U.S. Constitution, the Republic, the Rule of Law, and equal justice for all freedom loving citizens of the United States of America hereby declare that the Federal Government allow Alaska to peacefully secede from a dysfunctional Union that is run by corrupt politicians who buy the votes of individuals who can no longer be seen as American citizens but rather, slaves to a tyrant. We who took the oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, now declare Washington D.C. to be the domestic enemy to the freedom and liberty of all Alaskans and indeed, 50% of the free citizens of the USA. Therefore, we declare our secession in support of the U.S. Constitution. LET MY PEOPLE GO!
Almost all states have an active petition now. Here’s the map of signers from around the country, shaded according to the proportion of each county’s residents who signed a secession petition. If you click on the image you go to the site, which allows you to hover over each county and see the counts:
Neal Caren writes:
In total, we collected data on 702,092 signatures. Of these, we identified 248,936 unique combinations of names and places, suggesting that a large number of people were signing more than one petition. Approximately 90%, or 223,907, of these individuals provided valid city locations that we could locate with a U.S. county.
Using a first-name algorithm, they estimate that 62% of those signing are men.
Philip N. Cohen is a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park, and writes the blog Family Inequality. You can follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
Comments 80
Leslee Bottomley Beldotti — November 24, 2012
I signed one of those petitions the other day asking that Austin, TX be allowed to secede from the STATE, but remain in the Union. I thought it was funny, and indicative of how a lot of people in Austin feel right now.
Mordicai — November 24, 2012
Yeah, Alaska, that state ought to do okay without Federal aid, right? How much do you think we should charge them to use the Trans-Alaska pipe? & I'm sure the scuttling of the military bases in Fairbanks & Anchorage shouldn't be too much of a burden. I'm sure the end of Federal tax subsidies & the abolishment of tax credits shouldn't be too much of a pain.
Hm. Wait, I'm starting to think that this petition isn't very well thought out...
Larrycharleswilson — November 24, 2012
Of course the signers are overlooking the Presidential Oath of Office as well as the outcome of the last attempt to leave the Union peacefully.
Rishi — November 24, 2012
If at first you don't secede, try, try, again. Secession is a fundamental human right. It always surprises me how many people who otherwise claim to value liberty, will threaten a military retribution to any mention of secession.
David Chapman — November 24, 2012
The chart could be a bit more interesting IF it intermixed data on federal aid to the states AND population size.
tree — November 24, 2012
I wonder how many people who support secession have given any thought to the complexities of creating a new nation, government, infrastructure, economy, etc. I wonder what it is they envision happening if they do secede.
Brs29 — November 24, 2012
And according to my algorithm, 100% are dumbasses.
LegoLewdite — November 24, 2012
What percentage are merely using a little political theater as a form of protest?
AstralRunner — November 24, 2012
If they were as hardcore as some people in America's past, (which is to say, "willing to move") they could all strategically relocate to Alaska, which has a population of only 723,000. With the right leadership and coordination they could overwhelm the native loyalists and vote to secede.
Given the religious propensities of pro-secession people and Alaska's oil wealth, it would be like Iran, but with snow instead of sand.
ahimsa — November 25, 2012
Any idea what percentage of these signatures are a joke compared to the serious ones? I have read quite a few folks saying that they signed these petitions as a joke (e.g., someone signing the Texas petition and saying "good riddance").
Also, are these petition signatures verified in any way? (with ID) Can't folks enter a name and/or location that is completely false? I just glanced at the Alaska one listed above and saw a few signatures with no location at all. That makes it seem like you could enter a fake location, too.
In short, I'm curious about the value of the data. I understand that these petitions do reflect the general zeitgeist (many folks are clearly annoyed by the result of the election) but other than that I'm a bit dubious.
Reed Heineman-Fleck — November 25, 2012
I notice that New Mexico has very few secessionists We also get a ton of federal funding. I wonder if other high federal money states tend to be less secessionist or if that's just coincidental.
diamonddame — November 25, 2012
"LET MY PEOPLE GO!"??? "slaves of a tyrant"?
am I the only one disturbed/irked by the constant appropriation of saying, phrases, terms appropriated from the civil rights era and slaves? especially by mostly angry white people in states that historically support the oppression of others?
Village Idiot — November 25, 2012
Are the signers of these petitions the same reactionaries who like to say some variant of "Love it or leave it!" to those who have different ideas then theirs about how things should run? So if they don't love it then they should take their own advice and leave it, but they do NOT get to take any of it with them when they go (and they can't use any Federal highways, either).
And doesn't it ever occur to them that threatening secession or making similar embarrassingly-melodramatic threats maybe kinda sorta is one of the causes of a dysfunctional Union? Or I suppose they could be interpreting the phrase "...a more perfect Union..." as meaning "everybody thinking like I do." That's a disturbingly goose-steppy attitude, and one that's getting more common (again, but our top-notch, well-funded public education system will nip that ignorance the bud. Oh, wait...damn, we're phucked).
As if all that wasn't inane enough, did it really say "LET MY PEOPLE GO!" in all-caps as the punchline in the actual petition?!?
Don't Alaskans realize they can see Russia from there (which means Russia can see them too; they ever think of THAT)? If Alaska secedes and its slaves are finally emancipated, who's gonna have Alaska's back when the coming Russian/Chinese/North Korean alliance invades? It will quickly form to exploit the chaos (aka 'opportunity') spawned by Secessionist-fueled fracturing of the United States' political cohesion (becoming what historians will later call the Northern Front of WWIII). Stranger things have happened...
Gilbert Pinfold — November 26, 2012
Can any of you guys exercise that Sociological imagination, and stretch it a little to understand how red state conservatives might find you just a tad, well... oppressive?
Being charitable, I suppose the impulse to quash any nascent rebellion is rooted in concern for the rights of your fellow liberal minorities in these states. You ever think that makes you kind of neo-cons - American imperialists of the domestic realm: delivering freedom, with tanks if necessary.
Larrycharleswilson — November 26, 2012
Actually many criminals were transported to the North American colonies in the 17th century.
Umlud — December 5, 2012
A relevant video from CGP Grey:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S92fTz_-kQE&feature=g-u
Satan — June 4, 2013
Death to Amurikkka!!!
bulldog5 — March 5, 2021
How about the lower part of IL say goodbye to CHICAGO