Census Workers deaths

What the people who do these things do not seem to understand is that people like Bill Sparkman are NOT the government. Bill Sparkman did not form or influence goverment policies in any way. He was simply a man trying to earn a living and trying to get by in our world today; just like the people who murdered him. This is just another type of persecution of a minority group. In this case, it was a "government employee"; but, it could just as easily have been: an elderly person, a woman, a gay person, a black person, an illegal immigrant, an obese person, etc. Targeting a person because of the company (US Government) they work for is just another form of bigotry and it accomplishes nothing!

Jodi, this is an interesting question. I am sure that you will find some people that have no problem with someone doing this. I remember when they were talking about the census, there were people on here talking about not doing it, and lying to the people going door to door. This does say a lot about our country, and the whole country needs to look at the places where these acts happen, and bring them into the real world.

I guess I am not really sure what you are trying to say. I dont believe it is EVER ok to sit by and watch somebody die. I dont care if that person is young old, a minority, a homosexual, it doesnt matter. Human life is too valuable.

Reading through this thread is incredibly disturbing. Americans appear to be frightened of their own shadows. Not everyone is out to get you. You can invite people into your house and they won't murder or rape you. All it requires is a sense of judgement. There is no doubt that murdering anybody is outrageous, someone just doing their job makes it more so. Maybe the Government/State agencies ought to prepare their people better for their work if it involves visiting the public at their homes. But then again, maybe the public should stop running scared every time an official appears on the horizon. Actually I suspect most don't. But one or two cases are bound to be highlighted when they are this awful.

While I do not advocate violence....I took a few minuates to do a little research on this. Dorothy Steward happened in 2000, almost ten years ago. Yes it is tragic. Yes the people should have helped her. But she also should not have disreguarded the numerous "beware of dogs" signs and "no trepassing" signs that were up in the driveway and going up to the house. Poeple don't put those signs up for no reason you know. SO I would say both sides are to blame on that one. As for this newest incident. Well the census is not even suppost to start til next year so why are they going door to door now? "The Census has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, pending the outcome of the investigation." Once again...why are they going door to door now. They are only suppost to do a personal follow up on people who don't return their paper form they get in the mail. Sense those forms have not been mailed out yet why are they doing it? I think it is a shame the man was killed. I hope they catch who ever did it and they pay for it. But with emotions running so high right now int his country over the census and ACORNs involvement...well if I were them I would not do door to doors at all. NOt jsut because of the people mad at the government but there are bad people out there that will do bad things to anyone for any reason and you never know who is going to answer the door when you knock on it (on boht sides). Door to door anything sales, census, anything like that is dangerous. Personally if someone shows up at my house from the census I won't open my door. Why? Becuase I will fill out what I want the government to know on the form I get in the mail. Two. How do I know they are from the census? Well after I open the door it is a little late if they are jsut someone using that excuse to get peole to open their doors. So I wil treat them like I do every door to door salesman and the Jehovah's Witnesses people who are forever knocking on my door ....I will ignore them.

This is really disturbing to me, as my dad is working with the Census Bureau now. There is no excuse for harming these workers, I don't care who's occupying the White House, and those who do harm them should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. My sympathies go out to the families of the victims.

Wow, I had no idea things went this far over something as simple as census? I really do not what to think over those macabre deaths over such little matters, I guess it's true when people say that everything can really happen. But what exactly makes this turn the issue so deep to the point were people are murdered over this? Why don't people say that refusing line you've mentioned? Fear of being caught over illegal issues or what? Appreciate if you could shed some light on the matter.

Well... I started reading some of the responses and comments and while it is certainly not acceptable for these murders to happen, people do have the right to be suspicious of strangers coming to their doors. I don't like it when strangers come to MY door. I don't have a front yard fence with a gate or a bunch of dogs, just a peephole on my door. Unless I'm expecting company, I really don't enjoy answering the door unless it's UPS or Fed Ex, more often than not I hope my son - who is 18 and about 6 feet tall answers, or my husband, both of them are much more menacing and intimidating than me. I don't quite understand the whole idea behind the census anyway. What does the government accomplish by doing this? I have no issue with disclosing the number of people who live in our home, but I bristle at the idea of sharing any more information with the government, such as our ages, occupations, our relationship(s) to each other. I know SOME of that information is included on census forms. I received a phone call once from a census person about 10 years ago and they ask a LOT of questions. How am I to know if those are all legal questions to ask or not? Apparently they had mailed me a form which I either never received or tossed in the junk mail trash and they called to follow up. I would never hurt someone who came to my door asking census questions, but neither would I invite them in, and I likely wouldn't answer the majority of the questions either. I simply do not feel it is their business 'their business' meaning the US government for whom they work. Personally I have no problem with them.

I read about Bill Sparkman and there is this air of hush, hush all around it. The news clip I read says that his friend knew what he was doing and said "be careful" while I read another responder that FOX news says his retired police officer friend knew nothing about what he was doing. Not, that I trust anything I read or see on the news anymore, but it sure does have conflicting stories. I think there is a state of paranoid going on and if he was looked on as being a threat then they took care if it in their own way. Seriously the wrong way but the alarm factor here is that it happened. I don't know even how to respond to the people that watched this poor woman being attached by those dogs. The mantality of people to day just scares me because it is me, myself and I all the way.