A study in apathy

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Utclmjmpr said:
Its astounding and telling that out of 74K people of FMCA, only 11K voted concerning allowing towables to be include. So 63 thousand folks really didn't care.>>>Dan
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A couple of questions: Are you sure the actual membership is 74k? There may be more inactive members (members who get the magazine read it and don't think about it until the next magazine comes out) than members who take an active interest in what concerns the membership.  How do you know that 15% of the membership voting in this kind of a club isn't a fair number?
 
My personal opinion on the reason the voter turn out was so low is two fold, first I suspect there are many inactive members out there, they get the magazine which they rarely if ever read, perhaps the belong to a special interest chapter of some type where they are not active, and the only time they ever think about the FMCA is when they renew their membership.

The second is that there was no platform given to those that were against this measure, the magazine followed the party line of you must vote yes for the FMCA to survive, with the exception of one article which supposedly pointed out objections to the vote, but in reality was used to issue counter point arguments to some of the weaker objections.

So unless the FMCA membership was involved either in person or online they probably still have no idea that this issue exists or how major of change it is.
 
Voter apathy should not surprise anyone. Americans want things to go their way as long as they don't have to do anything to facilitate that change.
 
Dragginourbedaround said:
Not sure if that's true, but doubt it's an just American thing.
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"The 55.7% VAP turnout in last year?s election puts the U.S. behind most of its peers in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, most of whose members are highly developed, democratic states. Looking at the most recent nationwide election in each of the 35 OECD member nations, the U.S. placed 28th."
 
This was NOT apathy on my part, I voted, in effect, by not voting. Since I do not care one way or the other on the issue, I left the decision up to those who did have an opinion. You may rest assured that I will certainly vote on issues which, in my opinion, make a difference!

We have the right to vote, but not, as yet, the obligation.
 
Old Racer said:
This was NOT apathy on my part, I voted, in effect, by not voting. Since I do not care one way or the other on the issue, I left the decision up to those who did have an opinion.

We have the right to vote, but not, as yet, the obligation.
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Great point.  On local elections I frequently just skip over voting for an office for which I know nothing about the candidates - leave it to those to do know them and avoid being the deciding vote for the least qualified.

Bill
 
Old Racer said:
This was NOT apathy on my part, I voted, in effect, by not voting. Since I do not care one way or the other on the issue, I left the decision up to those who did have an opinion. You may rest assured that I will certainly vote on issues which, in my opinion, make a difference!

We have the right to vote, but not, as yet, the obligation.
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The definition of apathy is the lack of concern or interest. The fact that you do not care one way or the other indicates a lack of concern or interest. Therefore, you are demonstrating apathy.  You are correct that you have no obligation to vote on anything. But when we do not vote, we relinquish the right to complain about the outcome or the ramifications of the outcome. But, as you said, if you do not care one way or the other about the outcome, you would most assuredly not complain about said outcome.
 
BillN,,The FMCA voted for inclusion of "towables" with sanitation,  kitchen and sleeping arrangements..I have no problem with that,AND I voted.>>>D
 
Utclmjmpr said:
BillN,,The FMCA voted for inclusion of "towables" with sanitation,  kitchen and sleeping arrangements..I have no problem with that,AND I voted.>>>D
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Thanks.  I had read quite a few posts on a couple of threads regarding this but never saw the results.  I have no dog in the hunt so was just interested to see how it turned out.

Bill
 
I suspect that for most of us - a decision to join any of the big RVers' "clubs" (FMCA, Good Sam, Passport America, etc.) is a cost/benefit assessment that's virtually identical to deciding whether or not to pay for a Costco or Sam's Club membership.  It certainly NOT because I'm looking for "kids" who have the same class of RV that I have so that I've got somebody to play with.  I originally joined FMCA for the tire discount.  If inviting owner's of "towables" is going to increase the organization's negotiating power such that it translates into more/better benefits for all - I'm all for it.
 
So, this same discussion, on a different forum, brought forward all kinds of snarky comments about FMCA.  People say the addition of towables was to help bolster a sagging membership and try and keep FMCA from going broke.
Having been considering joining, this is concerning to me. 
Now, the info I get from you guys here is head and shoulders above the other forum, and I hadn't seen any such comments here.  Anybody here anything like that?

 
I am not a member of FMCA nor have I have I ever been approached via email or snail mail to join.  I wonder how they do their marketing.  I get almost daily gibberish from Good Sam and they even send temporary membership cards which only wear out my scissors cutting them up. Will probably drop GS when this membership expires and keep Coach Net for roadside assistance.  Haven't found much use for the Winnebago club either so there is another $40 saved.  Don't misunderstand me - I am not against clubs but where I initially joined everything that moved I have now learned that our type of RV travel does not require a lot of memberships.  We don't do rallies but instead spend most of our time traveling to see kids, grandkids and other attractions on our bucket list.  My one rally experience was not bad - Winnebago Grand National - 2015 but being parked like sardines in a can just is not my way to enjoy such a gathering.

Bill
 
Old_Crow said:
So, this same discussion, on a different forum, brought forward all kinds of snarky comments about FMCA.  People say the addition of towables was to help bolster a sagging membership and try and keep FMCA from going broke.
Having been considering joining, this is concerning to me....
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I haven't heard anything about their financial viability.  Knowing that towables outsell motorhomes by a pretty big margin - it's pretty easy to understand why an organization would consider broadening their horizons to tap into a larger market.  I paid $60 for my initial 1 year membership - and see that a one year renewal will run me $50.  Granted it's not free ... but neither is it a bank breaker.  As I mentioned in my previous comment - to me the decision process was essentially the same as deciding whether or not to purchase a Costco or Sam's Club membership.  Access to the FMCA discount program for tire purchases more than paid for the $60 membership fee.  The other benefits were just "gravy". 
 
FMCA has had a declining membership for some years, and also declining advertising in their print magazine.  Same problem most print magazines have in the era of the Internet.  This has made it difficult to fund the excellent member benefits they have always had, so yes they are trying to expand their member base.  People seem less inclined to join clubs these days, for whatever reason...

FMCA is member-owned and non-profit, so they don't have to bombard you with ads for dubious products. The membership elects officers and sets policy, not some board of directors somewhere (e.g. Good Sam).  As clubs go, it is an excellent one, but clubs aren't for everybody. 
 
  The FMCA started with a group of like minded folks that wanted to associate,,,just the same as folks today wish to do.>>>Dan
    The advantage of large member numbers is,,and always has been,, buying and negotiating power.>>>D
 
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