They also arbitrarily moved top rated questions into the "other" category without concent from the original poster and without considering whether they really belonged there or not. The Top Rated question under "Health Care" was about legalizing marijuana for medical uses (re-schedule marijuana) until YouTube decided that all marijuana questions belonged in the "other" category. IF left alone the top rated questions under "Jobs and the Economy", "Health Care", and "Energy and the Environment" would have all been marijuana reform questions. Unfortunately YouTube decided that THEY knew what America wanted to have answered. |
Thanks Darth, I added an update. |
Where is the video of the question + answer session? |
(Added an update with a statement from Google.) |
Obama was asked before if he was going to legalize marijuana, he gave a one word answer: "No." How would you feel if the president did that for any other policy decision? "Hey Mr. President, are you going to end the war in Iraq?" "No." Nothing else. No explanation, no reasoning, nothing. Just blows off the question, and even sorta laughs at it. Marijuana legalization has unbelievably far reaching implications in so many different areas, that it is a major enough issue and important enough to people that we deserve a better answer then that.
Youtube missed an opportunity to actually do something useful. All the questions they asked were just generic run of the mill talking points, zero new information was introduced. Imagine the impact of asking a well worded marijuana legalization question on such a visible forum...
"Mr. President, the majority of our users are deeply concerned with current drug policy, particularly concerning marijuana. They strongly feel that marijuana legalization is a real and important issue. Legalization is an effective way to not only immediately mitigate the many social, financial, and political side-effects caused by a failed and arguably Constitutionally unsound drug policy concerning marijuana but it is also an opportunity for new jobs and revenue. There is indisputable evidence that marijuana is no more harmful or dangerous then the currently legal age-restricted substances. You yourself, know this first hand. Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said: "What America needs now, is a drink." Mr. President, what America needs now, is a joint. Why do you deny us that?" |
Good job on the wording of that question, off!
Everything you say by way of asking the question is absolutely true.
Considering that originally, the top question in *every category* was about cannabis (before YouTube arbitrarily decided they were all in the "Other" category), Google's "explanation" of the omission is lame and inadequate.
At some point, Obama will have to confront in a realistic way the marijuana question – that is, if he's remotely interested in the pot vote. Prediction: He's gonna need 'em in 2012. We'll see if he comes to his senses. |
It was not Google's place to remove these questions unless they had some stated policy to do so beforehand. This is like what they did with all the YouTube suggestions calling for the use of Free and Open formats except much worse because this isn't about whatever technology Google uses, but national issues that are not Google's place to interfere with. |
