Voting Station

Roger Baldwin

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Advocate

The Resume

    (January 21, 1884-August 26, 1981)
    Born in Wellesley, Massachusetts
    Sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis (1906-10)
    Founded the ACLU (1920) and the International League for Human Rights (1950)
    Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1981)
    Appeared in the film 'Reds' (1981)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was an elitist who was annoyed when later directors opened up ACLU membership to anyone.
    He called his one-year imprisonment for draft resistance 'my vacation on the government.'
    He wrote, 'The Soviet Union has already created liberties far greater than exist elsewhere in the world.' (1934)
    He also wrote, 'I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class and sole control by those who produce wealth. Communism is, of course, the goal.' (1935)

Why he might not be annoying:

    He denounced Communism in the book 'A New Slavery' (1953) and led a campaign to remove Communists from leadership positions in the ACLU.
    After World War II, he was a civil liberties consultant in Japan, Germany and Austria.
    He served as director of the National Audubon Society and donated land for a bird sanctuary.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 11 Votes: 81.82% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 126 Votes: 61.90% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 643 Votes: 80.72% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 20 Votes: 55.00% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 88 Votes: 79.55% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 93 Votes: 74.19% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 18 Votes: 72.22% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 45 Votes: 57.78% Annoying