Just opted out of the body scanner in the UK. The response was to slow me down. Sift through my suitcases. Send me to a private room…(didn’t ask for it and would have preferred the public area where they used hand held EMF laden-I-am sure wands in addition to their hands to frisk me good). And they made sure I read and signed my “consent” for it all. This is the most technocratic place I have been to date. The cherry on the cake is when they wanted me to put my thin earth runner sandals on a scanner to “check” them. That is when I chuckled at the absurdity and irony of it.
I am sure they managed to irradiate me in their own way regardless and I am still glad I did it despite the “this can take a long time” “no, your bags have to sit out of site on the other side of the scanning machine while you wait for someone to come”. “Don’t worry. There are cameras here.”
My siblings and I all live in the USA and most recently two of my siblings applied for passports. They were told that “the rules changed in 2011” and one of the required documents, your birth certificate, MUST list your mother’s and father’s names. Well, birth certificates for children born in NJ in the 1950s do not have the parent’s names on the document. So what now? It gets more ridiculous by the minute, especially when you see the illegals who have flooded our country and they all seem to have more rights and privileges than us legal taxpaying citizens.
Our privacy and our freedoms are definitely eroding. I realize people often say, "I have nothing to hide"; however, my response is but that is not the point. Just trusting willy nilly things is not about hiding something but more about not sharing what is not absolutely necessary. Your sentence Todd, "Compliance was the price of freedom", is about the size of it. Many people don't even think about the questioning, the surveilling, the scans etc., but I do because is it truly necessary? Most likely NO but it is so routine that people just accept it like George's wife in your article. I have said many times, I am always asking "Why"? or thinking it and I will continue to do so.
Great article! I have been aware of this broad ( institutional ) information creep but have not thought a lot about it . It certainly is disturbing. Not sure if others have experienced this but I have also noticed this socially. Folks seemingly feel entitled to personal information…….close friends ( or so I thought ) asking for the dates of our vaccinations ? Amongst other intrusive questions…….mmmm. Yes it is disturbing that this is being normalized.
Just opted out of the body scanner in the UK. The response was to slow me down. Sift through my suitcases. Send me to a private room…(didn’t ask for it and would have preferred the public area where they used hand held EMF laden-I-am sure wands in addition to their hands to frisk me good). And they made sure I read and signed my “consent” for it all. This is the most technocratic place I have been to date. The cherry on the cake is when they wanted me to put my thin earth runner sandals on a scanner to “check” them. That is when I chuckled at the absurdity and irony of it.
I am sure they managed to irradiate me in their own way regardless and I am still glad I did it despite the “this can take a long time” “no, your bags have to sit out of site on the other side of the scanning machine while you wait for someone to come”. “Don’t worry. There are cameras here.”
Well written article. Nails it.
I always tell them I'll leave a tip on their nightstand.
What we have here is a failure to communicate. We have a Clash of ideas.
Know your rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EKCAE1vDzY
- Number one
You have the right not to be killed
Murder is a crime
Unless it was done
By a Policeman
Or an aristocrat
- Number two
You have the right to food money
Providing of course you
Don't mind a little
Investigation, humiliation
And if you cross your fingers
Rehabilitation
- Number three
You have the right to free speech
As long as you're not
Dumb enough to actually try it
These are your rights
All three of 'em, ha
And it has been suggested
In some quarters that this is not enough
Well, get off the streets
Get off the streets!
My siblings and I all live in the USA and most recently two of my siblings applied for passports. They were told that “the rules changed in 2011” and one of the required documents, your birth certificate, MUST list your mother’s and father’s names. Well, birth certificates for children born in NJ in the 1950s do not have the parent’s names on the document. So what now? It gets more ridiculous by the minute, especially when you see the illegals who have flooded our country and they all seem to have more rights and privileges than us legal taxpaying citizens.
Our privacy and our freedoms are definitely eroding. I realize people often say, "I have nothing to hide"; however, my response is but that is not the point. Just trusting willy nilly things is not about hiding something but more about not sharing what is not absolutely necessary. Your sentence Todd, "Compliance was the price of freedom", is about the size of it. Many people don't even think about the questioning, the surveilling, the scans etc., but I do because is it truly necessary? Most likely NO but it is so routine that people just accept it like George's wife in your article. I have said many times, I am always asking "Why"? or thinking it and I will continue to do so.
Happy Canada Day!
Great article! I have been aware of this broad ( institutional ) information creep but have not thought a lot about it . It certainly is disturbing. Not sure if others have experienced this but I have also noticed this socially. Folks seemingly feel entitled to personal information…….close friends ( or so I thought ) asking for the dates of our vaccinations ? Amongst other intrusive questions…….mmmm. Yes it is disturbing that this is being normalized.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJYaXy5mmA8