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Brent Calhoon's avatar

Excellent! I’m George. And I was also neither a Greaser nor a Soc in high school. But I was constantly in trouble for questioning everything - especially unearned, self-bestowed authority.

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Candy's avatar

Funny story-my son took me to see the surgeon. First visit. The nurse took me to the scale.

Me: I have planned to say no

(Clothes add at least 5 lbs depending on what you are wearing, plus shoes. I had on a sweater since I’m always cold in A/C)

Nurse: then I will say you have to

Me: you weigh women and then take their blood pressure and that way we all need medication (my son chuckles)

Nurse looks at me: do you weigh yourself every day?

Me: yes

Nurse: how much did you weigh today?

I told her and she wrote it down

Nurse: How tall are you?

I tell her and she writes it down

She tells me to sit and pulls out the b/p cuff. It must be set really high because it inflates a long time and is incredibly painful on my arm

Me: that hurts a lot

Nurse: I’m guessing it’s not usually 174/104?

Me: no

My son: your bp is usually lower than mine

Nurse: what is your blood pressure normally?

I tell her, and then joke about how low my bp was when I was young and how it only got up near to 120/80 when I was 9 months pregnant.

She writes down my bp

We do what we can to not cooperate and sometimes it turns out okay

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Todd Hayen, PhD, RP's avatar

You've got to be careful with this sort of thing!

My late mother had a minor stroke and was hospitalized. If she did not like a doctor, she was very obstinate and difficult to get information from. Her neurologist was questioning her and he had zero bedside manner. She was very obtuse with her answers, and sometimes, just to be a trickster and obstinate, she would play around with him (only because she disliked him) and answer some questions incorrectly.

The doctor was very concerned, and almost ordered some serious medical intervention for her because he was convinced she was having another stroke due to her weird answers to his questions. I had to take him aside and say, "she is fine, doctor, she just doesn't like you."

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Candy's avatar

I think I would have liked your mom Lol

My kids will speak up if they think I’m not giving enough information.

I had to do that with my dad, too, but I picked my battles carefully so the doctor didn’t see me as his ally. I was my dad’s ally. I gave the accurate information to what I thought was the central issue, and then backed off and made the doctor get the rest from my dad. Most of the questions don’t matter that much, as long as they have answers to the important ones

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Terra Brooke's avatar

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.

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Freedom Fox's avatar

I always tell them I'll leave a tip on their nightstand.

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Terra Brooke's avatar

😂. Next time I will mention my “medical condition” as that would save the invasive luggage search at least. I was imagining wearing a bathing suit in the future and just taking off my dress by the luggage scanner and saying “go ahead” . I could avoid the creepy private room that way. Then when they pull out the hand held metal detector they used along with their hands…I will ask them if they left their common sense at home…maybe they would like me to take my bathing suit off as the scanners are not good for my medical condition?

and dang, I love your comment. Makes my day. Thank you—

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Freedom Fox's avatar

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!

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Debra's avatar

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.

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FortheLoveofFreedom's avatar

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!

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Todd Hayen, PhD, RP's avatar

Yes, the whole point is that they make it "seem" necessary...or at least useful and convenient.

The "I've not nothing to hide" comment most definitely is not the point...people will start (and already have) finding it is best to avoid "making waves"..."I don't really need to send that donation to the truckers" "I don't really need to sign that petition"...even though they may agree with the "cause", they don't want to do anything they may have to "hide"...so they won't. Therefore knowing they do indeed have "nothing to hide" because they don't do anything the "agenda" may find "problematic"...

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Mary R's avatar

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.

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Todd Hayen, PhD, RP's avatar

Did you see Gwyneth's link below? Pretty frightening...

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