Yup. I'm One Of THOSE People Now.
I gave up cigarettes some time ago, solely for the pleasure of depriving Connecticut of the thousand-or-so tax dollars they got from me every year. But I never gave up smoking in my heart, so from time to time I still buy a box of nicotine patches to keep the cravings at bay.
I went to Target a couple days ago to buy new patches, and of course the cashier wanted to see my ID to make sure I'm old enough to buy the damned things. I showed her my driver's license, and she tried to take it from me so she could scan it.
"No need for that," I said, as I refused to let go of the license. "My birth date is right here."
She told me if she couldn't scan my driver's license, she would have to get her supervisor to punch in some special code or other, and that would take time. I told her I had no problem with waiting for the supervisor; I said I understood the law required her to check my age, but in light of all the other personal information listed on my driver's license, I did NOT see any need for my full name, age, address, legal driving restrictions, Social Security number, organ-donor status and whatever the hell else was on my ID to be scanned into Target's corporate database.
So she had to get her supervisor to punch in some special code, and all the people waiting in line behind me made annoyed little noises, though nobody said anything. The supervisor came over and punched in a few numbers without even glancing in my direction. I have little doubt that after I paid for my purchase and left, there was much grumbling over the batshit crazy redhead with the unsocial, unmutual belief that she shouldn't have to turn over all her personal info just to make some perfectly legal purchase.
The hell of it is, I understand perfectly the irritation those people felt: can't I just go along to get along? Why must I delay everyone else on some silly matter of principle? How self-centered do I have to be, to think my privacy something worth preserving? Do I think this really matters?
A hundred years ago my attitude would've made me an ordinary American; today, I suspect, I'm a wingnut extremist.
I went to Target a couple days ago to buy new patches, and of course the cashier wanted to see my ID to make sure I'm old enough to buy the damned things. I showed her my driver's license, and she tried to take it from me so she could scan it.
"No need for that," I said, as I refused to let go of the license. "My birth date is right here."
She told me if she couldn't scan my driver's license, she would have to get her supervisor to punch in some special code or other, and that would take time. I told her I had no problem with waiting for the supervisor; I said I understood the law required her to check my age, but in light of all the other personal information listed on my driver's license, I did NOT see any need for my full name, age, address, legal driving restrictions, Social Security number, organ-donor status and whatever the hell else was on my ID to be scanned into Target's corporate database.
So she had to get her supervisor to punch in some special code, and all the people waiting in line behind me made annoyed little noises, though nobody said anything. The supervisor came over and punched in a few numbers without even glancing in my direction. I have little doubt that after I paid for my purchase and left, there was much grumbling over the batshit crazy redhead with the unsocial, unmutual belief that she shouldn't have to turn over all her personal info just to make some perfectly legal purchase.
The hell of it is, I understand perfectly the irritation those people felt: can't I just go along to get along? Why must I delay everyone else on some silly matter of principle? How self-centered do I have to be, to think my privacy something worth preserving? Do I think this really matters?
A hundred years ago my attitude would've made me an ordinary American; today, I suspect, I'm a wingnut extremist.
posted by Jennifer Abel at 10:31 AM
9 Comments:
We could just put your SSN on the LifeLock van. Then, you'd have saturation immunity.
CT still has Social Security numbers on drivers licenses?
No SSN on the actual plastic card, but who knows what the hell is in the DMV database? I haven't been following the loathsome federal "REAL ID" requirements, but Connecticut is not the sort of state to make principled stands against the federal government.
Whether my social is there or not, the fact remains there is NO legitimate reason for Target or any other company to need to "scan" my driver's license. Check my date of birth -- fine. The law requires them to do that, and it's right there on the front of the license. That is ALL they need to do, and all they have the right to do.
Except the people waiting in line behind me think I'm an obnoxious pain in the ass for this attitude. I could've got out of there much sooner, had I merely consented to the scan. I don't care. Frankly, I wish everyone else would refuse scans, too; if companies had to spend too much time entering this information in manually, maybe they'd abandon their stalker-level amount of interest in their customers.
If it makes you feel any better, I had to provide my SSN Card, Birth Certificate, and two official pieces of mail to simply RENEW my ID last month.
If you're wondering, the $50 piece of plastic I had acquired from the exact same office not 6 months ago was no longer a valid form of identification. The new cost: $400+
REAL ID is more than just an unconstitutional form of population control, but a new source of revenue as well...
I much prefer being a principled, "wingnut extremist" rather than a "go along to get along" unthinking trough feeder.
Stay true to your principles.
... there was much grumbling over the batshit crazy redhead with the unsocial, unmutual belief that she shouldn't have to turn over all her personal info...
"She is not as we are - she is not of the ONE."
"Aye, verily. Thou speaketh truth."
"STONE HER!!!"
Huzzah! Here's to the unmutuals.
Was that a deliberate Prisoner reference? If so, huzzah again, although that may really put you in the wingnut camp. That's ok, nice to see a new face here.
I bet you don't buy batteries at Radio Shack either.
Congrats on joining the swelling ranks of dickheads! I do stuff like this all the time. People in our small town actualy chose other lanes when they se me ahead of them in line even if I only have a couple avacados and a lime in my basket.
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