scotth_uk said:
Sorry guys, I just can't get worked up about the issue.
We're all sheep already, and I just cannot see my mundane suburban life being turned upside down by the introduction of a piece of plastic.
We are
not sheep already. We are known (in profile) to those who both sell to us and by those who
want to sell to us, but as far as those who govern us are concerned, we merely a name, an address and a date of birth. We retain our anonymity and nothing about our private lives can be used to manipulate or control us. Today, we are only "known" to the powers that be if they seek to access our data as part of a criminal investigation, but other than that, we are beyond their immediate reach, and therefore their active control.
By branding us - which is almost literally what ID cards will be achieving - the government (and anyone who is deemed appropriate) will have ready access to 60 million people's lives - their habits, their activities and their whereabouts, as well as their physical data. For those of us who "have nothing to hide", this will mean that as individuals we will become readily accessible to any number of government departments and agencies and the information will be used to their respective advantages - you can count on it.
For those of us who bend the rules a
little (and I suspect that includes
most of us...), this will create the ideal platform of "justification" for a whole variety of jobsworth pedants to dish out fines and convictions for even the most minor of misdemeanours. Yup, ID cards will become the very latest in cynical revenue generators and I reckon they'll make "road safety" cameras seem benevolent in comparison.
(BTW, I objected vehemently to the introduction of speed cameras, while many of my friends and associates expressed total indifference to the concept, at least until the harsh reality of their true purpose began to dawn on them. As with ID cards, I wasn't objecting to cameras in principle, but I knew that they'd be used cynically and of course this turned out to be true)...
Bearface, I think you've probably captured my situation perfectly "maybe you're not really in a position to empathize with those of us who can see why this particular proposed government indulgence is a step too far..?". Whilst it's not something I understand, I will respect your position as perhaps something I just "don't get".
It's entirely your choice of course, however if you've already conceded that you don't trust the government, that they'll probably make a hash of the whole thing (which is practically
guaranteed) and that taxpayers hard-earned money will be wasted or squandered, I'm struggling to see why you're not protesting on those grounds alone. On the other hand, if being branded, losing your anonymity and potentially becoming the victim of over-zealous departments and agencies doesn't bother you, then
nothing will.
I'm open to suggestion, but I still haven't read about a single scenario on the against side that concerns me.....
This government probably wishes there were more people like you, especially right now. Just imagine, they'd be able to take all kinds of liberties with our rights and the indifference to those liberties would give them all the freedom they needed. I'm just glad that in reality, people are keen to analyse, question and hopefully object to these dubious policies prior to their implementation.
Information/Database abuse is probably my only concern, and to me that's a weakness of almost every aspect of today's life.
It is, but fortunately it's currently only abused by those who want to sell you a timeshare in Crewe, or a funny-shaped credit card which doubles as a whistle. Just imagine what the government and all it's agencies can do to you by abusing the data
they collect.................Personally I'd prefer to stick with the good, old-fashioned junk mail, telesales calls and spam attacks any day of the week, thanks...
I just wish I could jump forward a few days. Six numbers, just six numbers.
