For a few years now various municipalities have been requiring most pet owners to outfit their critter-friends with microchips – for tracking, health purposes, etc. I warned last year that this phenomena would spread to our children some time soon.
Some time is now.
The public will accept microchips as easily as they accepted barcodes on consumer items, the report says.
Mother of three Steffany Rodroguez-Neely talks about how she briefly lost her daughter after she hid behind a rack of clothes in a department store – “Every parent’s nightmare when you can’t find your child.”
“If it’ll save my kid, there’s no stuff that’s too extreme,” says Rodroguez-Neely. “Micro-chipping would be an extra layer of protection, if something bad does happen.”
I hate to say it, but the public probably will accept microchips. Heck, they’ll probably demand them. Anyway, this will likely be mandated by law (maybe in the next 20 years).
The all-seeing chip and eye. Youtube.
A few, wisely thinking, are raising an alarm about who will be able to access the chip information and what, exactly, they will be able to learn therefrom. Proponents, of course, say there’s nothing to worry about – this is just a safety measure. Safety, safety, safety – the bane of liberty and civilization.
Electronics expert Stuart Lipoff said that microchipping children is “safe and inevitable.”
“People should be aware that testing is being done right now. The military is not only testing this out, but already utilizes its properties. It’s not a matter of if it will happen, but when.”
Branding human cattle
Lipoff also told NBC that people shouldn’t be concerned about “big brother” tracking their children – this technology will only be used for “safety and convenience,” he says – and that the technology is nothing more than an upgrade on traditional cattle branding, and barcodes on consumer items.
“When barcodes first came out in the late 1960s, people were appalled. They were wary of them and did not understand the concept. Today, it is so commonplace, we don’t even notice it. A microchip would work much in the same way,” he said, adding that it will “definitely happen.”
The only catch is that you won’t know exactly what is being put into your child’s body. You also won’t know who will have access to the data. If history repeats, it will go from being technology adopted for its ‘convenience and safety’ and then overnight will become mandatory for you and your family – or else.
If that’s the only catch, it’s one hell of a catch, don’tchathink? I don’t see the barcode connection. Barcodes are labels on products. People are not products to be tracked, shipped, stored, or sold. Still, the story is right – most people will accept chips just as they did barcode labeling and anything else sold to them as new and innovative. Most, but not all.
A friend and I once journeyed back to our alma mater, the Terry College of Business at UGA. The friendly kids at the welcome office were so happy to have live alumni on hand that they offered us free Terry t-shirts. The shirts said “Terry” over a huge barcode. We both declined the offer; it was eerie to say the least.
Could this technology help find missing persons? Yes. Could it assist in preventing or treating medical conditions? Perhaps. Might it give parents peace of mind? It could.
It could also be used to track one’s every move, location, and activity. It could be used for much worse than tracking. But, hey, Big Brother would never (has never) done anything bad before, has he? Nothing to worry about.
I suppose the masses will inevitably accept this – until they clamor for it. Me, I’m already waiting patiently for my chipping session. Here’s a picture:
Come and chip it.
PERRIN LOVETT 
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