So have you heard about the guy who was arrested because, as a passenger, he wouldn’t show a police officer his driver’s license? It all started because he bought something at Circuit City and refused to show the doorman his receipt as he left. The doorman stops him from leaving the parking lot, the cops are called, and it keeps going downhill. You can read his version of events here , and the follow up here. Is there any question that he brought it on himself? No. He was trying to make a point, and I suppose he’s made it.
I can certainly see both sides of this story. Theft is a major problem at electronic stores so I can totally understand why they’d want to put measures in place to deter that kind of behavior. We’ve lived with electronic store surveillance, and quite honestly stores like Circuit City and Best Buy have been checking customers at the door for some time now. It shouldn’t come as a big shock to anyone, and if it bruises your sensibilities then you have the freedom to not shop there.
On the other hand, the blogger in question explains his reasoning:
Allowing stores to inspect our bags at will might seem like a trivial matter, but it creates an atmosphere of obedience which is a dangerous thing. Allowing police officers to see our papers at will might seem like a trivial matter, but it creates a fear-of-authority atmosphere which can be all too easily abused.
And a commenter on his site speaks to others who chastise him for stirring up unnecessary trouble:
…“Being Adult” must not include domestication. Adult cattle are still herded and fed to their masters. “Adult” must mean something more, a self-possessed state of independence and freedom of movement.
Pragmatic passivity has become the modern life drug of choice…
As a kid growing up during the Cold War, I saw my share of movies in which the protagonist was stopped in some Iron Curtain country and demanded to “show your papers.” By contrast, as Americans we could feel a tingle of pride that WE didn’t have to show papers just to cross the street. We don’t even HAVE “papers”. We may have licenses to perform in certain professions, or to fish, hunt, or drive, but are we reaching a point in which we will be required to have a license to exist? When will we start taking for granted that it’s okay for someone in a uniform to stop us as we’re coming out of a store and ask for our papers?
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