I’m calling dibs on tag #666.
As a gummint employee, I have an ID card that has a chip in it - I’m not sure exactly what info it contains, but we’re supposed to use it when we use the unclassified computer. For some reason, I can go on line without the card… hehehe I’ve still got my dogtags somewhere, I think. We had to wear them all the time in boot camp, but after that, they went into my jewelry box. Or a drawer. I’m not sure.
I do have a note in my wallet (I think) stating who my emergency contacts are, just in case. But if my purse disappeared, I’d be outta luck. So I guess I better be careful, huh?
And what happens if one is mugged and the thief steals your dog tags? Would you have to prove who you are all over again to some govenmental agency to get new ones? Would the old ones be deactivated? And considering how efficient the federal bureaucracy is, how long would that take?
I have to wear an ID tag at work. It gets me in the building and allows me to open doors to certain secured areas if I need to get in. I don’t need one for my life. That’s why I carry a wallet with a driver’s license in it.
And how do you identify all the homeless? And the criminals who don’t want officials to know who they are?
If private citizens want to take it upon themselves to make themselves identifiable to authorites, that’s one thing. But having the gov’t mandate it? Uh-uh.
How 'bout just not peeing on your fingers?
Remind me never to shake hands with you at a Dopefest.
We could just tattoo numbers on people’s forearms, and that would save us all kinds of trouble, right? I mean, I hate to be the four thousandth person to say “aside from the privacy issues, say what?”, but really. I’d buy Kroger’s out of tinfoil.
Althought in general the dog tag idea seems good it really won’t save any time. So you’ve got all your information in one place dangeling around you neck…good we have a name, but who’s to say it wasn’t swapped with someone else? stillm have to run the same DNA tests and what not to VERIFY who the person is. If you’re so concerned about keeping your information with you in one place and etched in metal you have an option thats been in use for YEARS with lots of elementary school kids. Medical Alert Bracelets. they used to advertise those things all the time when i was in grade school and they still make them all over the place. they’re just not required as it should be
Ihre Ausweis, bitte. Schnell. No, just doesn’t feel right.
Incidentally, some old soldiers still carry their ID tags. Maybe more of them than you think. One of mine is on my key chain. Since it has the old service number instead of the social security number it is good ID for the keys, will not cause too much trouble if lost, tells the undertaker what church to call and reminds me of my blood type (should that subject ever come up in casual conversation).
I’ve heard, that in order to save time, men in West Virginia wash their hands while they’re using the bathroom. 
::d&r::
That has got to be the stupidest fucking idea that I’ve heard in weeks. All of the reasons why this is so have already been mentioned but mainly because most of us don’t want to wear them and the theft issue.
You just gotta love this:
Superior much? If it’s unwise for most of us to comment, then why the bloody blue fuck did you ask us?
My Mom is diabetic and she wears a medic alert bracelet as many people with potentially dangerous conditions do. That’s her choice.
Jesus Christ, it’s my life. If I wanted to wear an ID tag, I’d make one myself.
[Moderator Underoos on]Either tone it down or take it to The BBQ Pit.[/Moderator Underoos on]
Heheh, this is on of those things I find a little scary.
“Is it intrusive and vaguely facist? Eh, sure. But think of the convenience!”
I’ve just found the party favors for the next Dopefest.
-sigh-
Identification of bodies is only one reason why these might be useful. In case there is serious doubt as to just how difficult or time-consuming or costly ( or, most importantly painful for next of kin who don’t know ) it is to find family members to give remains to sans ID, peruse the stories weeks and months and nay, years following 9/11. Now look at what is being done in New Orleans. It is a difficult process at best.
Cartooniverse , you’re not alone. Hurricane Katrina’s got me paranoid about ID. Now, I agree with the others that this should not be mandatory, but here are the preliminary results of yesterday afternoon’s surfing.
These are my favorite, but they are a little pricey. Still, I might get the wrist one for me.
I think I’ve decided on these ones for my kids shoes for everyday, and I like these wrist bands for occasional use when we go on outings where there will be large crowds.
And, I’m ordering one of the kits at the bottom of this page for each member of our family. Not only for the ID of mangled bodies, but also to help in reunification should we every get separated Empire of the Sun style.
Actually, the real reason is because some little kids grow up to be big criminals. The FBI likes to have as many prints as possible in its database so it encourages people getting fingerprinted.
All your suggested use for dog tags sound reasonable, Cartooniverse, but that’s not the point. What your suggesting is very similar to the debate that’s happening in the UK just now about ID cards. All the reasons for them sound reasonable, but that’s because they don’t consider the other implications.
And here they are;
1/ Any such system demands a great big honking database, bigger than any other made before. You any idea what that would cost? What are the implications of it being inaccurate or badly managed? Not so great? Read on and then see what you think…
2/ Once you have a universal ID, others will want to start using it. It’s the perfect way to prove you are who you say you are! Your bank will expect to see it. Your local police force are sure to find it very useful. Your employer will want a look. So will your doctor, your insurers, when you vote, when you’re born, when you die, when you get married, when you pay your taxes. Eventually everything will depend on that dog tag and every organisation you deal with be sharing the same ID. That makes cross referencing very easy. Many people think that some of this information is none of those organisations’ business. What if the data’s flawed?
3/ See that dog tag that everything in your life depends on? Better not lose it. And if it should ever get stolen… If ever there was a case of all your eggs in one basket, this is it.
4/ Remember that big honking database? Ok, now it’s the top of a enormous tree of databases that links everyone in the country to information held by every organisation. The Government can access every little thing about you, your family, your friends, your neighbours. Do you trust them not to dip into that information when it suits? Even if they promise never to? This database will be the most valuable on the planet. You trust them not to be tempted to use or sell that data inappropriately?
5/ Overall, the dog tags will be far more use and valuable to government and organisations than to the actual individual wearing them. That makes them dangerous. You’ll have to wear them because you have no choice. It’s either that or opt out of society and live in a hut in the woods. You no longer own your identity, it owns you. Suddenly it’s not a friendly life saving trinket any more, it’s the handle by which government and large scale organisation grips you.
See, it’s not the dog tags, or the identity on them that’s the problem. It’s making them compulsory, issuing them to everyone. Then is when they become dangerous. This is why individuals buying their own are nothing to worry about, or why trials of a few thousand using them are not accurate reflections of what they would become.
They still do this about once a year at my son’s elementary school, and the sherriff’s office normally has a booth for ID cards at the state fair, too. However, the fingerprint cards go home, rather than being filed.
However, they are useful not only for identifying corpses, but also for identifying lost children who have been away from home for so long that they are no longer recognizable, and who have forgetten they ever had another home–either because they were too young to really remember it in the first place, or because the trauma of being taken away was too much to remember. That’s the tact the sherriff’s office takes when they encourage the parents to get the cards.
That said, I have no idea where those cards are now, and while I’m sure I could find one of them if the kid disappeared, they would be useless if the house were destroyed.
For short-term outings, I normally write my cell phone number in permanent ink on my son’s shoulder or upper arm, under his clothing. It’s not visible as he’s walking around, but if he were to get separated from me, an adult he asked for help would have some way of contacting me immediately.
For long term, though, what kind of reaction would the general public have to an OPTIONAL DNA database? Technology is starting to get good enough that this is conceivable, if not immediately possible, but it would be more effective and less invasive in disasters than dog tags or ID chips that the person actually has to carry around?
I can’t help but think of social security numbers. They weren’t introduced as tracking and identification numbers for people; they were only supposed to be used to receive your benefits. Now, you can’t buy things on the Internet without an SSN. You can’t get a cell phone without one. My SSN was my college ID number.
Would the child’s DNA (if it’s a child being catalogued) be removed from the database and the sample destroyed when they turn eighteen? If not, I can see a problem there.
I will admit that in reading the posts here, I am inclined to agree with you and perhaps look very closely at the excellent products linked in to us by carlotta.
If one choses to, one can carry informative ID. If one choses not to, so be it. But those that chose not to don’t have much space to bitch and moan if they never get Mom’s body back to bury. Of if Dad dies cause nobody knew he suffered hypertension and he wasn’t able to communicate medical needs in a timely fashion and he died.
As for DNA, it only works when you have two samples to use to match.
They find what’s left of Mom in the water. They take a DNA sample. Simple enough. How many of us have DNA samples stored from each family member, in a safe secured place where the samples cannot be wrecked by temperature and so on??? I mean, seriously now. Once they found Mom, what would they match her DNA TO???
Not for nothing, but I love the idea of finding a way to have DNA stored. I’d pay a hunnerd bucks a year to store a very small vial of my blood, and that of my family, so that it could be used as a “new” DNA source if need be. But, that’s just me.