Welcome to Tiburon – Papers please!
Tiberon is one of those nice little towns in Northern California were not much happens any you don’t hear much about. Yet they feel they have a crime problem that needs to be thwarted by recording each and every license plate from every car as it enters or exits the city limits.
Supposedly this will allow Tiberon Police to identify out of town thieves that prey on the trusting inhabitants who often feel so safe in their homes that they do not even lock their doors. I know how they feel. I too grew up on the outskirts of a quiet NorCal town where locked doors were uncommon. I can also vouch for the quick change in perspective that occurs when you move to a bigger city. You quickly learn that people are generally inconsiderate and selfish if you don’t know them. Even then your mileage may vary.
The real irony here is that the trusting naivete that leads one to leave their doors unlocked is the same mentality that expects government officials to do the right thing. I honestly think that some geeky government of police official saw the license plate scanning technology and thought they had a real winner on their hands. But where does the monitoring stop and how much privacy and freedom do you give up to be safe? We all have unofficial ID cards in the form of a drivers license. Why not swipe your DL every time you enter or exit a building, your house, your car, surf the internet, turn on a light, get food out of the refrigerator or go to the bathroom (1 or 2 swipes of course). Obesity could certainly be prevented through monitoring food intake and eating patterns. Perhaps the mandatory marijuana sensor that is installed in your house will trigger shortly before you log into your snack drawer and get some chips, no … Frito’s. And Joe has been on the pot with 2 swipes for way too long … get some Ex-Lax over there STAT. Actually I am starting to like this idea. We could have the world moving smoothly in no time. Just look how well its working out in England.