SHOULD WE "LABEL" PEOPLE???

I grew up in the 50's and 60's. We didn't know what PC (politically correct) was back then. We called a spade a spade and that was it. If you saw a black person, they were a Negro, a red-skin was an Indian, and so on. We meant no harm; we just didn't know any better. We called Asian people "orientals" and I suppose made a lot of other mistakes.

In today's society, we have to be very careful. If we label a person or a thing with the wrong name, we could be sued, ostracized, or worse (even with the best intentions).

So, how come now-a-days everyone everywhere has to wear some type of ID that gives out their most personal possession ... their name. Also listed on that badge could be their employee number, their department, their title, the location, etc. Of course the employer is always listed so stalkers know right where to find them.

Badges can be misleading. My personal badge lists my Department which is Outcomes Management. I've already had the darn thing on in retail stores and people walk up to me because they want to talk to a manager. Damn if I know anything about retail. My title is "Payor Specialist". People just assume they can tell me about how their hospital bill didn't get paid and what can I do about it. My job has nothing to do with billing and I don't know a debit from a credit.

ID tags are for people and things that get lost. We put them on children to go off to Kindergarten. My children both wore Red Roosters so they could get on the correct bus to arrived home. We could put them on older senile people who wander so the police could get them back home. Diabetics and other ill people should wear a tag so they can get proper medical treatment in the case of an emergency. Of course we put ID tags on our animals because we want those well-loved pets returned from one of their trips out of the yard.

BUT why do we have to label people? I suppose since 9-11 it has become necessary to make sure you belong where you are employed. And of course, don't forget the photo ID, even though some people can change their hair color and looks on a daily basis.

I don't mind wearing my ID at work because it is required of me. But when I get off the clock, hopefully I will remember to unclip it because I don't think the world needs to know what I've been up to for the past eight hours.

Speaking of tags, please read my prior post ... we will be selling ID tags for dogs soon!!!!!