VeriChip Wants to Spychip Alzheimer’s Patients

It’s happening just as my friend Shaun Saunders wrote in Mallcity 14. In this excerpt, Jack is explaining how the chipping of humans began:

“... the government of twenty-five years ago exploited something else, an emotion just as strong if not more powerful. As Mary said, that emotion was fear. To recap, banks wanted to know where you spent all of your money, and the governments they controlled wanted to know where you were, always. To achieve these aims all they had to do was to replace the ID cards with the subcutaneous chips. After all, even if we were to transfer over to a cashless society, you wouldn’t need to have an ID card on you twenty-four hours a day. And even if governments made it illegal to leave your home without such a card, people would still be able to choose not to carry one.
“So the next step was to work on people’s fear and insecurities. First of all, they made it mandatory that pets be chipped. That way, people were told, it would be much easier to keep track of lost animals and cheaper to get them registered each year. The next step was to use the media to show how young Johnny or Jane who somehow walked out of their family homes and went missing the week before could have been saved if only the rescuers had found them sooner. Of course, a SID, responding to an outside signal sent by the searchers would have fixed that.
“The next unwitting candidates were people with mental problems, and they were an easy target. People have always been afraid of what they don’t understand, and the notion that mental illness could strike almost anyone was too much for the average person to bear. ‘Will I be next?’ they wondered. It made absolute sense then to chip those people, for their good and that of society. Besides, their numbers were always increasing, although people didn’t seem to understand why. Following them came prisoners on day release and home detention. Then came people who needed help from social security such as pensioners and those on unemployment benefits.
“Soon, legislation was passed requiring that all convicted felons be chipped, and after that, given that so many people were now under the scrutiny of the government and banks, the cry went out that everyone be chipped.
“Not long after that, the bulletin boards on the internet – that was the precursor to the current multimedia system – were filled with bogus cries of ‘It’s every citizen’s right to live in a secure and free society. Demand your chip today.’” [pp. 140-142]

The “people with mental problems” are Alzheimer’s patients ... and their caregivers. It seems to me that VeriChip is preying on the valid concerns—and especially the fears—that accompany caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. And I don’t think it’s an accident that genuine informed consent will be exceedingly hard to get from the individuals themselves, leaving the equally vulnerable family members to make decisions for their afflicted beloved. It isn’t just the galling end-run around proper methodology that toasts me; RFID implants carry serious safety risks, including potential problems with getting an MRI.

Apparently this test is still gearing up, as Caspian has scheduled a protest and prayer vigil for this Saturday, May 12. Y’all know I’m not big on prayer, but a large show of opposition to this kind of testing on individuals would be very good.