Long before the Western Territory was fenced, cattlemen branded their livestock so they could be easily identified if they wandered onto another rancher’s land. The brand, typically consisting of a hot iron formed into a unique symbol, was pressed into the hide of unsuspecting cattle and horses. The burn left a permanent scar on the body. Although historically used to mark property, brands have also been used to oppress, humiliate, criminalize, and persecute. In 1547 King Edward VI of England gave credence to human branding in the Statute of Vagabonds. Escaped slaves were marked with an ‘S’ and blasphemers were branded with a ‘B’, often on the face or forehead. Additionally, the Nazi Party, beginning in 1943, branded the Jews at Auschwitz by tattooing identification numbers into their skin (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2010).
Today, transponder chips are being placed under the skin of our dogs for identification purposes. Further, VeriChip (PositiveID) has gained FDA approval for performing the same service on humans (Holtzman, 2008). This recently emerged technology reflects what Thornburg referred to as the rhymes of history driving force (2009). Rhymes of history refers to a new innovation that rekindles something from the distant past as a means of driving the emergence of the new technology (Thornburg, 2009). Just as our livestock and criminals were branded in the distant past, chipping provides identification information for our pets and our children. Advocates for chipping technology cite lifesaving benefits, curbing identity theft, and the location and identification of victims in a disaster (Kanellos, 2004). The primary argument against chipping is the potential for human rights violations. Although the technology certainly exists, the potential for abuse and misuse knows no bounds. Branding was used as a simple (if painful) identification technique, yet humans were subjected to dangerous and despicable applications. It is not the technology nor the concept that I distrust, it is the power of institutions to misuse it in the name of the greater good that remains terrifying.
Lewis Wickes Hine, photographer. From the records of the United States National Child Labor Committee. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/uploads/2009/09/housing_600.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/child-labor/5861&usg=__MG8wCA1JD4zC0uVqY1JQ8IAX0Bo=&h=425&w=600&sz=45&hl=en&start=11&itbs=1&tbnid=-qEERjZZkWNY3M:&tbnh=96&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtextile%2Bmill%2Btown%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1On another note, Kelly (2007, December) stated that technology is rapidly becoming one machine housed in the World Wide Web. He noted that our devices are just portals into the belly of the beast where we are all connected and interconnected. This unification of technologies is represented by three elements: embodiment, restructuring, and codependency. This, too, is reflective of the rhymes of history as regards to rekindling ideas from our distant past. Just as the Web is a central hub that connects us and drives our learning, our socialization, and our economy, at one time the steel works and textile mills in the southern United States provided the same presence. They were the economic base, the social connection, and the educational foundation of every community. The factory embodied the livelihood of its workers, it gave structure to the community, and there was a codependent relationship. The textile or steel machine was the reason for the community; it fed the community who in turn fed the machine.
The VeriChip company is now known as PositiveID. You may access their website here http://www.positiveidcorp.com/
For a relatively comprehensive blog about RFID (Radio-frequency identification) applications: http://www.rfid-weblog.com/
Holtzman, D. H. (2008, February). Human ID dhips get under my skin. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2008/tc20080211_165324.htm
Kanellos, M. (2004, August). Idea of implanting ID tags raises Orwellian fears. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/Human-chips-more-than-skin-deep/2009-1008_3-5318076.html
Kelly, K. (2007, December). The next 5,000 days of the Web [Speech]. Speech delivered at the EG 2007 Conference, Los Angeles. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html
Thornburg, D. D. (2009). Rhymes of history. [Vodcast]. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=4169653&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2010). Tattoos and numbers: The system of identifying prisoners at Auschwitz. Retrieved from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007056
Anne,
ReplyDeleteGreat history lesson. Not only did you move me from the past, you enlighten my future with new information. I honestly thought that cows/live stock were still branded. I am glad that society has moved from this form of animal cruelty and advanced with technology by just placing a chip within the animal. I wonder if fraternities are going to use these chips instead of using metal hangers to brand their symbols?
Great job,
Nikisha
Although forced-branding has been outlawed against humans in many areas, it still is being used on livestock. A more recent branding technique is freezing. A freeze-type brand is less painful and alters the cellular structure to produce a white imprint. One note: It is not easy to detect a freeze-induced brand on a white-haired animal. Learn more about this method here:http://www.cowboyway.com/What/FreezeBranding.htm
ReplyDeleteAn alternative to branding is ear tagging. Much like ear piercing in humans, numbered identification tags are pierced through the animals ear. You can even get ear tags that have been treated with insecticides like a flea collar for cats! See an example here: http://www.rfidtagstcc.com/
Anne, I really found your posting to be very interesting. I had not thought much about branding and certainly did not make the association between the chip we have in the puppies to branding cattle. I wonder how long before we have microchips put in our children to track their location. I know that may sound extreme, but when you look at the missing children photos every time you go into Walmart, I may make sense to the parents of those children. We tend to think Big Brother already knows too much about our lives, but I wonder if it would help locate some of the missing. I was just thinking about all the researchers that tag animals to record migrations and such. Science is incredible.
ReplyDeleteIt is my understanding identification chips have already been placed in humans in other countries, but has not garnered acceptance in the USA... yet.
ReplyDeleteAnne,
ReplyDeleteYour blog entry for the Rhymes of History is a fascinating write-up on branding of yesteryear and its equivalence to chipping today. Branding was simple, effective, efficient, though painful; it met the needs of the generation that needed to identify the owners of a specific herd of livestock. While owners associated branding with animals, I do not think they would ever have imagined several generations into the future, human beings would be “branded” electronically with a host of information.
As ATS pointed out, chipping has not satisfied all the social and ethical demands placed on its merits in the United States. I am somewhat skeptical about chipping in terms of the nature of information stored, method of retrieval, and the scope of its control by an authoritative agency.
What are you personal opinions regarding implantable RFID chips?
Just thinking!
David,
ReplyDeleteWhat concerns me about many technological innovations (chipping included) is that we tend to take grand leaps forward before we understand the management and implementation consequences. Not that jumping in head first is necessarily bad, but humans are reactionary creatures; we swing the pendulum to and fro rather than logically assess viable strategies and reasoned approaches. For example, I can see enormous benefits for hand held technology in classrooms, but rather than take the time to teach the correct and ethical applications of cellphones in education, we place outright bans them. Chipping has the potential to save lives, but we should be cognizant of the consequences, and be prepared to effectively manage the technology prior to its implementation.
By the way, I am ATS. Anne Tamblyn Shaw
Wow Anne!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with all the comments! Like Niksha, my first thought were the fraternities who get branded with their fraternity symbols. My husband has one, he got it in college at a party--I was really upset! (still has it) Speaking of him, he is also very much interested in gps systems for our children and he has even looked into the chip to find out more about it! (yes, I'm married to a maniac!!:)) We have decided to just go with the cell phone gps route right now! I do think that there is a point where it is just too much too soon.
As far as the cell phone use in schools, we are creatures of habit. Anything that is new and different is never totally accepted. If we could take the time to learn about things, just as you mentioned, it would solve most of the problems of society as a whole!
Thanks!