We Are Not Being Microchipped

I normally like to write my posts in a calm and neutral tone, but I'm honestly just frustrated, sick, and tired of this tin-foil hat conspiracy nonsense. I've been hearing for YEARS that we're going to be microchipped by the government and that it's a sign of the coming of the anti-christ, and it just frustrates me to no end that perfectly rational and intelligent people are confusing their beliefs with this madness.

Let me just make this clear: there are NO microchips being implanted into our hands. This is a ridiculous conspiracy theory that has been floating around for over fifty years via fear-mongering and spam mail. Its origins and validity are so transparent that bloody snopes.com was able to put a big, red stamp on it, with all of its blatant falsities carefully laid out. And yet, this conspiracy has managed to recirculate constantly due to exploitable new situations like the implementation of Obamacare. So, in the interest of halting all this ignorance, I'd like to address some of the misinformation surrounding this age-old microchip conspiracy.

"Big Brother" theories have been around for as long as microchips as been a thing.

First of all, there are no references to a microchip of any kind in Obama's Affordable Care Act. Not a one. The aforementioned spam emails contain quotes from an earlier version of the health care bill that never passed, and these irrelevant quotes are actually referring to the idea of a medical registry for people with devices such as pacemakers or hip replacements. Nowhere does it state that anything will be required or government-mandated, and nowhere does it even mention an implantable device of any sort. Fearmongers are simply misconstruing sections of the bill and using out-of-context language to create an elaborate hoax.

While we're at it, let me also address a related video that's been circulating around the internet. Apparently, there's a video that shows NBC News reporting about a microchip that's going to be government-mandated in 2017. Convincing as it may seem, this is also hilariously out-of-context. The news clip is from 2007, and it's actually just speculation about the possibility of an optional device that could provide medical professionals with your medical history in case of an emergency. It never once states that it's mandatory (or even real), and it's once again an example of fearmongers using transparently out-of-context sources to continue circulating their nonsense.

Pictured here is a glucose-monitoring chip for diabetics.

Interestingly enough, it's actually illegal to implant microchips into people in about 5 different states. The laws were mostly proposed by right-wingers who were worried about RFID tagging, and state governments likely allowed the laws to pass because they figured "eh, whatever makes them happy." But in all seriousness, it just made sense for them to outlaw something that clearly infringes on our rights, and it's reasonable to believe that other states will follow suit. It would appear that this myth is so meritless that it's not even realistically plausible anymore.

These conspiracy can be so easily debunked with a bit of research, and yet, people seem to persist in ignoring plain evidence. I'm convinced that this is the result of willful ignorance. People disregard indisputable facts because of their unwillingness to accept change, so it's purely by choice that they keep circulating false information. It's scary to think that a large percentage of society is being dictated by what they want to believe, but I guess it shouldn't be too surprising either.

Honestly though, my problem with all this fear-mongering is that it's taking our attention away from actual issues. People are forgoing opportunities and wasting time because they're too busy waving their swords at imaginary villains. Meanwhile, the real villains are sitting in their offices counting our money. We have got to stop perpetuating these crazy theories so able-bodied people can contribute to real-life situations. The last thing I would want is for my loved ones to get hurt because I was busy trying to catch the monster under my bed.