MyTwoCensus Exclusive Part 2: Identity Theft, Scams, and the Census Bureau
Vigilant Americans who are suspicious of individuals claiming to represent the Census Bureau have in many cases called the authorities. For instance, NBC affiliate DFW in Richardson, Texas reports that residents were concerned about the legitimacy of census workers going to door to door, so they called the cops.
Part of the problem is that the Census Bureau doesn’t permit its employees to be photographed or videotaped while on the job, so residents would not know from other media reports what census enumerators wear or what their flimsy ID badges look like. In the opinion of MyTwoCensus, this ban on the media violates the first amendment that gives freedom to the press. It’s not like Census Bureau enumerators need their faces hidden for national security purposes like CIA Agents or FBI Agents would…Here’s the full story from Richardson, TX:
Tags: enumerators, flimsy, ID badges, Texas
April 9th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
This is a comment on the ignorance and paranoia of people in richardson, TX, not a condemnation of the census process. The ‘individuals claiming to represent the Census Bureau’ all actually represent the Census Bureau! If my neighbor was suspicious of a man driving a big brown UPS truck, who claimed to represent UPS, that’s only a story if he doesn’t actually work for UPS. If he does, it’s just a batty old lady, and it’s definitely not UPS’s fault.
Were these people who called the cops ‘vigilant americans’ or just ignorant, paranoid, possibly racist people with time on their hands? More importantly, why is this a news story?