Random Issues of Citizenship

While at the DMV yesterday getting my motorcycle license, I had a rather odd experience. The website clearly stated that the only things I needed to bring with me were my valid CA driver's license and the form showing I had completed a motorcycle safety course. So, when the man behind the desk asked me for my passport and/or birth certificate, I knew something was a little weird.

Let me back up a bit to relate the full oddity of this particular DMV visit. As I'm filling out my forms to begin with, some guy is standing alone nearby with his arms crossed. He gives this loud "Hmmph," shakes his head, and looks around surreptitiously to see if anyone is paying enough attention to him to actually ask him what's wrong. The lines were not long at all, so I was a little curious what he was so upset about, but I ignored him. A few minutes later, I made the mistake of actually making eye contact with him, and he immediately blurted out something to the effect of "They just let anyone come into this country and get a driver's license without being a citizen. They don't even have to speak English."

I didn't respond verbally (in retrospect I wish I had), but gave him my best "Whatever, you ignorant fuck" look and proceed with my business. A few minutes later, I hear him say the exact same thing to some woman standing next to him. I realize there are a lot of ignorant racists in this country (after all, I grew up in the deep South), but it still baffles me to see something like that. Is this guy really so threatened by something (what, exactly?) that he feels the need to make some completely illogical racist comment in the middle of a DMV? Did he actually expect to find someone else to commiserate and validate his miserable viewpoint? I wonder if he just failed his test and then watched some more intelligent Mexican immigrant pass his. It's funny how you can find yourself surrounded by well-educated people most of the time in your everyday life and take for granted that everyone thinks that way. It takes a trip to the DMV to remind you why the world is the way it is. In the end, I find myself "Hmmph"ing and shaking my head at him.

On with the story. Apparently, the system said that my social security number was not valid. I was not being recognized as a US citizen. After verifying that he had entered the number correctly, I was a bit baffled. I tried to explain that I had to have presented those documents to get my CA license in the first place. No luck. He insists I wasn't born in the US. (Did my accent give it away?) I insist that I have never lived anywhere else. I was born in Minnesota.

While he goes to discuss the matter with his supervisor, I'm beginning to ponder the possibilities. Did my contributions to Moveon.org and the Marijuana Policy Project come back to bite me in the ass? Did someone in the Bush regime think I was worth erasing? Would CIA agents be petting my dog and waiting for me when I got home? How could I possibly not be a citizen of any country and still live on this planet?

Fortunately, they were very nice about it and allowed me to actually go and take the test while they straightened things out. In the end, they figured out the mistake in the system, and the whole incident just became a rather amusing trip to the DMV.

Lesson learned: never take anything for granted.