After reading several accounts on LRC and other blogs about the belligerent Census workers traipsing up to our door and demanding unconstitutional information from citizens, I was a bit disappointed today when the Census worker came to my door (yes, on a Sunday afternoon!). My wife answered the door while I was on the phone, then came up and asked me to talk to her, since I had looked forward to such an encounter and have rehearsed in my head some of the things I would have to say to a Census worker if they came to my house and demanded things from me.
As I descended down the stairs I heard my wife say, “Be nice!” Okay, I’ll try, I thought. To my surprise, this lady wasn’t rude, wasn’t belligerent, and was actually rather friendly. She said she was sent because there was “missing information” on my Census form. I informed her that I filled out all that I was comfortable filling out (which, by the way was the number of people living here and our first names). She asked what that information was, and I told her. She attempted to ask me several other questions, and I said I was uncomfortable giving that information to her, and she didn’t pursue the issue any further!
There was something ironic about her presence at my front door. There was no vehicle present that she travelled in. I asked her where her car was, and she said that they are asked not to park in homeowner’s driveways out of respect for their property (I don’t think she actually used the word “property,” but it was implied in her answer). I thought this was a bit strange, and I wanted to rhetorically ask, “So they want you to ask me questions about my life and home information, but they won’t let you park in my driveway out of respect?! Isn’t that kind of a twisted sense of respect?” But I only made a passing sarcastic remark about how silly such a rule really was. She laughed with me, then offered me the phone number of the local bureau. While I declined, saying I could look it up if I needed it, I glanced at the paper she was offering, with the phone number written on it. I did a double take, and asked to see the number again so I could memorize it.
Guess what the first three digits were… 666
Not joking whatsoever.
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