Via Karen De Coster, Virginia has banned smiling at the Department of Motor Vehicles. In the spirit of giving credit where it's due, props to the headline writers at the Post, who prefaced this message with "As if it needed to."
Few places in Virginia are as draining to the soul and as numbing to the buttocks as the branch offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles. And yet, until recently, smiling was still permitted there.
No more. As part of the DMV's effort to develop super-secure driver's licenses and foolproof identification cards, the agency has issued a smile ban, directing customers to adopt a "neutral expression" in their portraits, thereby extinguishing whatever happiness comes with finally hearing one's number called.
Just another step down the well-greased slope of liberties lost under the guise of "security."
Thankfully, this is one mandate that wouldn't impact me one bit. You'll never catch me smiling while ensnared by the state's grubby, coercive paws.
Was this even necessary? Who the hell smiles at the DMV to begin with?? It's a completely miserable experience. You can't even get a smile from the sadists behind the counter.
Posted by: Wolf | June 12, 2009 at 03:45 PM
Perhaps I should have "read" instead of "glossed over" the text of this post. It appears that the Post writers beat me to the punchline.
Posted by: Wolf | June 12, 2009 at 03:47 PM