Passed Over

08/28/12

For someone who has just turned eighteen or twenty-one, especially in a college town like Fort Collins, being asked to show ID is almost like an insult, as if the person asking doesn't believe you have the right to be there and is calling you a liar to your face. 

For someone in their late twenties, being asked for ID is part of the ritual of going out and is viewed as just a minor hassle- unless you don't happen to have your ID at that moment.  

For someone over thirty, getting carded is almost a compliment. It is a third-party reinforcement to residual self-image giving validity to the notion that you still COULD pass for a twenty-year-old, or even a teenager for that matter.

And for someone over thirty, NOT being asked for ID is DEFINITELY an insult.