www.CommunityVisionBlog.ning.com
Daily Observations and Finds - 2009.11.01
A recent pair of border crossings into Canada and then back into the States was most informational on the status and nature of how some elect to deal with insecurity.
Crossing into Canada, the agent inquired as to me destination, and when I stated near a particular town, he drilled further as to why I stated near as opposed to the specific destination. When I responded with the specific destination, he further inquired why I didn't just state my destination on first response. When I stated I wasn't certain of the pronunciation, he seemed satisfied. Next he inquired the length of my intended stay, and upon receiving my response of a few days, he questioned why I had so much stuff in my vehicle. When I responded that I live out of my vehicle, he commenced, in a condescending tone, a lecture of how Canada wasn't interested in having the homeless visit, and in the middle of his muse, he stated, emphatically, that I was not homeless. So, it seems, border agents are the definers of our status, which amuses me. In my head I was telling him he is only a job loss and foreclosure away from being less authoritative, and judgmental with respect to other folks. He only ceased drilling when I stated, "Look, I travel around the country and stay with different folks and assist them with power engineering at their farms and within their communities". I was only one further inquiry away from suggesting Canada was no longer a place I cared to enter under such circumstances.
Crossing back into the States, the agent sarcastically and aggressively asked dozens of questions about who I had visited, what business each of us were in, how we had met, when we had met and why I had chosen to drive the distance I had for such a brief visit. He also asked several questions repeatedly, slightly modified each time, appearing to be searching for inconsistencies. After exhausting the lines of questions, without asking any form of permission, he began to search the contents of every container and bag within the vehicle and making statements of judgments regarding the nature of my visit.
The entire process has convinced me to no longer consider traveling across any borders with such aggressive, rude, condescending behavior by the agents on each side. Airline and border crossing security protocols have morphed into total arduous and dehumanizing experiences, for me. Having driven over 3000 miles in this past month, from North Carolina to Texas to Michigan, I have decided that I'll be limiting myself exclusively to travel only in the States, and only by car.
Now, for fun and educational bliss, I have found the following TED videos wildly informative, expansive and entertaining:
Our Place in the Cosmos
Perceptions, Light and Optical Illusions
(Do we really know what we perceive?)
How to Listen
How Bacteria Talk
Brain Researcher Narrates Her Stoke Experience
When and Why Folks Cheat, When and Why Folks are Honest
Mind Reading in the Brain
Creativity and Play
William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind
(Constructing from pictures and materials available)
Juggling in Time and Space
How Sound Impacts Us
Crossing into Canada, the agent inquired as to me destination, and when I stated near a particular town, he drilled further as to why I stated near as opposed to the specific destination. When I responded with the specific destination, he further inquired why I didn't just state my destination on first response. When I stated I wasn't certain of the pronunciation, he seemed satisfied. Next he inquired the length of my intended stay, and upon receiving my response of a few days, he questioned why I had so much stuff in my vehicle. When I responded that I live out of my vehicle, he commenced, in a condescending tone, a lecture of how Canada wasn't interested in having the homeless visit, and in the middle of his muse, he stated, emphatically, that I was not homeless. So, it seems, border agents are the definers of our status, which amuses me. In my head I was telling him he is only a job loss and foreclosure away from being less authoritative, and judgmental with respect to other folks. He only ceased drilling when I stated, "Look, I travel around the country and stay with different folks and assist them with power engineering at their farms and within their communities". I was only one further inquiry away from suggesting Canada was no longer a place I cared to enter under such circumstances.
Crossing back into the States, the agent sarcastically and aggressively asked dozens of questions about who I had visited, what business each of us were in, how we had met, when we had met and why I had chosen to drive the distance I had for such a brief visit. He also asked several questions repeatedly, slightly modified each time, appearing to be searching for inconsistencies. After exhausting the lines of questions, without asking any form of permission, he began to search the contents of every container and bag within the vehicle and making statements of judgments regarding the nature of my visit.
The entire process has convinced me to no longer consider traveling across any borders with such aggressive, rude, condescending behavior by the agents on each side. Airline and border crossing security protocols have morphed into total arduous and dehumanizing experiences, for me. Having driven over 3000 miles in this past month, from North Carolina to Texas to Michigan, I have decided that I'll be limiting myself exclusively to travel only in the States, and only by car.
Now, for fun and educational bliss, I have found the following TED videos wildly informative, expansive and entertaining:
Our Place in the Cosmos
Perceptions, Light and Optical Illusions
(Do we really know what we perceive?)
How to Listen
How Bacteria Talk
Brain Researcher Narrates Her Stoke Experience
When and Why Folks Cheat, When and Why Folks are Honest
Mind Reading in the Brain
Creativity and Play
William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind
(Constructing from pictures and materials available)
Juggling in Time and Space
How Sound Impacts Us
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by zynox on -
Sadly, there are indeed folks behaving as terrorists, right here, right now. While I don't subscribe to the notion that any of us ought be bound by a Constitution implemented upon us by the force of our ancestors, which we each were NOT signatories to, if we are going to play under those rules, wouldn't it be sweet if the government adhered to the fourth amendment and Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242
Checkpoints aimed at stopping terrorist threat
VIRGINIA BEACH -- Drivers using the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel saw a very public effort to reduce terrorist risks to the nation's surface transportation.
A VIPER operation began early Tuesday and lasted through the afternoon.
VIPER stands for Visible Intermodal Protection and Response and is run by the Transportation Security Administration.
As many as 60 people with the TSA, the tunnel police, Coast Guard, NCIS, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Norfolk Police and Virginia Beach Police are part of the security checkpoint that’s occurring on both ends of the span.
Vehicles will be delayed 20-30 seconds, unless bomb-sniffing dogs alert to a problem.
VIPER teams also are used at airports, the ports and along rail lines. This is the first checkpoint at the CBBT since the teams were created in 2005.
A TSA official says this operation has been planned for four-to-six weeks.
About
© 2009 Created by zynox on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
