The Republic of Gilead has closed its borders for egress by its own citizens. This article brought that early part of the dystopia in question to mind for me.
Well, I have the salt shaker out on this one. I'd have thought there would be scrutiny of people coming and going via air because of the methods used in the 911 attacks. However, Michelle and I went through airport security with only a few perfunctory questions this past summer. We came back with even less scrutiny despite the bomb plot unfolding in Great Britain.
Things might be different along the Canadian border.
I had my request to renew my passport rejected because the edge is frayed so I could have lifted it and shoved another picture in or something like that.
So instead of paying $60 I have to pay $90 and dig up enough ID to make them happy. It's such a pain to get a passport and you would be surprised how many agencies DON'T count it as sufficient ID anymore. Used to be a passport was GOLDEN. You had it, it proved EVERYTHING. DOB, ID, citizenship. Now? You still need that and a bunch of other things. Very annoying.
Canada doesn't allow for passport renewals. Each time you get one, you pay the same fee and present the same information all over again - every five years. I haven't got one at the moment, but I'll need to get one soon, and the passport offices are a month behind their usual forty-day wait time at the moment, with the new U.S. regulations.
It's going to be SO EXPENSIVE if we ever want to leave the country. I am the only one with a passport (which needs renewing) and it will cost us nearly $500 I think. :(
I'm afraid if I post this I'll have a thousand people jump on top of me, but I think for the most part, the guy is overreacting and rabble-rousing. I see no connection between homosexuals and profiling at the border, for example. Sure, you might get the occasional predjudiced homophobe with an axe to grind, but for the most part, all the gays I know are ultra-law abiding and blend in very nicely with mainstream culture. I know I'm generalizing, but I hardly think that fewer gays are traveling to canada because they're afraid they'll be turned away. I'm also pretty sure most of them can afford passports. I will agree with him that the price of a passport can be difficult for those with limited funds who live near the border and wish to daytrip. However, passports (which, including photos, etc. cost less than $100) are good for 15 years in the US, so over time, it's not bad. This also mostly just affects people who live near the border. Otherwise...if you can't afford the passport, you probably also can't afford the hotel, gas, etc. to travel. Passports definitely are a pain in the butt to aquire (I agree with Kibbles 100%), but I think that's a different issue.
We're going to Canada next week and are thankful the rules for land crossings haven't kicked in yet so we don't have to get our toddler a passport-- but that's mostly just because passports take so damned LONG to process here and we didn't have time. We've started the ball rolling so we should have one by our travels this summer.
One other thing--I will admit I read this article pretty quickly because I'm busy, but if I'm reading correctly, the author readily admitted he had a long line of arrests on his record (granted, for protests mostly) and implied he might have had other arrests that were dismissed. Is he really saying that if his record comes up as being filled with arrests, the border guards should just shrug and say "welcome"? The fact that the resolution of these arrests doesn't readily show up on his record is a fault of our computer system...but I don't see it as a human failing per se.
I am willing to bet that a little more digging would show some good statistics in favor of the regulations for minors as well. There are many cross-border kidnappings and runaway cases, for example.
Eh, but I'm rambling and tired of arguing. Kudos to the author for questioning authority and keeping us all on our toes. It is only by those who stand up and ask "why" that we can keep the freedom we all have come to expect...but that doesn't stop me from questioning HIM too.
Please don't flame me, guys. I've got a lot of work to do, and I've heard the arguments so I don't have a ton of time to reply to people. Just thought I'd provide another perspective.
DIDN'T YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T HAVE A DIFFERENT OPINION ON LIVEJOURNAL???
Juuuuust kidding. ;)
And I agree with you on the gay part--I'm pretty sure there isn't a "Sexual Orientation" check box on passports so it would be pretty hard to profile them.
No flaming here. First, you're not the only one to find it questionable, and second, given that you guys ptobably cross the border more than almost anyone else on my list, I'd expect you to have a personal experience that could weigh in. And, if anyone's dumb enough to flame you, I want to know who so I can ban them. :)
Huh. Odd to see something about this... I personally witnessed something similar in Detroit a few years ago while crossing back into Canada and it has bothered me ever since.
At the Detroit entrance to the tunnel is a bus stop where one can observe people lining up their cars to pay the toll before entering the tunnel. On this one day, probably in 2000 or so, I was standing at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to take me back to Windsor. I noticed that American border guards were randomly inspecting cars, getting some people to pop their trunks and turning some back before they could pay the toll. I had crossed hundreds of times before and had never seen this before. Mind you, I didn't see anybody suffer anything more than being turned back, but it still seemed very odd to me.
When I finally got back into Windsor, I asked the Canadian customs people about this. They told me that it was a flagrant violation of international law to stop people from leaving; it is of course up to Canada to turn someone back, not the US). They also mentioned that the American guards might have been looking for large sums of cash, since it is apparently illegal to take it out of the US, despite the beckoning call of the Windsor Casino.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-30 09:26 pm (UTC)The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-30 10:03 pm (UTC)Minor Spoiler Warning
Date: 2007-01-30 10:12 pm (UTC)Re: Minor Spoiler Warning
Date: 2007-01-30 10:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-30 09:32 pm (UTC)Things might be different along the Canadian border.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-30 09:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-30 10:19 pm (UTC)http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-30 10:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 12:20 am (UTC)So instead of paying $60 I have to pay $90 and dig up enough ID to make them happy. It's such a pain to get a passport and you would be surprised how many agencies DON'T count it as sufficient ID anymore. Used to be a passport was GOLDEN. You had it, it proved EVERYTHING. DOB, ID, citizenship. Now? You still need that and a bunch of other things. Very annoying.
But not as annoying as that article. :(
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 12:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 12:44 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 01:41 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 02:54 am (UTC)We're going to Canada next week and are thankful the rules for land crossings haven't kicked in yet so we don't have to get our toddler a passport-- but that's mostly just because passports take so damned LONG to process here and we didn't have time. We've started the ball rolling so we should have one by our travels this summer.
One other thing--I will admit I read this article pretty quickly because I'm busy, but if I'm reading correctly, the author readily admitted he had a long line of arrests on his record (granted, for protests mostly) and implied he might have had other arrests that were dismissed. Is he really saying that if his record comes up as being filled with arrests, the border guards should just shrug and say "welcome"? The fact that the resolution of these arrests doesn't readily show up on his record is a fault of our computer system...but I don't see it as a human failing per se.
I am willing to bet that a little more digging would show some good statistics in favor of the regulations for minors as well. There are many cross-border kidnappings and runaway cases, for example.
Eh, but I'm rambling and tired of arguing. Kudos to the author for questioning authority and keeping us all on our toes. It is only by those who stand up and ask "why" that we can keep the freedom we all have come to expect...but that doesn't stop me from questioning HIM too.
Please don't flame me, guys. I've got a lot of work to do, and I've heard the arguments so I don't have a ton of time to reply to people. Just thought I'd provide another perspective.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 03:54 am (UTC)Juuuuust kidding. ;)
And I agree with you on the gay part--I'm pretty sure there isn't a "Sexual Orientation" check box on passports so it would be pretty hard to profile them.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 11:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 05:46 am (UTC)At the Detroit entrance to the tunnel is a bus stop where one can observe people lining up their cars to pay the toll before entering the tunnel. On this one day, probably in 2000 or so, I was standing at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to take me back to Windsor. I noticed that American border guards were randomly inspecting cars, getting some people to pop their trunks and turning some back before they could pay the toll. I had crossed hundreds of times before and had never seen this before. Mind you, I didn't see anybody suffer anything more than being turned back, but it still seemed very odd to me.
When I finally got back into Windsor, I asked the Canadian customs people about this. They told me that it was a flagrant violation of international law to stop people from leaving; it is of course up to Canada to turn someone back, not the US). They also mentioned that the American guards might have been looking for large sums of cash, since it is apparently illegal to take it out of the US, despite the beckoning call of the Windsor Casino.