I'm Not a Terrorist, I Swear.

[Strider]

My family was talking about a somewhat-distant relative of mine that, sometime in recent memory, was deported to and detained in Iraq.

Now, this relative in question is simply Mexican. For some reason, he was suspected of being an Iraqi terrorist, mostly (at least from what I gathered) because he looked like he might be one. He lives and works happily here in the Central Valley. Despite his willingness to display every shred of proof of who he actually was (calling his work, Farmers Insurance; calling his wife; all of his legal documents; etc.), the government steadfastly insisted that he was a terrorist and acted accordingly.

So he spent two weeks in Iraq. It wasn't until his wife drove down to the consulate in Los Angeles and explained everything about him that the government relented and brought him back home. As far as I know, everything is back to normal.

It begs the question, though, of why we don't hear much about these types of things. The worst part of it is that there's nothing he can do to combat the wrongdoings. Has anyone else heard of something like this happening?

[Skogs]

Which is why I don't want to live - or even visit - the US in the current political atmosphere. They customs officials would probably take one look at my Irish passport and lock me away because I might be a member of the IRA...

[Nait]

Yeah. This is why I've stopped with my "THIS A HI-JACK NOBODY MOVE" routine.

[FreaQaZoiD]

I know. And don't even THINK of going into a bank with a water gun shaped like a real gun. What is the world coming to when a man can't take his water gun for a walk?

~~~Hehehehehehe *strokes water gun* - FreaQ

[fire_of_avalon]

Do you know the kinds of things the 'Department of Justice' got away with in the months after 9/11? Invading people's homes, people who were second and third generation "immigrants" because they were of Arabic descent. This has been going on for the past three years, but it's kept quiet so nobody complains, or heaven forbid, begins to draw similarities between these actions and the actions of those we're fighting against.

Yeah, I hate John Ashcroft and wish he would die. And people said Janet Reno was heartless.

[Shadow Nexus]

Which is why I don't want to live - or even visit - the US in the current political atmosphere. They customs officials would probably take one look at my Irish passport and lock me away because I might be a member of the IRA...

Well, I didn't get detained, and I have long hair and a beard and a rather dark skin (Well, I didn't then because I hadn't gone out too much the past month). And I had EVIL COMMIE BOOKS in my backpack, like poetry and such (But pinko poetry). However, well, my name is Italian, but I have a friend called "Al-Kiswani", I wonder if he would have entered easily.

But the situation is only dangerous if you are arabic. The problem is that it is exagerated. For example, I saw news about that illegal Pakistani inmigrant that got arrested for having tapes of the NYC Museum of Natural History. Woooooah! Terrorist thread, the guy is filming a museum! Just like...anyone could film the museum, only he is arab, so you got a threat there.

[gokufusionss1]

Which is why I don't want to live - or even visit - the US in the current political atmosphere. They customs officials would probably take one look at my Irish passport and lock me away because I might be a member of the IRA...

nah the americans loved the IRA they had fund raisers and everything for them, government didn't even try to stop it.

[Skogs]

Heh, the bit about the IRA was a bit of sarcasm, but I do find the political situation in the US highly distasteful, given that 'Liberal' seems to be a taboo these days.

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Oh, you mean how everyone likes to say "If you're a liberal you're a terrorist"?

Oh yes, fun stuff there.

[nik0tine]

Strider, your relative should be able to sue the living hell out of the U.S. government for that. Usually im one to let things go, but if i were in taht position, i would sue their asses off. GOD this kind of stuff PISSES me off!!!

[SomethingBig]

Didn't that John Titor guy say that the arresting of random people would begin the next Civil War?

[TheAbominatrix]

Strider, your relative should be able to sue the living hell out of the U.S. government for that. Usually im one to let things go, but if i were in taht position, i would sue their asses off. GOD this kind of stuff PISSES me off!!!

Thanks to the Patriot Act, there are no grounds to sue. What they did was perfectly legal. Isnt that teh sux?

I've never had something like this happen to anyone I know... except my friend's stepfather, a Muslim, who was taken into custody after 9/11 and never seen again.

I am, however, unable to get through an airport without an undue amount of crap (look at a picture of me and you'd see why). Usually I dont complain, it's annoying but whatever. However on the way home from San Fran recently (after the EA games Community Day), I was thoroughly searched THREE TIMES. It got very tiresome.

[Dr Unne]

Only three times? Not as much as Ted Kennedy got. Yeah, airport security is a joke, and mostly everyone probably knows it. I wonder how much of what the government is doing for security is only for appearances. Airport security almost certainly is, would be my guess.

So far as dragging people off the streets for looking too Arab, this is somewhat promising.

[TheAbominatrix]

It was uncalled for though. I can understand if they gave me a basic search and realized "Hey, we should have given her a bigger one." and then done it. But instead they searched me thoroughly three times. To me that denotes that they have little to no communication with eachother (once was at the security check point, twice at the terminal).

[nik0tine]

I usually never get crap at the airport. Only once, but the guy was just being rude and trying to make me lash out in anger or something so he could arrest me. I just ignored him. I think it's stupid though, that some people have to get searched three times to get through the damned airport. imo just because someone looks suspicious doesn't mean there are any grounds to search them more thoroughly.