burlingtonfreepress.com

Sponsored by:

vt.Buzz ~ a political blog

Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen


12.09.2008

 

Border crossings

I hadn’t been over the border to Canada in a while. I hadn’t been pulled over for a search at the border in I don’t know how long, if ever, though I’ve been asked to pop the trunk.

No longer is it a border patrol employee asking you to pop the trunk open and take a look-see while you sit there. I got a taste of the new-age, behind-steel-doors, strip-your-dignity search last week as my husband and I were on our way back from seeing Neil Young in concert. Yeah, I knew government had been sinking its fingernails into our skin, I long ago learned to roll with taking my shoes off at the airport, but I didn’t know they’d built whole garage structures just to make you feel shut out.

Often when we go to Montreal we take in some concert or another, but usually they’re bands no one’s heard of and somehow that does not trigger suspicion from border agents. When we went to see Franz Ferdinand, perhaps they thought we were having high-level meetings with the late Archduke of Austria, not grooving to a rock band. The average border agent has probably heard of Neil Young, though, and apparently that leads to the conclusion we must be drug users.

So my husband was told to pull off to the right and go inside the little office. We weren’t told that both of us should go inside, or for what purpose. Inside, we were told to take a seat. My husband was asked for the keys to the car. We were given a customs form to fill out where we declared we had bought nothing. Meanwhile, our car had been whisked into a garage, the door closed behind it. We sat and waited as if we were at the auto repair shop waiting for an oil change we didn’t ask for.

There’s nothing like clean living to make you not sweat about what they might or might not find, but I couldn’t help being put off by the fact that they didn’t tell us what was going on and that they simply took command of our car and our belongings and left us waiting at their mercy. It felt a little bit like being in the airport in Algiers.

After about 20 minutes, we were told we were all set. When we reached our destination, we found that stuff we’d had in the back seat was now in the trunk. As it turns out it was not a big deal, but I had a reason for putting the coat I was going to wear in the back seat, where it would be warm when I needed it, and I had a reason for putting the bottle of water in the back seat, where I would be able to reach it if I was thirsty. Perhaps the border agents had reasons for putting those things in the trunk instead, but I’m not privy to them.

I don’t mind being singled out for a search. I’m not one of those people who thinks just because I don’t look like a terrorist or a drug runner doesn’t mean I’m not one. What I think I minded was the degree to which the government disregarded us. The attitude that we didn’t need to know what they’re doing. That it doesn’t matter what they do with our stuff. That they take the car behind closed doors and do whatever they please.

- Terri Hallenbeck

Comments:
You fit a profile and that made you "a person of interest" for twenty minutes.

There are much worse places to have that happen.
 
Doesn't make it right.

A little courtesy in a situation like that goes a long way -- and it isn't too much to expect.
 
That's what you get for going to see Neil Young.
 
Hey, 2010 could be fun - looks like lots of candidates for Governor on the Democratic side. A primary will really get everyone excited and then of course some of the statewide offices will open up.
Finally some energy.
 
Judging by Jim Douglas's Wilfred Brimley-style column in today's free press, it looks like he's now jumped out of GW's bed and straight up Obama's you know what.

He doesn't hide his ability to slurp very well.
 
They musta smelled cinnamon, girl.
 
I believe that you were among the random check that has to be done at all border crossings. Why? go to ground zero and stop complaining about what has to be done.
 
Anonymous...

"I believe that you were among the random check that has to be done at all border crossings."

Ah, so you "believe" that to be the case, eh, little clueless-cretin fella?

In other words, ya got bupkis and ya have no idea what the hell you're talkin' about.

Just checking. As you were.

""Why? go to ground zero and stop complaining about what has to be done.""

In other words, we have to get to the bottom of the 9/11/01 attacks, find out who was responsible for allowing this to happen, who was asleep at the switch, who obstructed justice in an effort to cover up their gross negligence and criminal incompetence, vote their sorry butts outta office and hold them accountable for their actions and inactions in the nonperformance of their duties, dil-weed, and turn them over to the World Court in the Hague for any additional crimes against humanity.

Way ahead of ya, little fella. Way ahead of ya.

Always a pleasure.
 
JW, put away those looney-tunes comics and get a life.
 
Nekkie boy, lay off the VT Tiger trash and the rest of the fascist fairy tales ya get your wingnut nonsense from and get your sorry butt a case and a clue.

Always a pleasure.
 
"In other words, ya got bupkis and ya have no idea what the hell you're talkin' about"

Either do you. But that doesn't stop you from being a self-proclaimed authority on every subject and hoggin this blog with your trash.
 
little clueless-cretin fella
ya got bupkis
hell
sorry butts
dil-weed
trash
fascist fairy tales
your wingnut nonsense
your sorry butt
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

June 2006   July 2006   August 2006   September 2006   October 2006   November 2006   December 2006   January 2007   February 2007   March 2007   April 2007   May 2007   June 2007   July 2007   August 2007   September 2007   October 2007   November 2007   December 2007   January 2008   February 2008   March 2008   April 2008   May 2008   June 2008   July 2008   August 2008   September 2008   October 2008   November 2008   December 2008   January 2009   February 2009   March 2009   April 2009   May 2009   June 2009   July 2009   August 2009   September 2009   October 2009   November 2009   December 2009   January 2010   February 2010   March 2010   April 2010