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ok seems everyone is posting their USA TSA/immigration horror stories - here are my 2 - luckily didnt happen to me. 1. A female friend of mine was living in NY
by rosege 10y ago
ok seems everyone is posting their USA TSA/immigration horror stories - here are my 2 - luckily didnt happen to me.
1. A female friend of mine was living in NYC. She had patents for some tech that she invented and was living in the US while trying to sell the patents or potentially build a business with them. Went to Toronto to see a friend, on return the immigration agent asked her what she did in the US - she explained she worked in tech and the immigration official said she didnt look like an IT person and cancelled her visa. She tried to get him to look up her patents but he refused. She had to leave the country and go reapply for her visa or sort it out back in Australia.
2. Margaret Jackson - former chairman of QANTAS was searched by TSA and they found airplane schematics, when asked why she had the schematics she said she was the chairman of QANTAS, the TSA responded, but you're a woman!
http://www.informationliberation.com/index.php/www.deloitte.com?id=5852 http://www.informationliberation.com/index.php/www.deloitte....
- lostlogin 10y agoThese both read like sexism?
- Broken_Hippo 10y agoWhich isn't surprising. With most law enforcement, you are purged by your looks before you ever get to say a thing. My own things against me: I'm female. I'm assumed to be smuggling drugs, partially because I travel light and partially because I have blue hair.
- nicolas_t 10y agoWhen I had long hairs and was in my 20s, I used to systematically have my baggage searched whenever I came to Asia (especially in Japan). Now that I'm in my thirties with short hairs and clean cut, I'm never searched... It seems stupid, I mean potential drug smugglers must know about this and adapt their looks. In the end, it's really just security theater. I would prefer to have long hairs again and just be able to dress whatever way I want but as someone who travels a lot, I ended up having to conform...
- Broken_Hippo 10y agoAnd I agree, it does seem very stupid. I'd much rather actual security with plausible numbers than the theater, but they didn't ask me. "I ended up having to conform..." I do understand. I conformed a lot in my 20's, mostly for job reasons. Found a job where it didn't matter - at a pharmacy, no less - and then wound up moving to Norway. Along the way, I decided I'd rather just be myself with the hairs and all, even if that means I get searched. I occasionally miss being able to blend into a crowd, but that's part of the payout for this, I guess.
- lostlogin 10y agoIf you travel a lot and let it grow it would be interesting to find out what length the problems start at.
- michael_h 10y agoPSA: Ads on that link are NSFW.
- rosege 10y agosorry as its an old story I had difficulties finding a site that still had it