3 ms·

> This is what happens when you have a populist president Spare me. This stuff was happening pre-Trump, and it will happen post-Trump.

matt_wulfeck 10y ago
This is what happens when you have a president you don't like. Everything you don't like around you becomes their fault.
lovelearning 10y ago
People have been asked CS questions at airport security earlier too?
- briandear 10y ago
  First, this wasn't airport security, this was immigration. Secondly, CBP officers routinely ask questions to incoming passengers -- even to Americans! Binary Trees? I don't know -- but neither does anyone else because we're talking hundreds of thousands of people per day and only a self-selecting few post their encounters on Twitter; all of the oil field workers returning from Africa probably aren't posting their every encounter with Immigration on Twitter. People having their bags ripped apart by Thai Customs aren't likely getting featured on Hacker News. How are Serbians treated when they transit the Frankfurt Airport? I have a friend who is a designer who was asked to open his computer and show some of his designs and I have had others who entered Germany/France with no problem. Most people don't post play-by-play of their travel experiences -- so we see a very narrow and potentially inaccurate view based on stereotypes and anecdotes rather than fact. All of this "anecdotes are now valid data" nonsense seems to be contradictory for a group of people who purport to be interested in software engineering and the implied respect for statistical validity that would encompass. Why is this even a story? Immigration officers ask questions to detect inconsistencies -- nothing at all new about that-- nothing even wrong with that. The guy couldn't even answer it and was still admitted. If he was arrested because he couldn't solve binary trees, now THAT would be a story.
morgante 10y ago
Care to provide a citation for people being asked hard algorithmic questions by CBP before? To be clear, I don't think Trump is directly responsible for this. But I think he's sent a signal to fascists and racists around the country that America is for white people and it's okay to throw your weight around. He's a bully, so he's emboldened other bullies (which, unfortunately, dominate law enforcement).
- nevi-me 10y ago
  Thanks, you made the point better than I could have. I'll validly get some flack for starting out by linking my comment to POTUS, which is good as it teaches me to reason much better with sensitive topics where there's often no objective answer.
- ThrowawayR2 10y ago
  > But I think he's sent a signal to fascists and racists around the country that America is for white people and it's okay to throw your weight around You have that exactly backwards. He was voted in legitimately by the right and center because the left failed to do anything to address their grievances, justified or not, and circumstances. Trump (and Brexit, etc.) is the signal that the public is sending to the left and may heaven help us all because we're sure going to need it.
  - alexvy86 10y ago
    I'm not sure I follow... the parent comment didn't seem to question the legitimacy of his election. And I also think that Trump's attitude in general can be seen by many as a validation of that behavior ("throwing your weight around" / bullying).
  - morgante 10y ago
    I think the reasons Trump won and the message he's sending in office are, in fact, different things. There were a whole lot of unhappy Trump voters (people voting for him despite lots of reservations about his policies and demeanor) and a lot them were due to the left not addressing their grievances. That doesn't change the fact that his rhetoric has emboldened hard-right fascists and bullies. It's inarguable at this point.
joe_the_user 10y ago
It happened before Trump but there is no way that someone aggressively calling for greater immigration enforcement isn't going to be encouraging border agents to do whatever they think is "greater enforcement" and as we can that greater enforcement is mighty arbitrary. So, it's "yes and no but mostly no"

matt_wulfeck 10y ago

This is what happens when you have a president you don't like. Everything you don't like around you becomes their fault.

lovelearning 10y ago

People have been asked CS questions at airport security earlier too?

briandear 10y ago
First, this wasn't airport security, this was immigration. Secondly, CBP officers routinely ask questions to incoming passengers -- even to Americans! Binary Trees? I don't know -- but neither does anyone else because we're talking hundreds of thousands of people per day and only a self-selecting few post their encounters on Twitter; all of the oil field workers returning from Africa probably aren't posting their every encounter with Immigration on Twitter. People having their bags ripped apart by Thai Customs aren't likely getting featured on Hacker News. How are Serbians treated when they transit the Frankfurt Airport? I have a friend who is a designer who was asked to open his computer and show some of his designs and I have had others who entered Germany/France with no problem. Most people don't post play-by-play of their travel experiences -- so we see a very narrow and potentially inaccurate view based on stereotypes and anecdotes rather than fact. All of this "anecdotes are now valid data" nonsense seems to be contradictory for a group of people who purport to be interested in software engineering and the implied respect for statistical validity that would encompass. Why is this even a story? Immigration officers ask questions to detect inconsistencies -- nothing at all new about that-- nothing even wrong with that. The guy couldn't even answer it and was still admitted. If he was arrested because he couldn't solve binary trees, now THAT would be a story.

morgante 10y ago

Care to provide a citation for people being asked hard algorithmic questions by CBP before? To be clear, I don't think Trump is directly responsible for this. But I think he's sent a signal to fascists and racists around the country that America is for white people and it's okay to throw your weight around. He's a bully, so he's emboldened other bullies (which, unfortunately, dominate law enforcement).

nevi-me 10y ago
Thanks, you made the point better than I could have. I'll validly get some flack for starting out by linking my comment to POTUS, which is good as it teaches me to reason much better with sensitive topics where there's often no objective answer.
ThrowawayR2 10y ago
> But I think he's sent a signal to fascists and racists around the country that America is for white people and it's okay to throw your weight around You have that exactly backwards. He was voted in legitimately by the right and center because the left failed to do anything to address their grievances, justified or not, and circumstances. Trump (and Brexit, etc.) is the signal that the public is sending to the left and may heaven help us all because we're sure going to need it.
- alexvy86 10y ago
  I'm not sure I follow... the parent comment didn't seem to question the legitimacy of his election. And I also think that Trump's attitude in general can be seen by many as a validation of that behavior ("throwing your weight around" / bullying).
- morgante 10y ago
  I think the reasons Trump won and the message he's sending in office are, in fact, different things. There were a whole lot of unhappy Trump voters (people voting for him despite lots of reservations about his policies and demeanor) and a lot them were due to the left not addressing their grievances. That doesn't change the fact that his rhetoric has emboldened hard-right fascists and bullies. It's inarguable at this point.

joe_the_user 10y ago

It happened before Trump but there is no way that someone aggressively calling for greater immigration enforcement isn't going to be encouraging border agents to do whatever they think is "greater enforcement" and as we can that greater enforcement is mighty arbitrary. So, it's "yes and no but mostly no"