You've made me think about this ! I recently had to pass between Canada and the US and I, too, was forced to enter a checkpoint where I was held by someone car

You've made me think about this ! I recently had to pass between Canada and the US and I, too, was forced to enter a checkpoint where I was held by someone carrying a gun, who asked invasive questions about why I wanted to cross into a different territory and I had to satisfy the guard that I was not going to present any threat and that my purpose for travel was legitimate. Like a fool, I previously believed this was a normal thing done by countries and that these were normal border policing activities at so-called 'border crossings'. But after reading your post, I now realize I was forced to be subjugated by an evil oppressor. At least, that is if I accept that an otherwise normal action at territorial separation points can be re-phrased in pejorative terms through re-naming of border crossings as the more sinister sounding 'checkpoints'. edit:typo.