4 ms·

I work for a US company in Europe and I'm seriously concerned about my security if and when the time comes for me to visit the company HQ. I'm a completely harm

by exDM69 15y ago

I work for a US company in Europe and I'm seriously concerned about my security if and when the time comes for me to visit the company HQ. I'm a completely harmless person, but sometimes I look like a bearded pirate (arr!), my passport photo looks like I'm a recently escaped convict, I've ordered flight simulators and aviation maps with my credit card from the US and my police file mentions a short wrestling match with a police officer and some other encounters with the law. I've been involved in organizing underground music events and I've probably been photographed by security officials in political protests I've attended. If people get locked down and refused entry based on a few tweets, I'm worried that my background check will get me a special four S treatment from airport security officials. I would not consider going to the US for a vacation. Thankfully there are five other continents to visit.

sudonim 15y ago
I live in the US. Someone put me on a list of people who retweet wikileaks tweets and I'm concerned. Our policy towards visitors and immigrants has been increasingly hostile. Citizens get it a little better, but increasingly bad too. Minor quibble with your last sentence: > I would not consider going to the US for a vacation. Thankfully there are five other continents to visit. Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Honduras all share North America with the United States. And Antarctica is a continent too (7 total, not 6).
- Vivtek 15y ago
  If you're going to list Cuba and the Dominican Republic, you shouldn't leave out Jamaica and all the Lesser Antilles - I highly recommend visits to any of them!
- freehunter 15y ago
  Antarctica isn't really a hot (no pun intended) vacation area. People go there to work and conduct research, but there's no hotels or resorts. Besides Canada, the rest on your list don't scream "freedom" or "welcoming to foreigners" to me. I'm not saying Cuba isn't an interesting place to visit, but a Cuban vacation isn't really comparable to a US vacation in terms of sight-seeing and luxury. Though as an American, my viewpoint of Cuba might be skewed. There's a lot of unwarranted and false anti-Cuban propaganda in this country, it makes it hard to tell the truth from the lies.
  - WildUtah 15y ago
    If Costa Rica doesn't scream "freedom" and "welcoming to foreigners" to you, you haven't been paying attention to your continental neighbors. Mexico is great on most counts outside the border region, too. Even Guatemala and Nicaragua and Panama are quite welcoming.
    - freehunter 15y ago
      Like I mentioned, the US has some pretty anti-Latin American bias. Everything shown in the media is either Sandals Resorts, Caribbean Cruise Lines, or jungles and warlords. People all around the world only know what they're taught or what they've seen first hand. Not many Americans have seen Latin America first-hand. I have been to Panama, came in on a boat from Mexico. The advice I received in the port was to not set foot in the port in the first place and avoid law enforcement even if I got into trouble. Of course I received the same warning on the trip back to Mexico, so... Like the whole system or not, America and their buddies do a pretty decent job of keeping street thugs to a minimum.
  - kragen 15y ago
    > the rest on your list don't scream "freedom" or "welcoming to foreigners" to me. I'm guessing that's because of your own ignorance, not because of the places. Costa Rica is superb in terms of freedom, and almost all of those places are more welcoming to foreigners than the US. If you want luxury, México has first-class resorts.
    - freehunter 15y ago
      I've been to some resorts in Mexico. I don't know if these are the kinds you're talking about, but they're basically the US confined within large walls to keep the natives out (unless they're working there). If I go to Germany, I expect to see a German resort. If I go to France, I expect to see a French resort. When I go to Mexico, I don't expect to see a US resort on a cheap plot of beach-front property. Are there true Mexican resorts I should visit?
      - 15y ago
rmc 15y ago
Well looks like your company cannot send you to the USA. After all, if you were a gay person married to someone of the same gender and your multinational employer wanted to send you to the office in Saudi Arabia, then you should have the right to refuse. Likewise, you have an perfectly valid excuse why you cannot go the USA.

by exDM69 15y ago

sudonim 15y ago

I live in the US. Someone put me on a list of people who retweet wikileaks tweets and I'm concerned. Our policy towards visitors and immigrants has been increasingly hostile. Citizens get it a little better, but increasingly bad too. Minor quibble with your last sentence: > I would not consider going to the US for a vacation. Thankfully there are five other continents to visit. Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Honduras all share North America with the United States. And Antarctica is a continent too (7 total, not 6).

Vivtek 15y ago
If you're going to list Cuba and the Dominican Republic, you shouldn't leave out Jamaica and all the Lesser Antilles - I highly recommend visits to any of them!
freehunter 15y ago
Antarctica isn't really a hot (no pun intended) vacation area. People go there to work and conduct research, but there's no hotels or resorts. Besides Canada, the rest on your list don't scream "freedom" or "welcoming to foreigners" to me. I'm not saying Cuba isn't an interesting place to visit, but a Cuban vacation isn't really comparable to a US vacation in terms of sight-seeing and luxury. Though as an American, my viewpoint of Cuba might be skewed. There's a lot of unwarranted and false anti-Cuban propaganda in this country, it makes it hard to tell the truth from the lies.
- WildUtah 15y ago
  If Costa Rica doesn't scream "freedom" and "welcoming to foreigners" to you, you haven't been paying attention to your continental neighbors. Mexico is great on most counts outside the border region, too. Even Guatemala and Nicaragua and Panama are quite welcoming.
  - freehunter 15y ago
    Like I mentioned, the US has some pretty anti-Latin American bias. Everything shown in the media is either Sandals Resorts, Caribbean Cruise Lines, or jungles and warlords. People all around the world only know what they're taught or what they've seen first hand. Not many Americans have seen Latin America first-hand. I have been to Panama, came in on a boat from Mexico. The advice I received in the port was to not set foot in the port in the first place and avoid law enforcement even if I got into trouble. Of course I received the same warning on the trip back to Mexico, so... Like the whole system or not, America and their buddies do a pretty decent job of keeping street thugs to a minimum.
- kragen 15y ago
  > the rest on your list don't scream "freedom" or "welcoming to foreigners" to me. I'm guessing that's because of your own ignorance, not because of the places. Costa Rica is superb in terms of freedom, and almost all of those places are more welcoming to foreigners than the US. If you want luxury, México has first-class resorts.
  - freehunter 15y ago
    I've been to some resorts in Mexico. I don't know if these are the kinds you're talking about, but they're basically the US confined within large walls to keep the natives out (unless they're working there). If I go to Germany, I expect to see a German resort. If I go to France, I expect to see a French resort. When I go to Mexico, I don't expect to see a US resort on a cheap plot of beach-front property. Are there true Mexican resorts I should visit?
    - 15y ago

rmc 15y ago

Well looks like your company cannot send you to the USA. After all, if you were a gay person married to someone of the same gender and your multinational employer wanted to send you to the office in Saudi Arabia, then you should have the right to refuse. Likewise, you have an perfectly valid excuse why you cannot go the USA.