4 ms·

Flying back to the US earlier this year in June, I declined to have my face scanned. The agent was rude and aggressive because I “didn’t tell him I wanted to op

Flying back to the US earlier this year in June, I declined to have my face scanned. The agent was rude and aggressive because I “didn’t tell him I wanted to opt out before he started.” He went overboard in terms of harassment and intimidation but he did not win. Fuck that guy. Also who cares whether the photo is immediately deleted? The metrics are what matter and those are kept.

MathMonkeyMan 2y ago
Good for you. There is no shortage of assholes at the border. It's gotten to the point where when I encounter a polite one, I think "what's his angle?" Maybe he's just not a jerk projecting his sense of powerlessness onto strangers. Imagine! That said, I don't envy their job. But it seems to be a systemic attractor of asshole.
- Symbiote 2y ago
  I think it must be their training, at least in part. Does acting this way catch people who are trying to deceive them? Border guards in other countries are often very polite.
  - mrguyorama 2y ago
    >Does acting this way catch people who are trying to deceive them? The retired cops who will charge your department $100k for "training" will absolutely tell you they are teaching you how to detect liars. Actual studies have shown their techniques (things like microexpressions etc) are not only ineffective, but make you WORSE THAN RANDOM CHANCE at detecting lies. A person who has received no "training" in these stupid systems are better at detecting lies. But cops love other cops and former cops, and have a shitload of money in their budget for stupid nonsense training like "Killology", and apparently have absurd and unscientific worldviews that they refuse to escape. So they keep booking the retired cop who tells them "that hoodlum who you feel is sketchy is definitely sketchy so trust your instinct" and do not book the scientist who tells them "actually everything you know is mostly wrong, and you shouldn't ever trust your gut".
prepend 2y ago
It’s your right. But the agent is probably annoyed because it takes longer for them, you, and everyone in line. It’s like your right to write a check or pay in nickels as well. But people get annoyed because you exercising your right and preference inconveniences them. Maybe also why people get annoyed by bicyclists going 15mph in a lane they legally get to use. There’s lots of things that are correct and right but others don’t like much.
- simoncion 2y ago
  > But the agent is probably annoyed because it takes longer for them, you, and everyone in line. The agent has probably been trained by law enforcement in "compliance tactics": shame, cajole, embarrass, and intimidate the person who's refusing to do what you demand of them so that they do what you demand. The agent could have done what agents in more-civilized countries consider to be their job and continued to process the returning citizen as they were entitled to be processed. He chose -instead- to delay the returning citizen and everyone else by throwing a coercive tantrum.

MathMonkeyMan 2y ago

Good for you. There is no shortage of assholes at the border. It's gotten to the point where when I encounter a polite one, I think "what's his angle?" Maybe he's just not a jerk projecting his sense of powerlessness onto strangers. Imagine! That said, I don't envy their job. But it seems to be a systemic attractor of asshole.

Symbiote 2y ago
I think it must be their training, at least in part. Does acting this way catch people who are trying to deceive them? Border guards in other countries are often very polite.
- mrguyorama 2y ago
  >Does acting this way catch people who are trying to deceive them? The retired cops who will charge your department $100k for "training" will absolutely tell you they are teaching you how to detect liars. Actual studies have shown their techniques (things like microexpressions etc) are not only ineffective, but make you WORSE THAN RANDOM CHANCE at detecting lies. A person who has received no "training" in these stupid systems are better at detecting lies. But cops love other cops and former cops, and have a shitload of money in their budget for stupid nonsense training like "Killology", and apparently have absurd and unscientific worldviews that they refuse to escape. So they keep booking the retired cop who tells them "that hoodlum who you feel is sketchy is definitely sketchy so trust your instinct" and do not book the scientist who tells them "actually everything you know is mostly wrong, and you shouldn't ever trust your gut".

prepend 2y ago

It’s your right. But the agent is probably annoyed because it takes longer for them, you, and everyone in line. It’s like your right to write a check or pay in nickels as well. But people get annoyed because you exercising your right and preference inconveniences them. Maybe also why people get annoyed by bicyclists going 15mph in a lane they legally get to use. There’s lots of things that are correct and right but others don’t like much.

simoncion 2y ago
> But the agent is probably annoyed because it takes longer for them, you, and everyone in line. The agent has probably been trained by law enforcement in "compliance tactics": shame, cajole, embarrass, and intimidate the person who's refusing to do what you demand of them so that they do what you demand. The agent could have done what agents in more-civilized countries consider to be their job and continued to process the returning citizen as they were entitled to be processed. He chose -instead- to delay the returning citizen and everyone else by throwing a coercive tantrum.