32 ms·

Been to America the other week on IT conference honestly felt like I was in prison since the moment I landed my boots on your soil

Varelion 13d ago
A disturbing amount of people so not recognize the fact. An even higher percentage willingly supports their own disenfranchisement.
- ElProlactin 13d ago
  It's amazing what easy access to meat, processed food and Walmart does to your brain.
  - ParentiSoundSys 13d ago
    It's the phones and the propaganda being streamed through them 24/7. And if your reaction is, "the rest of the Western world has that too," well, they're really not all that far behind us.
  - cyanydeez 13d ago
    AI is now the digital Walmart. It's basically proposing to do exactly what mom & pop found out, except everywhere on the internet.
hyperlinerapp 13d ago
What made you feel that way?
- piva00 13d ago
  For me (not OP) a clear example I can give from a collage of my past three visits: arrive at JFK, get in the immigration queue, heavily armed agents walking around, some ICE agents looking tough surrounding the area, someone is directing the queue like we are cattle. Get to the immigration officer, answer questions, get a cold stare a few times looking at me and my passport, unpleasantly asked why do I have two passports (I'm a dual citizen), told I don't look Swedish (of course, I'm naturalised), get told to wait, they leave to get someone else to check something, two immigration officers start shuffling my passport, wait while no one talks to me or acknowledge I'm there, passport stamped and I get told to "move". Get my bags, and out of the terminal, on the walk through the terminal there's another 15-20 officers with rifles strutting around, get out of the terminal and there are two massive armoured cars from NYPD parked up front, more cops looking a bit tough. It's an overwhelming presence of "security" everywhere, signs plastered with messages about how illegal stuff will be punished (littering, leaving your bags unattended, smoking, every message seems to say something about "under penalty of the law"). I think if you live with that all the time it's easy to filter out the noise but there's an eery feeling of oppression all around, like a boot is just waiting the right moment to stomp on you.
  - SubmarineClub 13d ago
    Maybe Sweden is different from every other country I’ve visited in Europe…but having traveled quite extensively in the EU, most countries I’ve been to don’t feel much different than the US. Very immigration officer I’ve ever interacted with has been chilly, it’s not some uniquely American thing. Pretty much every rail station I went through in Europe had extremely (to my eyes) heavily armed guards standing around. I was also asked to present my passport on several occasions. At one Italian station, it happed twice within a few minutes. I’ve been on multiple trains where some flavor of police comes on, checks people’s papers, and then grab some guy and escort him off at the next stop.
    - piva00 12d ago
      I don't mind the stern-looking armed security or immigration officers, it just feels different in the USA. Being chilly is different than being told to "move", I have never experienced such attitude getting into Schengen, at most it's a mostly quiet stern encounter. It's very hard to express in text the feeling of oppression, it's not about just armed security, it's the attitude of those, it's the attitude of the people representing the State, it feels much more adversarial in the USA than anywhere I've been in Europe. Also, it's not about being asked to present a passport but presenting a legitimate passport and being met with "you don't look Swedish". Perhaps you are just too accustomed to the feeling of the USA, as an outsider it does feel different, and way more oppressive.
    - Phemist 12d ago
      Where are you from? It's weird to me that you on the one hand defend the US, but on the other DID notice all these armed guards everywhere you went in Europe. If you don't feel it's different, then I don't think you should have noticed it so much? Or if you do notice it everywhere, why would you equate the US and Europe without raising a critical stance against these kinds of policies on either side of the atlantic?
      - piva00 12d ago
        I think you can get a sense of what kind of person they are by this kind of comments [0][1]. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49697884 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49697884 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49441324 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49441324
joinHNtheysaid 12d ago
[dead]
pseudohadamard 12d ago
Interesting you should say that, friend of mine transited through the US recently (overnight stay before a connecting flight) after having not been there for some years and described the experience as "very unnerving". Since she was messaging from inside the US she didn't want to say any more, but I'm expecting a more detailed report once she lands at the other end.

Varelion 13d ago

A disturbing amount of people so not recognize the fact. An even higher percentage willingly supports their own disenfranchisement.

ElProlactin 13d ago
It's amazing what easy access to meat, processed food and Walmart does to your brain.
- ParentiSoundSys 13d ago
  It's the phones and the propaganda being streamed through them 24/7. And if your reaction is, "the rest of the Western world has that too," well, they're really not all that far behind us.
- cyanydeez 13d ago
  AI is now the digital Walmart. It's basically proposing to do exactly what mom & pop found out, except everywhere on the internet.

hyperlinerapp 13d ago

What made you feel that way?

piva00 13d ago
For me (not OP) a clear example I can give from a collage of my past three visits: arrive at JFK, get in the immigration queue, heavily armed agents walking around, some ICE agents looking tough surrounding the area, someone is directing the queue like we are cattle. Get to the immigration officer, answer questions, get a cold stare a few times looking at me and my passport, unpleasantly asked why do I have two passports (I'm a dual citizen), told I don't look Swedish (of course, I'm naturalised), get told to wait, they leave to get someone else to check something, two immigration officers start shuffling my passport, wait while no one talks to me or acknowledge I'm there, passport stamped and I get told to "move". Get my bags, and out of the terminal, on the walk through the terminal there's another 15-20 officers with rifles strutting around, get out of the terminal and there are two massive armoured cars from NYPD parked up front, more cops looking a bit tough. It's an overwhelming presence of "security" everywhere, signs plastered with messages about how illegal stuff will be punished (littering, leaving your bags unattended, smoking, every message seems to say something about "under penalty of the law"). I think if you live with that all the time it's easy to filter out the noise but there's an eery feeling of oppression all around, like a boot is just waiting the right moment to stomp on you.
- SubmarineClub 13d ago
  Maybe Sweden is different from every other country I’ve visited in Europe…but having traveled quite extensively in the EU, most countries I’ve been to don’t feel much different than the US. Very immigration officer I’ve ever interacted with has been chilly, it’s not some uniquely American thing. Pretty much every rail station I went through in Europe had extremely (to my eyes) heavily armed guards standing around. I was also asked to present my passport on several occasions. At one Italian station, it happed twice within a few minutes. I’ve been on multiple trains where some flavor of police comes on, checks people’s papers, and then grab some guy and escort him off at the next stop.
  - piva00 12d ago
    I don't mind the stern-looking armed security or immigration officers, it just feels different in the USA. Being chilly is different than being told to "move", I have never experienced such attitude getting into Schengen, at most it's a mostly quiet stern encounter. It's very hard to express in text the feeling of oppression, it's not about just armed security, it's the attitude of those, it's the attitude of the people representing the State, it feels much more adversarial in the USA than anywhere I've been in Europe. Also, it's not about being asked to present a passport but presenting a legitimate passport and being met with "you don't look Swedish". Perhaps you are just too accustomed to the feeling of the USA, as an outsider it does feel different, and way more oppressive.
  - Phemist 12d ago
    Where are you from? It's weird to me that you on the one hand defend the US, but on the other DID notice all these armed guards everywhere you went in Europe. If you don't feel it's different, then I don't think you should have noticed it so much? Or if you do notice it everywhere, why would you equate the US and Europe without raising a critical stance against these kinds of policies on either side of the atlantic?
    - piva00 12d ago
      I think you can get a sense of what kind of person they are by this kind of comments [0][1]. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49697884 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49697884 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49441324 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49441324

joinHNtheysaid 12d ago

[dead]

pseudohadamard 12d ago

Interesting you should say that, friend of mine transited through the US recently (overnight stay before a connecting flight) after having not been there for some years and described the experience as "very unnerving". Since she was messaging from inside the US she didn't want to say any more, but I'm expecting a more detailed report once she lands at the other end.