Comments for Border Bullies at http://www.michaelyon-online.com , comment 1 to 138 out of 20 comments http://www.michaelyon-online.com Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:51:06 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-17229 Why do we allow such people to work for us? And yes they work for you and me. I believe in our constitution and any time we give up our freedoms, any freedoms we lose and the terrorist have won, they made us change how we live. We say I want to be safe, I say I would rather be free. At what price are we willing to give up our freedoms. This agent any many, many more like him are in Homeland Security it is time they were gone, we complain but do nothing. The time has come that we as Americans say enough is enough. This agent is a normal Immigration Agent. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government... Thomas Jefferson (The Declaration of Independence) "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin - John Spencer Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:53:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-17161 I've been a reader of Yon's for a few years now. He seems to be able to call his shots with great accuracy. Let's hope he's wrong about Afghanistan. According to the CIA, we need less democracy building and more taliban killing. Yon thinks we should pull out. But what happens then? Does Afghanistan just become a shooting gallery for Predators or do we just let the gangrenous boil on the planet festoon? - andy Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:40:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-17004 "Welcome Back to The United States..." as often as I have traveled outside of the US, I've never heard a border guard say welcome back. As an American, these people know how to piss off most normal people returning from a simple vacation. As a human being, they are an embarrassment to the human race. The excuse "we're just trying to do our jobs..." is a bunch of bull. Your friend is owed an apology. - Steven Thomas Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:29:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16997 I don't usually look back to sites where I've made comments, but did for this one. There sure are some angry people out there. I see the older versions of these guys at the V.A., still angry after all these years. They tend to drive rusted-out pickup trucks festooned with bumper stickers that express a laundry list of hatreds: "liberals," Kerry, Muslims, "Democrats," immigrants, the mythical great masses of gun control advocates, "communists," and on and on and on. Here's an example: [URL removed by Webmaster] It is a good thing to be proud of your honorable service. You also have every right and justification for being angry. What you might want to do is direct your anger at those who cooked up the lies that got you sent to "Iraq" in the first place. I served in the military in a different era, when we knew it was all a big lie, and we served with honor anyway. Nowadays, with the "all volunteer" military, the services can self-select for true believers. The Marines, in particular, are easily programmed for group mind. I can only imagine what it must be like to have an independent thought in today's Marine Corps. What I suggest for those with raging anger against enemies real and/or imagined is that you look into your anger and see if you can discover its real source. You might be surprised at what you find. - John Hamilton Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:16:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16981 Mike, I can tell you what happens if they had decided that she planned to live in the states, she would have been cuffed and ankle shackled, taken to an Immigration jail, and dumped in a freezing pen with up to 80 other women. She could be stuck there for months, sometimes years. I worked at the bank and lived in Chicago for 20 years; I was in this jail because I sued Immigration to get them to finally spit out my green card, I was an ƒ??Administrative Detaineeƒ??. I am now stuck in the UK with nothing, yet I own a house with a mortgage in Chicago. Everything I have worked for 20 years has been destroyed. I paid tax on all of my earnings; I was an IRS Enrolled Agent.... As you are in shock being arrested by the men in Black, you are told to collect your medications, they just want to talk to you; you donƒ??t get a phone call, you donƒ??t see your medication again (where does it go??) Once you are in jail you are given substitute medications, which can make you very sick. Example an elderly Indian lady with high blood pressure and diabetes, so they wake her at 5am to record her blood pressure, it shows low, they take her blood sugar as soon as she has eaten, to show it is ok; the rest of the time because she is NOT OK she is either on the cold floor or on the bunk in her cell, unable to function. She has a urine infection they won't treat, it progresses to a kidney infection, she is shaking and jolting with the pains inside her, and the guards will not do anything and punish me for asking for help for her. I made phone calls to the OIG hotline to get her help, telling them she would die if they did not do something. They wanted her to walk down the stairs, she couldnƒ??t, (they are laughing when she is throwing up and falling down off the toilet onto the floor headfirst) With another inmate we walked in front and behind her so she did not fall, the guard was annoyed, nobody told him he had to deal with this, he called for a wheelchair. They took her up to medical where she said they gave her antibiotics, she lost 10 pounds in 10 days..the day she walked back into the main cell, and she was deported and shoved on to the plane that night. She too had applied for her green card. Her file was marked RUSH too. I had four months to see the abuses in jail. I am now having liver tests for the rash that covered my body from the throat down that I contracted in the jail. We were forced to clean 3 times a day with chemicals and no gloves. I met Julie Myers, head of ICE, in the jail, she put her hands on the table, I told her she should wash them because it says on the bottle that if it comes into contact with the skin you should wash with cold water for 20 mins, and call the poison control center! So that your friend was not arrested and shoved into jail ƒ?? she should consider herself very, very lucky. Homeland Security officership is encouraging the worst aspects of human behaviour, (Die Welle; ignorance, fascism, the ƒ??need to belongƒ?? Abu Ghraib! Same thingƒ??) and is creating a ready bunch of new Nazis, under your noses. There were two US Citizens in Immigration jail with me, because they make mistakes, and donƒ??t care to correct them. I watched one young Us Citizen having a nervous breakdown, she couldnƒ??t comprehend why she was in there. They spent over half a million dollars to arrest and detain me, I was not a fugitive, I worked in a bank, and have never even had a parking ticket. I am supposed to be grateful to have survived. Over 80 people have died that we know of in these jails. We only know about them because they had relatives who were citizens, who managed to get someone to listen, and put them in touch with NY Times who is keeping statistics. I have watched them bring people close to death with their tactics to demean and destroy people who were not born in the States. So I repeat, your friend is Extremely fortunate that she was not put through this, for absolutely nothing. - icesurvivor Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:11:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16938 Mark: I want to address one more point that you made. You said that "a 40 year old, well traveled Thai woman with credit cards is not likely to be a terrorist". I agree. Very few people, almost no one actually, are likely to be terrorists. But Mr. Knapp's job is not to figure out which travellers are likely to be terrorists -- that is probably an impossible task. Mr. Knapp's job is to make it as difficult as possible for terrorists to use our aviation system as a weapon against us. Throwing in the element of aggressive, somewhat arbitrary, surveillance at ports of entry makes it harder (hopefully a lot harder) for terrorists to calculate the probability of success for high-stakes operations, such as 9-11. It makes it harder for them to train, co-ordinate, and execute their plans. If Mr. Knapp actually succeeds in stopping or apprehending a real-live honest-to-goodness terrorist in the process, that is only a somewhat improbable bonus. Like what happened to the millenium bomber at the ferry terminal in Anacortes, Washington. It is a great shame that the visitors who get detained at our airports are bearing such a disproportionate burden. If there is a better way to treat our guests, then we should do it. But such decisions should always place the security issue on the other side of the balance, and the weightier concerns should dictate what we do. Thank you for responding civilly to my point of view. I think we're on the same side here, but if I'm mistaken, feel free to let me know. All the best, Matthew - Matthew Goggins Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:29:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16937 Mark: I didn't say we should interrogate people because the rules tell us to do so. We should interrogate people because that might be an effective way of disrupting terror plots. That's why we changed the rules so radically after 9-11. If our interrogation policies do not in fact serve to deter and disrupt terror plots, then we should chuck them and be very happy to be done with them. Treating visitors to our country as potential suspects seems Nazi-like to you. But please remember we are trying to avoid bloodshed, not initiate it. Any border guard who is guilty of xenophobia or misconduct should be disciplined or fired. We have a responsibility to each other to secure our country to the best of our ability. You and I and everyone else are going to debate how to do that. Disagreement doesn't make one of us a fascist, as long as we share the same goals and the same concerns. As far as I can tell, we do. Peace, Matthew - Matthew Goggins Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:48:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16931 Matthew Goggins (reply 129) quote; "I don't know the details of what Mr. Knapp did and said...On the other hand, I am unwilling to second-guess his decision to detain and interrogate your friend Aew." Matt, with all due respect, both you and Mr Knapp are good examples of why people are so easy to manipulate. You because you are one of the "them's the rules, so we must follow " types. (Hitler would've been happy to have you on the team) .... and Mr Knapp because scaremongering and demonizing and putting too much power in the hands of ignorant individuals means that power WILL be abused (sometimes just for the sake of ego). This sort of attitude filters down from the top, and is entirely avoidable. Travel in Europe, or most of Asia, and you will find the authorities are firm, but very respectful and polite. These things SHOULD be subject to public inquiry, because besides inconveniencing and frightening an innocent person, Mr Knapp was endangering everyone and wasting his valuable time, which should have been devoted to looking for REAL threats (and you don't need to be a rocket scientist, Matt, to see that a 40 year old, well traveled Thai woman with credit cards is not likely to be a terrorist). I would suspect that such inquiries would reveal that people like Mr Knapp are in the wrong job. Having said that, I feel it things will not change under the present government, as they have some considerable interest in promoting a siege mentality amongst the American people. - Mark East Fri, 16 Jan 2009 07:06:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16924 Greetings from China. I came to your blog via another American site. One of the interesting aspects of your writing is the personal, even private, nature of the narrative. It makes for compelling reading, convincing even. Here's the problem: Aew's case isn't unique so why does it draw so much ink, even from readers such as I? Why does it merit your attention and effort, more than other cases? And then when you consider the airport experiences of the weak, the half-illiterate, and the non-English arrivals without Americans waiting inside or outside the airport and they get more than the "shake down", as Americans put it, then Aew must be fortunate. In the room, alone, she knows she has you to turn to in the worst possible situation, you, a person of some measure of influence. Also, again, why in America is her kind of problem so prevalent indeed more commonplace than most other places. You have admitted to that; Aew has numerous immigration stamps from around the world. Several readers have commented that American citizens knew or had the gumption to stand up to authority. Not anymore? The morality in Aew's case is that it is not suppose to happen: people, especially in authority, should be decent towards the other. America has rule of law, people have rights. But yet...? Out of sheer prevalence, this cannot be a case of a few bad apples, especially since 9/11. The point, then, is this: in supposedly one of the world's freest places, richest, well-managed, it is also dysfunctional and at some levels horrifying - you never know when you're on the other side of the law. But nobody sees the dysfunction until they are face on with authority, such as in the vileness of a person named Mr Knapp. That authority is most readily found at the airport immigration counter. In Aew she experienced first hand the dysfunction because all along she thought of America as a great place and you, as a product of it, would be worth her while. Now, she knows better about America, though not necessarily applicable to you. You thought America is great too. And to be great, somebody or some other place has lesser worth, by any kind of qualitative or quantitative measures you care to name, specific to Aew's case, laws, rights, professional conduct. So, by those measures, China is not a great country, perhaps a pariah one. You said so: "She was treated better in China. So was I". Note, that was your conclusion. Now, do you see why Americans are despised in spite of all the kindness or generosity they appear to exhibit, which I'm sure you do? It is difficult to give proper and the precise expression to your conclusion. But it has elements of idealistic illusion, self-deception, arrogance especially, and a kind of national narcissism - all wrapped up in a system governed by law and rights. See the paradox? America, when you up close, can be a horror to behold. This deserves an exploratory book-length treatment. - C Woods Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:28:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16895 I don't know the details of what Mr. Knapp did and said, so I will take your word for the fact that he was rude and inappropriate with you on the phone. On the other hand, I am unwilling to second-guess his decision to detain and interrogate your friend Aew. I think you would agree with me that Al Qaeda would love to nuke or otherwise devastate several American cities if they had the means to do so. If Al Qaeda ever does pull off another major attack, do you or I or Mr. Knapp know who the terrorists will be and what they will look like? They might be Middle-Eastern males of course. But if they have anyone at all for the mission who doesn't fit that terrorist stereotype, you know they would be eager use them. You and I know that Aew is not an Islamist terrorist, and Mr. Knapp knows it now as well. But before he interrogated her, he wasn't sure, so he did what he considered to be the right thing, the thing he thought his position demanded. Mr. Knapp will probably detain hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals over the course of his career, and never come across a single terrorist. But that doesn't mean he shoudn't keep looking. Other than that, a great article, as usual, thank you. And I apologize to Aew for the fear and trauma of her experience. I hope she never has to go through anything like that again. - Matthew Goggins Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:03:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16893 I read your blog from time to time(which I enjoy), and just had to comment on this piece. I am a US citizen, born and raised here however both of my parents were immigrants. My father is from Kashmir and my middle name is Arabic. I have traveled the world extensively for long periods of time, including many countries in Africa, China, Vietnam and Cuba. However I have never been treated worse than in my own country upon returning. Questions about where I travelled, why I have dual citizenship and what I was bringing into the country. This has happened numerous times and I get very defensive when I come back into my own country. I have never in my whole life been proud to be an American, until this past election, and that is one of the reasons. I always feel like a criminal when I come back. The only country which has treated me worse, and the only country I truly despise! Is Israel. I am sorry for your friend and the experience she had, it is truly embarrassing. - chiara subhas Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:45:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16882 Treating anyone like that is a disgrace, treating a visitor to your country like that is worse. Had a US citizen been treated like that after being arrested by police he'd have a very strong case for a lawsuit against the police department treating him like that (a foreigner probably wouldn't, at least one legally in the country). But as this was a TSA Agent, and they're essentially above the law and can do whatever they want, they get away with it. Given stories like this, I don't think I'll visit the US again. Though a European and therefore not from a group that's flagged as potential illegal immigrants, I'm a single man and therefore a likely sexual deviant (British Airways won't let me sit next to children because in their book ALL men travelling alone are sex offenders)... I've visited the USSR several times, the GDR once or twice, and other WarPac countries during the height of the 1970s and '80s, and never was treated nearly as bad as that. Apart from being looked at suspiciously, noone ever did more than stamp your visum (though no doubt we were followed around when in country). Even my father, when he WAS taken from an airliner by the Hungarian secret police once, wasn't treated anywhere near this bad. And that was by a feared agency of a hostile country, responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands, not by a borderguard who should be on the lookout for contraband ivory and fake Rolex watches, not looking down the blouse of Asian ladies. - Jeroen Wenting Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:33:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16869 Michael and Aew, I too want to apologize on behalf of my nation that this happened to you. However your sad story is not new. Let me tell you a worse story from 20+ years ago that is nearly the same except for the email and cellphone part. A friend from a good family married a Philippina from a good family and started their own family in the US. By good family, I mean the husband was the son of a long-serving state senator. My friend earned six figures, 20 years ago. The wife had a sister who was about to enter college. She wanted to visit her extended family in America. Tickets were purchased, the 747 boarded. A tiny brown woman traveling alone, even -with- a return ticket, was and clearly still is, a red flag to immigration. They read through her diary and focused on her words that she was excited about "going to America" instead of "visiting America" and put her in an airport jail cell. They all learned the hard way that civil rights only start after immigration lets you in. There's even a CSNY song about it. Angry phone calls from both of the state's US Senators and the state's entire US Congressional delegation (the actual Senators & Congressmen, not staff) didn't help. After 15 days in lockup the young woman flew home having never set foot outside the airport. Even with all that political juice, nothing could be done. Nothing could be done after it either. A classic example of absolute power corrupting absolutely, amplified by the small minds who seem attracted to the job. There was a public scandal about this immigration office some years later. Too late for the sister. Not much has really changed, despite the publicity. I hope the rest of the visit was better. - Scott Rainey Wed, 14 Jan 2009 07:48:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16826 This is just the tip of the iceberg, children are beinbg tasered to death,young psychiatric patients are being pepper sprayed, old people are denied of their rights, intitutionalized and forced into forced guardianships while drugged and isolated.We document these cases almost daily at ElderAbuseHelp.Org a website that I started when my parents were separated after 58 years of marriage, my father died because of the stress and my mother was incapacitated and financially raped. I had to be the canary in the coal mine, but having lost freedom once in now communist Cuba I am very alarmed about the on going transition of my adopted country into a gulag. Did you know that we now imprison more citizens than any other country? Here if Florida alone we surpassed 100,000 people incarcerated, that one in four of every citizen in Miami. Your friend's perception of fear was very correct, be very afraid! Be very afraid. - Ray Fernandez Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:04:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16803 Aew, I'm sure you're reading this dispatch. I apologize for the way you were treated in my country. I'm sorry. And yes, I gave my real first name. - Don Gwinn Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:10:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16798 For many years, on my travels, I thought of Americans as brash and sometimes tasteless, but one thing I so admired, their attitude towards authority. Americans could always be relied upon to stand up for themselves, not to be put upon. For me, the saddest aspect of the whole 911 saga and its sorry aftermath is the sea change in American citizens. No longer cocky toward authority, no longer sure of themselves, they stand in airport lines with eyes down, afraid to make loud comments or joke around, a downtrodden people. Once the brashness was annoying, I had no idea how much I would miss it. - ChrisVJ Sat, 10 Jan 2009 09:01:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16785 His name is Caleb. - CBP Insider Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:48:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16780 I'm a asian, very dark skinned one on top of that. Wheneven I fly out of the country to visit family in Thailand I always get stopped and stuck in a room much like that, but you see the thing is i was a born US citizen, I servered 2 terms in the US army, and yet they still think just because i'm brown i'm a terrorist? I have friends and family that died(mostly from car bombs) because of these assholes and they are stopping asians? For f*** sake i'm a Catholic, it say it right on my dog tags which I still wear. - Kyle Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:49:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16774 I am not surprised by this, They hire these people & pay them nothing, That is the old adage..You get what you pay for! I am a former Marine (DAV) with a cane & have been bullied several times by these same types. I was in a combat MOS in the Corps, Their was a shortage of M.P.'s at the time. They pulled the sevice records of Marines who had some of the better records at the time & sent us to Military Police training, I will never forget one class being taught by a Federal Agent, He told us all about what he called the 'Wyatt Earp' Syndrome. This is when many people first get a Badge & a lot of authority they often get carried away & abuse their power, A good Training Officer will stop this or time on the job hopefully. This alway's stuck with me & i tryed to treat those i dealt with as i would wish to be treated. I think this officer KNAPP has a bad,bad, cas of the 'wyatt Earp' Syndrome, Sadly using my observations traveling, (Pofessional Music Industry) this seems indicitive of many "Airport Security officers'. This man should be made to answer for this, Training & just some plain common sense should have alerted him that this was not a 'person of Interest' Terror wise. Just look at the officers they hire, They cetainly (the Majority) do not bring confidence to me. There are some GOOD ones about out there but sadly there are far to many KNAPPS & just plain un-qaulified ones manning their post. I would like to know if he is a rookie or has the 'Wyatt Earp' Syndrome. Great job you are doing on blooded ground, God Bless & to you SEMPER FIDELIS!!! - Mike Pierce Fri, 09 Jan 2009 06:42:00 +0100 http://www.michaelyon-online.com/border-bullies.htm#comment-16773 Flying internationally is no easy task! Let's see - there is jet lag, time zones, Customs, Immigration and now we have the under paid and poorly trained horses _ _ s named Knapp in MN. I was once pulled out of line and questioned in Taiwan because they wanted to know why I died my hair gray to hide my identity when my passport showed I had darker hair. What can be said for poor quality photo's about the size of a large postage stamp? Having worked and traveled in Thailand I have the greatest respect and love for the Thai people and food! Please extend my apologies to Aew for the treatment she received at the hands of an idiot who probably made a step up in life from a Rent A Cop to Homeland Security. Aew, I am embarrassed and ashamed at the treatment that you received at the hands of an obvious bully with a little bit of power and very little intelligence. - New Crusader Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:15:00 +0100