“Why were you in China?” asked the passport control officer, a woman with the appearance and disposition of a prison matron.
“None of your business,” I said.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
“I’m not going to be interrogated as a pre-condition of re-entering my own country,” I said.
This did not go over well. She asked a series of questions, such as how long I had been in China, whether I was there on personal business or commercial business, etc. I stood silently. She said that her questions were mandated by Congress and that I should complain to Congress instead of refusing to cooperate with her.
She asked me to take one of my small bags off her counter. I complied.
She picked up the phone and told someone I “was refusing to cooperate at all.” This was incorrect. I had presented her with proof of citizenship (a U.S. passport) and had moved the bag when she asked. What I was refusing to do was answer her questions.
A male Customs and Border Protection officer appeared to escort me to “Secondary.” He tried the good cop routine, cajoling me to just answer a few questions so that I could be on my way. I repeated that I refused to be interrogated as a pre-condition of re-entering my own country.
“Am I free to go?” I asked.
“No,” he said.-I Am Detained By The Feds For Not Answering Questions
Monday, September 13, 2010
Blog of the Moment: Knife Tricks
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ReplyDeleteWhat a hero...
ReplyDeleteClearly this asshole had some time on his hands. And he should take it up with the people who actually make the rules, or consider not coming back to such a fascist state if he's so concerned.
"No seriously guys, I went into the bank and they asked for my social security number, and I was like, 'I'm not giving it to you,' and they refused to let me open an account! What gives!?"
People will bitch about the littlest things, so long as the government is doing it and they can scream "oppression" afterwards.
This kind of shit is going to turn us into a nation of "boys who cried wolf." If real tyranny ever shows up, people are going to be so jaded by dumbasses like this. I already assume someone who has a problem with officials brought it on themselves, and that's unfortunate... but people are so fucking hostile and feign victimhood constantly, so it's hard to feel otherwise.
Oh, yes, Ginx, we all bring it on ourselves for just standing up for our human rights instead of passively submitting like good little sheep.
ReplyDeleteHe's the asshole, not the clown-costumed taxpayer parasites!
You must really hate those whiners at the ACLU.
But what's your fucking problem, Ginx? As the post stated, he gave them his passport and otherwise cooperated with them. He just didn't feel like he should have to answer their questions. But I guess to you the right to remain silent should be thrown out the window.
But read the end of the post:
I stood silently.
Visibly frustrated, he turned to a superior, who had been watching, and said that I refused to answer his questions.
“Just inspect his bags,” the senior officer said. “He has a right to remain silent.”
Finally! It took half an hour and five federal officers before one of them acknowledged that I had a right not to answer their questions.
And tyranny doesn't usually come overnight, it's often a gradual process as more and more rights are slowly eroded. That's why people warn others about what's happening, so we won't someday find that it's too late to protest. It's got nothing to do with "crying wolf".
Thank god a few brave people like this guy take a stand. If all of us did, the tyranny could never take hold in the first place.