Translation:
Glory to god! We will defeat the great satan with our new secret weapon - the roast beef sandwich!
I had my backpack searched on the T for the first time today. The guy just brushed past about 30 women and guys merely glancing into their bags, but stopped and had a REALLY thorough search of mine (Was it the Don't Panic Button? Maybe the UUSC one? Or my scruffy beard?).
He went leafing through my books and papers, being sure to peel back all the layers so he could see every inch of the backpack's inner surface.
I had forgotten to open the inner pocket which held my lunch - a roast beef sandwich and two bottles of root beer (Oh, and a cookie. Allah Ak Bahr! Mustn't forget the divine explosive cookie!).
"What's in there?"
"My lunch.."
"What's IN it?"
<puzzled> "A roast beef sandwich on Italian bread with lettuce, tomatoes, and light mayo."
I could tell the guy was getting annoyed, and being a bit slow (I was still not entirely awake yet :) I finally got the hint that the guy wanted me to open the flap. I was late for work, I did NOT need this hassle, so I complied.
"Let me see it. Pull it out"
"Which? The sandwich?"
"Whatever's in the bag."
"Umm. OK. It's just a roast beef sandwich" <I pull it out, unwrap it and show him this fine specimen of a roast beef club :)
"OK I guess that's fine" and he FINALLY wanders on.
I may be over reacting here but I found the whole episode humiliating. It's like I'm being punished because I have no other means of transit than the T so I have no way to avoid their particularly pernicious violations of my right to privacy. I'm a card carrying registered voter and a citizen of the United Stated of America. This is NOT East Germany people, so I say again, WHAT THE FUCK?
I'm trying very hard not to become disillusioned and cynical to an unwarranted extreme but they're making it harder and harder these days.
[ Ed: Apologies to bookly, whose great response got nuked when I accidentally hit Delete rather than Post while correcting an error. Not my day! :) ]
| | A Bull in the China Shop of Life (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2){kind=small} feoh) wrote, |
- Mood:
pissed off
July 29 2004, 13:56:32 UTC 7 years ago
if you are asked to allow a search, you can refuse, but they will ask you to leave the premises. if you are searched, please contact the national lawyers guild's massachusetts chapter and the ACLU of massachusetts. they would very much like to keep track of this bullshit.
NLG of massachusetts: nlgmass@igc.org, or 617/723-4330 (their DNC hotline)
ACLU massachusetts "if you are searched" form
http://www.aclu-mass.org/mbta/search_fo
July 29 2004, 14:10:21 UTC 7 years ago
There, don't you feel better? It must have just been a bad dream.
(For the benefit of those who do not know me, especially given the nature of electronic media in general and lj in particular, I feel obliged to state that the preceding was meant as sarcasm.)
Dude, that sucks. Extremely sorry to hear it.
July 29 2004, 14:20:02 UTC 7 years ago
If you'll excuse me they're ringing the bell, I think it's time for my next thorazine shot now!
July 29 2004, 14:17:59 UTC 7 years ago
(Where'd you get the Arabic translation? Arabic is written right to left, incidentally, but I guess browsers can't really deal with that.)
July 29 2004, 14:32:21 UTC 7 years ago
I am actually a small part Lebanese, from what little we know of my biological parents (By the way, I'm adopted :)
I guess part of what struck me about the whole thing was the difference in treatment. He just whisked past a TON of girls, making brief flirty comments to the good looking ones but turned VERY thorough with me and one other guy on the train.
It makes me wonder what ARE the criteria for a more thorough search? Are there any at all really?
It all just strikes me as very Un-American.
July 29 2004, 14:46:47 UTC 7 years ago
Seriously, check out the ACLU Mass web site and fill out the form about being searched. This sounds like exactly the kind of abuse that the ACLU is looking for, to take to the SJC or the SCOTUS.
July 29 2004, 14:37:06 UTC 7 years ago
I got the Arab translator from:
http://www.1-800-translate.com/serv
Just googling on " to english translator" usually wins :)
July 30 2004, 00:02:27 UTC 7 years ago
You know, like some sort of law against, say, unlawful searches.
Why didn't anyone think of that years ago?
Oh well, so much for America.
--Kynn
July 30 2004, 07:18:27 UTC 7 years ago
I'm not entirely ready to give up just yet. I've filled out the ACLU forms and plan to in fact JOIN the ACLU and see what I can do about this.
If I should ever have children I don't want them to grow up in a country where this is the norm.
July 30 2004, 05:51:28 UTC 7 years ago
July 31 2004, 13:05:36 UTC 7 years ago
That annoys me even more
... than speed bumps, which also seem to be an attempt to enforce kindergarten style punishment on everyone because of one (alleged) bad apple.Maybe I should post the rant I had written about "security" in our nation's capitol. Another story concerning harrassing the many for zero security gain. Like the Patriot Act. Or the DMCA. Or the DVD CCA. Sorry, friend, you are but one in a long line of innocent people made to suffer because G. W. Bush and his cronies are total weenies and patsies for special interest groups that (yes!) *profit* from this nonsense!
Think about it, if nobody was making money on this, it wouldn't happen.
Would it?
July 31 2004, 14:21:53 UTC 7 years ago
No surprises there. I think Moore summarized big chunks of it very nicely in F/911 but the roots of it stretch back to teh Regan era. Read _Liberty Under Siege: American Politics 1976-1988_ by Walter Karp for the full scoop.