Thank you

Yes, thank you, my dear security/customs or whatever officer in Fort
Lauderdale airport.

You are in uniform, although you seem rather too fat to be able to protect
efficiently your country from those awful foreigners (all foreigners are
probably terrorists...anyway they're foreigners).
After all those security checks where you have to allow body searches in
front of everyone, have your hand bagage opened in public, OK OK its Sept
11th, if we want to enter your magnificent country we have to go thru all
that, it's OK !
BUT when that fat blob spots you standing behind him (in the waiting
area)after 20 minutes because your wife is being searched in another queue
and tells you standing behind him is making him nervous, you think either
you're very bad looking (or maybe it's your breath) or maybe that uniformes
hero isn(t so brave as he wants to seem.
You try a meek answer (I wasn't going to say I'm sorry!!) and he sends you
very sternly standing at the end of a corridor where you cannot see what's
happening to your wife...

....of course you're supposed to understand what he's saying in the only
language he thinks he knows and anyway if you don't do what he says (aye aye
sir !) you know what you risk : the plane leaves while you're standing in
another queue...

This is abuse of power and americans should be aware that tourism money is
good for them, being (at least) polite towards tourists is a MINIMUM and
11/09 is not an excuse for all this.
If I dont feel welcome I'll start looking elsewhere, even in former
communist East Germany during the usual 3 hour search I have been better
treated.

Happily americans are very friendly people when they're not in uniform.

I wonder where exactly I could complain, even if it doesn't seem sooo
important, I hate so much that kind of attitude...

Hey complain right here. We'll take care of it right away, start by
arresting all the usual suspects.


"Runge" wrote in message
...
Yes, thank you, my dear security/customs or whatever officer in Fort
Lauderdale airport.

You are in uniform, although you seem rather too fat to be able to protect
efficiently your country from those awful foreigners (all foreigners are
probably terrorists...anyway they're foreigners).
After all those security checks where you have to allow body searches in
front of everyone, have your hand bagage opened in public, OK OK its Sept
11th, if we want to enter your magnificent country we have to go thru all
that, it's OK !
BUT when that fat blob spots you standing behind him (in the waiting
area)after 20 minutes because your wife is being searched in another queue
and tells you standing behind him is making him nervous, you think either
you're very bad looking (or maybe it's your breath) or maybe that
uniformes
hero isn(t so brave as he wants to seem.
You try a meek answer (I wasn't going to say I'm sorry!!) and he sends you
very sternly standing at the end of a corridor where you cannot see what's
happening to your wife...

...of course you're supposed to understand what he's saying in the only
language he thinks he knows and anyway if you don't do what he says (aye
aye
sir !) you know what you risk : the plane leaves while you're standing in
another queue...

This is abuse of power and americans should be aware that tourism money is
good for them, being (at least) polite towards tourists is a MINIMUM and
11/09 is not an excuse for all this.
If I dont feel welcome I'll start looking elsewhere, even in former
communist East Germany during the usual 3 hour search I have been better
treated.

Happily americans are very friendly people when they're not in uniform.

I wonder where exactly I could complain, even if it doesn't seem sooo
important, I hate so much that kind of attitude...

Hey complain right here. We'll take care of it right away, start by
arresting all the usual suspects.


"Runge" wrote in message
...
Yes, thank you, my dear security/customs or whatever officer in Fort
Lauderdale airport.

You are in uniform, although you seem rather too fat to be able to protect
efficiently your country from those awful foreigners (all foreigners are
probably terrorists...anyway they're foreigners).
After all those security checks where you have to allow body searches in
front of everyone, have your hand bagage opened in public, OK OK its Sept
11th, if we want to enter your magnificent country we have to go thru all
that, it's OK !
BUT when that fat blob spots you standing behind him (in the waiting
area)after 20 minutes because your wife is being searched in another queue
and tells you standing behind him is making him nervous, you think either
you're very bad looking (or maybe it's your breath) or maybe that
uniformes
hero isn(t so brave as he wants to seem.
You try a meek answer (I wasn't going to say I'm sorry!!) and he sends you
very sternly standing at the end of a corridor where you cannot see what's
happening to your wife...

...of course you're supposed to understand what he's saying in the only
language he thinks he knows and anyway if you don't do what he says (aye
aye
sir !) you know what you risk : the plane leaves while you're standing in
another queue...

This is abuse of power and americans should be aware that tourism money is
good for them, being (at least) polite towards tourists is a MINIMUM and
11/09 is not an excuse for all this.
If I dont feel welcome I'll start looking elsewhere, even in former
communist East Germany during the usual 3 hour search I have been better
treated.

Happily americans are very friendly people when they're not in uniform.

I wonder where exactly I could complain, even if it doesn't seem sooo
important, I hate so much that kind of attitude...

Hey complain right here. We'll take care of it right away, start by
arresting all the usual suspects.


"Runge" wrote in message
...
Yes, thank you, my dear security/customs or whatever officer in Fort
Lauderdale airport.

You are in uniform, although you seem rather too fat to be able to protect
efficiently your country from those awful foreigners (all foreigners are
probably terrorists...anyway they're foreigners).
After all those security checks where you have to allow body searches in
front of everyone, have your hand bagage opened in public, OK OK its Sept
11th, if we want to enter your magnificent country we have to go thru all
that, it's OK !
BUT when that fat blob spots you standing behind him (in the waiting
area)after 20 minutes because your wife is being searched in another queue
and tells you standing behind him is making him nervous, you think either
you're very bad looking (or maybe it's your breath) or maybe that
uniformes
hero isn(t so brave as he wants to seem.
You try a meek answer (I wasn't going to say I'm sorry!!) and he sends you
very sternly standing at the end of a corridor where you cannot see what's
happening to your wife...

...of course you're supposed to understand what he's saying in the only
language he thinks he knows and anyway if you don't do what he says (aye
aye
sir !) you know what you risk : the plane leaves while you're standing in
another queue...

This is abuse of power and americans should be aware that tourism money is
good for them, being (at least) polite towards tourists is a MINIMUM and
11/09 is not an excuse for all this.
If I dont feel welcome I'll start looking elsewhere, even in former
communist East Germany during the usual 3 hour search I have been better
treated.

Happily americans are very friendly people when they're not in uniform.

I wonder where exactly I could complain, even if it doesn't seem sooo
important, I hate so much that kind of attitude...

Hey complain right here. We'll take care of it right away, start by
arresting all the usual suspects.


"Runge" wrote in message
...
Yes, thank you, my dear security/customs or whatever officer in Fort
Lauderdale airport.

You are in uniform, although you seem rather too fat to be able to protect
efficiently your country from those awful foreigners (all foreigners are
probably terrorists...anyway they're foreigners).
After all those security checks where you have to allow body searches in
front of everyone, have your hand bagage opened in public, OK OK its Sept
11th, if we want to enter your magnificent country we have to go thru all
that, it's OK !
BUT when that fat blob spots you standing behind him (in the waiting
area)after 20 minutes because your wife is being searched in another queue
and tells you standing behind him is making him nervous, you think either
you're very bad looking (or maybe it's your breath) or maybe that
uniformes
hero isn(t so brave as he wants to seem.
You try a meek answer (I wasn't going to say I'm sorry!!) and he sends you
very sternly standing at the end of a corridor where you cannot see what's
happening to your wife...

...of course you're supposed to understand what he's saying in the only
language he thinks he knows and anyway if you don't do what he says (aye
aye
sir !) you know what you risk : the plane leaves while you're standing in
another queue...

This is abuse of power and americans should be aware that tourism money is
good for them, being (at least) polite towards tourists is a MINIMUM and
11/09 is not an excuse for all this.
If I dont feel welcome I'll start looking elsewhere, even in former
communist East Germany during the usual 3 hour search I have been better
treated.

Happily americans are very friendly people when they're not in uniform.

I wonder where exactly I could complain, even if it doesn't seem sooo
important, I hate so much that kind of attitude...

"Runge" wrote in message
...

Yes, thank you, my dear security/customs or whatever officer
in Fort Lauderdale airport.

complaint snipped

I wonder where exactly I could complain, even if it doesn't
seem sooo important, I hate so much that kind of attitude...

First, you would need to figure out whether it was a security guard or a
customs officer in order to file a complaint, because these two report to
completely different supervisors.

Either way, my suspicion is that even if you were to complain, you would be
told that the person was doing their job.

Typically North American immigration/customs areas are
no-cellphone/no-camera zones because the powers that be don't want people to
collect information and study the way the area is run and find loopholes in
the system. Having someone watch the area for twenty minutes would probably
be considered equally dangerous.

Richard

"Runge" wrote in message
...

Yes, thank you, my dear security/customs or whatever officer
in Fort Lauderdale airport.

complaint snipped

I wonder where exactly I could complain, even if it doesn't
seem sooo important, I hate so much that kind of attitude...

First, you would need to figure out whether it was a security guard or a
customs officer in order to file a complaint, because these two report to
completely different supervisors.

Either way, my suspicion is that even if you were to complain, you would be
told that the person was doing their job.

Typically North American immigration/customs areas are
no-cellphone/no-camera zones because the powers that be don't want people to
collect information and study the way the area is run and find loopholes in
the system. Having someone watch the area for twenty minutes would probably
be considered equally dangerous.

Richard

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 20:22:26 -0400, "Richard" wrote:

Typically North American immigration/customs areas are
no-cellphone/no-camera zones because the powers that be don't want people to
collect information and study the way the area is run and find loopholes in
the system. Having someone watch the area for twenty minutes would probably
be considered equally dangerous.

I know that the airports I've used in North America don't allow people
to linger in the immigration/customs area, and that this prohibition
predates the increased security measures of recent years.

In Newark airport, for instance, there has always been a guard who
walks back and forth telling people to move on to the waiting area
that is a bit further away instead of waiting for friends and
relatives near the customs area.
--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 20:22:26 -0400, "Richard" wrote:

Typically North American immigration/customs areas are
no-cellphone/no-camera zones because the powers that be don't want people to
collect information and study the way the area is run and find loopholes in
the system. Having someone watch the area for twenty minutes would probably
be considered equally dangerous.

I know that the airports I've used in North America don't allow people
to linger in the immigration/customs area, and that this prohibition
predates the increased security measures of recent years.

In Newark airport, for instance, there has always been a guard who
walks back and forth telling people to move on to the waiting area
that is a bit further away instead of waiting for friends and
relatives near the customs area.
--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.