Comment by tachion
10 years ago
Not that I dont feel sorry for the author of the story, since this is terrible experience, no matter who experiences it, but as an American, a citizen of a country that has one of most restrictive and humiliating border procedures around the civilized world (try landing with valid visa on JFK as non American human being...) complaining at this sounds - well, odd.
Better to keep quiet and pretend it didn't happen because other countries do the same thing?
She can't talk about her experience with USA treatment of non-citizens because she didn't experience it. Though she did call it out in the article: And it goes both ways: a colleague I immensely respect will no longer speak or hold workshops in the USA because he was denied entry at our border in a similar process.
I've not said OP should be quiet, nor it was my intention to imply so. I simply felt strange to read complaints about something, that the OP's country excels at. Shall it be connected with some awareness about that fact (much more than the mere line you're quoting) it wouldn't feel odd to me.
Not everyone feels personally responsible for the actions of the country they happen to be born in.
They should because they decide the country's actions through their votes. For a democracy like the US or UK, at least.
I have heard a lot of anecdotal stories that UK border guards are pretty fucking terrible.
Also, although I've never been detained or turned away, I can say that every time I've been to the UK, the border guards and security agents have uniformly been very, very rude.
Why do you assume the US is worse than the UK? Do you have a source?