It's such a shame you had such an experience at the Pt. Huron border crossing. And I agree, how ridiculous to impose such direct orders regarding cell phones 45 minutes later. All your comments are "right on"......

Our experience ... yes my hubby and I traveled all over the US and Canada when we were in the trucking business. Our first crossing was at Champlain and we had a long wait then too and communications somehow just didn't click. It was a long trip, we had picked up a Rolls Royce jet engine at Chicago O'Hare, Illinois and were in Yuma, AZ nearly to our destination and were emailed (via qualicom) to turn around and take the engine to Lachenaie (near Montreal), Quebec. After almost 5000 miles we had to wait .... but this had nothing to do with security. Part of the problem though was our own inexperience at border crossings being our first trip... others that followed were much easier. Always, if we had a problem though, it was on the US side, not Canada. Windsor is rude all others were fine. Trips to the Toronto area were rather frequent and later most of our Canadian crossings were at Coutts, Alberta with Calgary and Edmonton areas being the destination. I always enjoyed our trips to Canada and most were without complications except I don't speak French and Quebec was at times a challenge.

But your comment regarding cell phones reminded me of an incident that really shook me. Our destination was Newark IAH, NJ and we were to deliver to Continental airlines Tuesday night on the day of 9/11. Needless to say I didn't want to go anywhere near the towers or New York whatsoever. But, we were instructed to continue to our destination but stop at the PA/NJ state line at a truck stop pending delivery clearance. I was expecting the whole state of New York to blow up and we were too darn close. Although we had already seen the television reports, nothing prepared me for the vision I was about to see as we drove down I-78 and topped the last hill on the freeway in full direct view. I gasped watching the towers still burning. When we arrived at Newark and after waiting about an hour for clearance we were instructed all the airports were again shut down completely and we could not deliver. So now we are stuck at a turnpike plaza ... until Friday when we finally get clearance to deliver. Staged at the gate waiting for the escort, I am at the security booth talking to Continental when I don't recall how many jeeps and uhauls in full camouflage escorting a limo with security guards all around. I am instructed to stand by while "el presidente" and his crew are complete passing through the gate. I am walking back to the truck with my cell phone in hand and what do I see "all arms ready to fire" ...........at me, ohhhh please do I look like a threat!!! But it was the cell phone I was carrying I suppose. I smiled, but received nothing but hard stares and I felt like I was stripped of all my rights and my life may have been cut short had I made any move that didn't suit these "mighty big men" ............ That was scary!

"His message was two-fold: be a good citizen, stay in line and shut up, and implant fear that Middle Eastern people are a threat."

This is the way the Marine Corps is. The idea is that in order to move forward in the ranks you must be a yes man, a force of intimidation, a bully, a tyrant. There are good hearted people who ascend the ranks, but in my experience they were few. And they too had issues with the spirit of the Corps. I talked with many Marines who were depressed and unhappy. The Corp is, of the four branches, the one with the lowest reenlistment rate, the highest attrition rate, the highest divorce rate, and the highest suicide rate. The movie "Jar Head" depicts the Marine Corps accurately. Their MO is fear based.

Once we are afraid to give voice to our understanding, our ideas, our pains and confusions, then we are separated from ourselves and others. Without unity we can be controlled. There is no true unity in the Marine Corps, that is their goal. It is all a facade of unity that is engineered through fear and belittlement. My four years in the Corps were like dog years--I aged 28. It is only fear that allows a soldier to go to war against fellow men, fear and ignorance. Some knuckle heads want to kill because they are dense, but the majority of soldiers go because they are afraid that if they don't they will be made example of and will be bereft of all support.

The documentaries: "Why We Fight" "The Ground Truth" and "The United States Versus John Lenon" all touch upon these tactics of division. One of my best friends in the Corps decided to do a second enlistment. He was one of the most carefree people I knew. He was sent to Kuwait for nine months. He told me that after a month he was praying for a scud missle to land in his fighting hole. He wanted to die. When he made it back to the US he went UA (unauthorized absence), and came back 28 days later to avoid going to jail. He drop kicked his commander's computer and demanded to be set free from his contract. I was proud of his courage and so were his troops. They said that they wish they had his balls. I wish I had them too. There were many times that I wanted to speak but didn't. There were also times that I faced my fears. There were consequences for doing so.

One thing that I noticed quickly is that happiness is scorned. You are not allowed to display public affection. You cannot, according to code, kiss your wife in public, and if I remember correctly you are not allowed to hold hands or hug. They even tell you that you are only allowed to make love in the missionary position. When a Marine out of desperation uses a drug in order to drown his pain, he is treated like a dog. My wife's best friend has been with her husband for 13 years. He is a Major in the Corps. He just spent a year in Iraq. He never believed in divorce, he was opposed to it. They have two children together. He came back a few months ago and asked for a divorce. He was put on suicide watch as well. He is a strong and intelligent man. He speaks three languages fluently. He is also kind hearted, but his time in Iraq changed him.

The customs official may be less to blame for his behavior than the system that he represents. That's not an attempt to pardon him, but to some extend everyone who serves the system is infected by it. You can even be rewarded for being extra ugly.

Another wonderful documentary is "Out Foxed." It reveals the totally biased reporting and motives behind the Fox News Network.

Johannes, I'm glad, very glad, that you made it through to Indiana. I will not forget it. I've been telling everyone how awesome your performance was and saying that they must come with me to another one. My sister also loves your music. She said she wishes she would have come.

How can one justify this kind of treatment? Being herded like cattle and threatened is obscene! Being manipulated is a violation of your human rights. You are so right on about distractions such as TV and Newspapers. That's why I don't watch TV or read the paper. All of it a smokescreen for what's really going on. Remember George Orwell and his classic novel 1984?  It is the story of the life of the intellectual Winston Smith, his job in the Ministry of Truth, and his degradation by the totalitarian government of Oceania, the country in which he lives.  Nuff said, but only in America.   As Sprout mentioned about Hitler that was the first thought that came to mind.  Anyway, glad to hear your trip back was much better and Welcome Back! 

Oh dear Sevara ~ This kind of story really gets to me and really makes me wonder sometimes how these decisions are made regarding who gets to pass through the borders without question ... and who is detained and extremely inconvenienced in the name of security ~

I understand the need for security across our borders but I have seen once too many a time ... border procedures that didn't quite make sense to me.....I remember once I was at the Washington State - Canadian border and there was a very large pleasure boat in front of me hooked up to a truck - While the border guards were inspecting certain cars and holding up the line in front of us....I thought to myself that they will take a long time searching that big yacht - but no! They waved the truck and yacht through without any questions!

And I have heard stories from friends who were just in regular passenger cars that felt they were treated rudely and orders barked at them by the border guards - one can only speculate for what underlying reasons...

Security at the border is one thing - but abusive treatment of law abiding citizens should not be the price ~

Hey Seva:
I hope the rest of your trip made up for the absurdity of that experience. Let me ask you this; what was the $200.00 for? Apparently, it was not for processing. So what exactly were you robbed of 200 smackers for? On the topic of fabricated threats of terrorism, it is no different than intentionally placing someone in a dangerous situation for the sole purpose of appearing the hero, the authority , the Saviour even. The border officer's comments were racist and I don't think any other word describes them clearly enough. So here is a person supposedly in a position of authority and honour uttering ghastly words of intolerance and assumption. Are we not creeping dangerously close to the generalizations made by Hitler in his attempt to turn a whole nation upside down with irrational fear and prejudice? or the deadly assumptions made by an authoritarian government at Tianaman Square? How was the border crossing on the way back into our fair country?

~a-sprout