Letters to the Editor
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Authoritarian dickwads
I live in Bellingham, Washington-- about fifteen minutes from the B.C. border, and everyone I know has the same fear of getting one of the asshole border guards angry during a crossing.
In a country where the rule of law is respected, law-abiding citizens have no need to fear the police, or any other security apparatus of the state, because we haven't fucking done anything wrong.
But that's not the case in the country I live in today. Everyone knows you'd better not make any jokes, or look at the bastards funny, or be in too good a mood, or whatever else might make them decide to pull you out of line and subject you to several hours of harrassment.
What makes this particularly stupid is the fact that while I am out hiking and backpacking, I cross the border a couple of times each summer on well-established trails about thirty miles outside of town. In other words, our jackass border guards at the crossings aren't doing anything useful, so there's not even any benefit we're getting in exchange for being treated like second-class citizens.