On Tour In America & It's A Police State. No Doubt About It.

reply to post by dalan.


I'd say the US is maybe a couple of goose steps from being a police state.
Your police seem to do more in the vein of beating the rights out of people than
actually enforcing the law and protecting their rights.

You have torture facilities for those who are deemed terrorists.
Your president can kill anyone he pleases without so much as a peep
from the senate or the public

No fear no reprisals for obama! death from above drone terror !

the CIA still use rendition despite america signing the non torture treaty from the UN in 1994

your government screens , all calls, and internet in the name of your freedom.

I would say your getting worse, the UK is pretty bad but we are trying to stop it too !

Few month ago I went to India. Standard security check at Prague airport, then we got bottle of whiskie at duty free shop - as we were traveling of Schengen space it was sealed in plastic bag. Staff at shop asked as for our travel itinerary to see where and by which airline we travel. Thanks to some corporate bastardness was Delta airlines masked as KLM. So we went to Amsterdam, we were at transfer and did not expect any other security troubles. BUT it was Delta airlines ... some retarded bastard asked as for reasons why we are traveling to India, were we will stay there and so on. Then we were forced to go through full body scanner. Staff there tried to be nice (I think it was Dutch contractor) but costumers response was not positive - almost everybody was disappointed by extra security check: WE WERE AT TRANSFER space so WHY this extra check? Our bottle of whiskey was stolen and never refunded as promised by staff at checkpoint.
And this was flight from Europe to India ... just by some US bullcrap company (namely Delta airlines ... but same rules probably are set for all US companies).
Result? I'll never ever travel with US company again. I'll rather die in terrorist attack than to be searched on every step I do.
By the way searches are farce. If I want to bring the bomb in to the plane, I'll use my notebook battery. In fact I can develop 5 ways how to get bomb on to the plane. Those searches are just pro forma and never ever will stop dedicated attacker - maybe few losers but NO real man, real threat.
I'll not sell my freedom for FALSE sense of security. Period.

To be honest situation is going from bad to unbearable everywhere - US is our beacon in this respect.

reply to post by MRuss


The people with the answers make it sound so easy don't they? Just move to another country. After all, theres several countries nowadays especially that just love Americans and would welcome any into their country with open arms right? Same with jobs. Just find another, jobs are all over the place and easy to get also right? So just find you another one, simple easy solutions.

I spent almost 3 years living and working in China. I know what a police state looks like.

This ain't it.

Hm I was in USA in 90's and it wasn't like that.

but I have a nice parallel for you

Living in communist police state we had something called "outer enemy". Police and secret services could do anything if they thought you were one.
"outer enemy" will attack when you don't think, "outer enemy" will corrupt the state, "outer enemy" makes you watch for everything and everybody as suspect, "outer enemy" will destroy the state, "outer enemy" never sleeps, "outer enemy" will strike be sure, "outer enemy" is more evil than evil.....
you must fear "outer enemy", police is always right because of "outer enemy", fear, fear, fear.

And by that fear propaganda communists had power for toooo long. We overthrew them and found that "outer enemy" never even existed.

Now instead of "outer enemy" put "terrorists" and see if it is like that.
If it is - hmh- Welcome - old communist tricks came to you

Every tyrany begins with fear

To everyone living in America,

You are all about to see what a police state looks like - up close and personal.

We are in the opening stages of its emergence right now.

This is how one begins ...

"Security" is the word that enslaves, limits and binds ...

Padded cells are very safe and secure ... if you are in a straight jacket you can't even hurt yourself.

Liberty and Security are like the two sides of a set of scales.

I was reading the responses to this thread and Honestly guys? honestly?

Honestly, my eyes teared up. I'm very disappointed in some of you.

reply to post by nightstalker78

.It's not that big of a deal to me

It seems you are one of those who have squandered Liberty in exchange for a pretense of security. You really should read the Constitution. Your rights are something YOU must defend.

Originally posted by LifeIsPeculiar
Your rights are something YOU must defend.

Absolutely. Once freedoms slip away they don't come back. Governments don't just give their power back voluntarily.

Consider how we came to have the freedoms we have now ... if they are lost how would we get them back?

Consider that the Congress, the President, and their puppet masters are constantly working to increase the power of government and limit your freedom.

An apathetic society's freedom cannot survive the endless assault on it ...

This thread really brought out the Government drones. They did a Gov Swarm all over it. That indicates that they do not want you to think along these lines of thought.

Do not think about America becoming a Police State, It upsets the Government!

Lol

P

should have gone to the middle of nowhere America.

The terrorist have won, Americans live in a constant state of fear and suspicion.
I weep for what America has become.

reply to post by MRuss


Your sarcasm about the bull is just stupid, vandalism takes place all over the world and it is even more irritating than ur rant. People don't care about what's not theirs, and you see it everywhere. People rent houses, flats and hotel rooms and just don't care anymore.

The best part about this general ats rant is that IF something happened to your american landmarks then there will be hindreds of post about how mot enough was done to prevent it. Just be grateful u get to tour so much, I mean what a job!!

Your so privileged. Imagine living in syria. Compare your "horrible police state" to syria.

Umm I travel a lot and I am not saying this is not happening but...

How did you go through six scanners? If you traveled to 6 airports within the USA you would still only go through 1 at your starting airport.

LOL @the OP


Huh? it take hours does it?? well of course it does.. its abusy tourist attraction, in a city with over what 10 million people? its EXACTLY the same anywhere else in the western world,


Its not a policed state at all, its EXACTLY the same as any other western world city, if you don't like the police policing the streets or security checks or the safty measures introduced to keep you safe then i'm afraid your are living in the wrong century, or part of the world perhaps, what are you really that paranoid that you think the ARE WATCHING YOU? what are you so up set about? are you upset you couldn't mug someone? or are you upset you're safe? i think this is just a massive case of being abit paranoid, you really think they have that many people watching these cams that they some how have enough employs to watch every single person who walks past one? GET A GRIP!!! all the security is for your own safty, so when someone does decide to smashg you over the head they can then go back and look at the tape and CATCH THEM!,

I for one appreciate all the security in my home city, it is in place to prevent crime & yobs, and was here long before the terrorist threat, which has only increased security at airports/ports,

Don't be so anti civilization

Originally posted by shadoseer
reply to post by pshea38

 

I am new to ATS and am now wondering what is the average age of members here? This country changed drastically after 9/11, far more than after WWII and others where far more people died. We lost many of our rights with the advent of the Patriot Act. There are cameras everywhere, recording every move. You can be located via your cel phone even if it is off, your computer remotely searched. Police drive by houses using devices to check if excessive heat is radiating from a potential grow room. There are police departments with APCs and some of our cities have drones flying above them. We do not have free speech and now if one wants to protest anything often permits must be pulled or one must stay in the 'free speech zone' far away from media. Our media is corporate owned and controlled which is why CNN and others are losing viewers big time and people are turning to alternative sites to get the 'real news'. In most states if you have a certain weed rowing in your yard your could be looking at time in prison even though that plant has caused zero deaths and even the govt has taken a patent on some of it's healing qualities while claiming it has no medicinal value. We are living in an Orwellian world and to speak up or act out is to risk the wrath of big brother crashing down.
If a terrorist group wanted to take out a few thousand people it could be done with relative ease regardless of the so called security in place. Forgive me for not going into detail on that.
It seems many here have no memory of what it was like 30or 40 years ago when one could openly protest anything and the biggest worry would be the reaction of other citizens with opposing views, not getting locked up sometimes for weeks.Back then children went to schools hat did not have cameras taping their every move, but today such is commonplace so when everything is recorded (like in many major cities) people think little of it. Just about everyone I know has at least 1 gun and shots are heard in my suburban neighbourhood several days a week. No big deal anymore. We can say and do as we like as long as it fits into the agenda of whomever is in control at the moment. The elderly, handicapped and small children are groped at airports or anyone that doesn't want to be exposed to the scanners. Seriously, some crazy stuff has been found on board planes even with all of this security. All of this because of one attack that killed less than 5k people.
Now, how many countries does the US have bases in? How many countries have we invaded in order to bring them the gift of democracy at the cost of tens of thousands of lives? How many women and children were killed by mistake or just simply because they were there? How many countries have we imposed our will upon some more forcefully than others? How would any of you feel if the tide was turned and another country, say China, came here and bombed the snot out of us killing innocent people, because there was some natural resource they wanted to get their hands on? We spend more then most of the rest of the world combined on our military, imprison a larger percentage of our people than China and have a lower standard of living than many others yet we like to say we are world leaders???
Maybe it's time the blinders come off and we look at how things really are rather than seeing only some bits through the lens of the American Dream which vanished long ago. Maybe calling it a police state is too strong for some, do you prefer Animal Farm? We have become a living Orwellian novel. So sad,

Nice rant shadoseer. And once you realise that the catalyst to these dramatic changes
was itself a contrived/staged/faked (including most of the 3k victims) extravaganza, then
the reality pill becomes very bitter indeed. www.cluesforum.info.

But all may not be lost. There is some hope, I believe.
The darkest hour is always just before the dawn.

best regards

pshea.

Originally posted by Domo1
Do you guys have any thoughts on what actually needs to change, or are you just interested in complaining? What do you propose we do, take out all checkpoints?

I would at least appreciate it if the government were a little more honest. As in, if anyone asked the cop by the Wall Street bull what he was doing there, he'd probably cite terrorism as an excuse; when it is blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain, that Occupy Wall Street were the reason.

They claim far too much on the basis of "terrorism," when what they really want is the terrorism excuse to be available for obstructing literally anybody they don't like.

I will also agree with an earlier poster, that it is sickening that the average American on here will leap to the government's defense, if they feel that said government is making them "safer."

Far too many of you are complete cowards. This isn't all of you, no; but a disturbingly large number of you would apparently accept close to being locked in your homes, if it meant that you didn't have to worry about the terrorists coming to get you. Do you call yourselves adults?

What is the definition of the government crossing the line? What will the government need to do, before you will object to it? Can it literally do anything, short of outright killing you, before you will stop speaking purely in its' defense?

Originally posted by TritonTaranis
LOL @the OP


Huh? it take hours does it?? well of course it does.. its abusy tourist attraction, in a city with over what 10 million people? its EXACTLY the same anywhere else in the western world,

Yeah he has no experience with which to compare before to now ...

He also cannot tell the difference between a busy tourist attraction before to a busy tourist attraction with tons of security there and what kind of difference that makes in how long it takes to get in ...

Obviously he can't possibly know what he is talking about since he has been a tour guide for a long time and going to these places all the time ...

/sarcasm

think much? ... or ... troll a lot?

Originally posted by MRuss
I'm a tour director.

I'm in DC, and New York and Boston a lot, and I do tours in Canada and the rest of the world, too. The past two weeks I've been on the road non-stop, primarily in New York and DC.

I've spent a majority of the time going through security checkpoints. At every attraction our bags are checked, we go through body scanners, we take off our shoes, our coats. You know the drill. Today alone I've been through six scanners. There are policemen everywhere. Eleven years after 9/11, I'm led to believe that terrorists are going to attack the bull on Wall Street?

Today we were touring Wall Street and you can't even walk up to the bull anymore and rub him for good luck. It's cordoned off and a policeman sits there all day in his police car two feet away to make sure no one hops the fence and touches the bull. Seriously? Even the bull----? Has someone made a terrorist threat against the bull? We've been walking by that bull on tour for a dozen years, but alas, it's been off limits for months now. It looks ridiculous behind its steel fences, like a bull in a zoo.

DC isn't any better----it's worse... and the truth is, there is no terrorist hiding behind the Jefferson Memorial or the Wall Street bull. TPTB are hoping to make life more difficult, more restricted. All under the guise of terrorism.

It takes hours to get in and see the new 9/11 memorial fountains. It takes hours to see the Statue of Liberty. It takes hours to see the Capitol, hours to see the archives, hours to get through security just about everywhere. It's the new normal. No one questions it. Most people think they are just doing their patriotic duty.

Out on the road so much, I really have a sense of what is happening to this country and how it plays out in everyday life.

So.....I'd love all of the people who are waiting for the aliens or the White Dragons or the Pentagon to come and save us to let me know when this might happen. Because everyday it gets worse and worse out here.

Everyday we look a little less like America and more like Amerika.

I believe the sudden beef up of security in major tourist areas, especially DC and NYC is directly linked to this voting cycle.

Do you think Obama and the democrats want to give more opportunities for people to deface simple icons and only provide more signs to people that civil unrest is reaching epic proportions and the end is neigh?

All it would take is some flash mob to surround the bull and spray paint something about the govt on its behind and it would become a media frenzy. Then the republican candidate would keep showing pictures of it during their montage of pictures depicting the country falling apart once the endless commercials start.