Border crossing

[schnitzel_bob]

I was in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario a few weeks back. A little context: my cousin's older sister is studying in Montreal, and her brother was going to hitchhike from Winnipeg to Montreal to visit her. I offered to drive him halfway there, to Sault Ste. Marie (I could only drive him halfway cause I couldn't get any more time off work).

So we got to SSM Ontario, checked into a hotel and decided to cross the border into SSM Michigan, to shop and to see what was there.

So we cross the massive bridge connection Canada to the US and get to the border. The border guard asks us some questions (what do you do, where you from, what's in the car, why are you going into the US, etc.). He checks us out and tells us to pull to the inspection bay. I should mention that I was wearing a "I love NY" shirt and an Indiana Jones hat that caught my fancy. I may have looked like a textbook stoner, I don't know.

They bring us upstairs and ask alot of questions about what we're doing. Meanwhile they're raiding the car. One of the questions they asked was "Are you going to hemp fest?" to which I answered "Are we going to the which?", since I didn't have a damned idea what he was talking about.

Finally after about 20 minutes they let us go. We go to Michigan, check shit out, buy some shoes and head back. Going back across the US border, we get pulled over again and searched again for about 10 minutes until someone realizes we were searched going in. Again we were asked about hemp fest.

Then we were searched going back into Canada, though we were standing right there while they looked through the car (Canadian border guards can't search your possesions unless you're there to see it). They ask us if we were searched going into the US, then explain that there's a festival called hemp fest going on in Ontario that weekend, which is probably why we were searched.

My favourite moment, though, was probably when the US guys asked us, as we were driving from Michigan to Ontario where we were coming from. I answered "Sault Ste. Marie", to which he says "SSM Michigan or SSM Ontario?!" Well gee, fuckass, which side of the goddamned border are we on?

The moral of the story is not to be a young guy when crossing the US border. Jesus.

Any other tales of border harassment?

[future man]

Maybe you should cut your hair and shave once in awhile you filthy hippy.

[Yian]

No national border harassment for me, but stat border harassment. About three years ago, I was going to Boston to visit my sister. The flight was departing from Allentown, PA. Allentown airport was the closest airport from Kutztown, where I used to live.

The flight was only going to be 3 hours or so, and the airplane was really small. I think there were only 8 passengers in total. We waited in line as usual while boarding, and when it was finally my turn to show the ticket, the security people looked at each other for a second, then asked me to stepped out of the line and be searched.

So they went through my bags while I took off my shoes and coat. The search took a long time and the pilot got really impatient. Normally, the airplane just take off if you are delayed by the pricks, but this pilot probably thought that 1/8 of the passenger not boarding is really bad, so he sent a stewardess running across the airfield with a tiny umbrella (it was pouring outside) to fetch me.

The loyal airline service lady moved across airstrip's the concrete ground as fast as she could with her tiny legs wrapped around by a miniskirt while her high heels made loud popping noise. She got in and told the security to hurry the fuck up so the security started shoving everything back into the bag while I put my shoes on. Then, I ran to the airplane with the lady. She had only one umbrella and she put it over my head the whole time so by the time we got in she was soaked.

(Side note: a young hot lady in wet cloth was quite an erotic display. She was wearing red bras.)

Afterward, I asked the crew if this happens a lot, and they were brutally honest: Every time they have an Asian or an Arabian person boarding, they always have to go back and fetch the passenger.

[fr23]

I went to Canada for a weekend conference with a friend. We stayed in the sketchiest hotel... no, I take that back. Nothing sketchy, it was downright bad. My friend got pinkeye and we decided it was from the hotel. There was some computer from the 60's in our room, who knows why. And we were told to park in an underground parking garage a couple blocks away, and while we were parking a guy told us it was a bad garage, he was camping there overnight to catch burglars from breaking into cars. So we re-parked on the lit street.

Anyways, the conference was cool and then we tried to drive back over the border into NY. We got stopped, the guy asked where we were going and all that, where we were from originally. "Maine." "California." "Wow, you guys live about as far apart as you can get." Gotta love the intelligent border crossing guys. Then he asked to check our trunk, neither of us have ever been hassled this much. So we sit there and try to figure out why we are being searched and can't figure it out. The guard finishes searching, comes back up, tells us we are good to go and my friend should get his eye looked at. PINKEYE! OF COURSE! We inform mr security my friend has pinkeye and continue on our way.

[Yian]

Sounds like a friendly encounter. He even cared about your friend's eyes.

[Roq]

damn, going from socal to mexico is no problem! And coming back is easy too as long as you are white.

[tisl]

Hah, it's good to hear that Americans are assholes even to Canadians when it comes to letting people into their country. It's not fair if Canadians get special treatment.

[IcedEarth]

Well of course. Americans are just assholes, period.

/obligatory

[Hobbes874]

Afterward, I asked the crew if this happens a lot, and they were brutally honest: Every time they have an Asian or an Arabian person boarding, they always have to go back and fetch the passenger.
Hahaha, being part Asian this is funny. I've never heard of airline security giving extra trouble to people of Asian decent.

Always figured this was the order of the "Oh Shit Dis Fuckers Got a Bomb" list (least to most threatening): White -> Asian -> Mexican -> Black -> Arab -> Hippies like Schnitzel_Bob.


On another note:
Only been to Canada once, traveled there for a couple days with a cycling team I was apart of some years ago. Went across the boarder in a huge white van filled with bikes and bags, was pretty easy going from USA -> Canada. All they looked at was drivers licenses I believe. We only stayed a day or two for fun and "Canada Day", the July 4th for Canucks from what I remember. It was mostly Canadians getting drunk for a whole night where we were. Earlier that day we bought a Canadian flag for the occasion. That was pretty much the extent of our Canada trip.

Well, coming back across the boarder to the USA we got the usual questions. "Where are you coming from?" etc etc. But then he asked "Did you buy anything in Canada?". We told him about the flag....his immediate response was a disgruntled look on his face and a very serious "WHY!?". We said "Ummm....Canada Day?", he paused, looked at the van and let us go with a "Whatever".

Hell yeah, America rules.

[future man]

damn, going from socal to mexico is no problem! And coming back is easy too as long as you are white.

Same at Nogales, Juarez and everywhere I've gone over.

And at the checkpoints in state, "Are you a citizen?", "Yeah", "Cool".

[FATMAN]

well I tried applying for a canadian visit visa down here in Dubai, so I go and hand in my passport and such wait for a few hours and return to collect it. Hold and behold I got rejected seems though I would have went into canada and never leave it or some shit reason like that. Well that was kinda stupid as I had just gotten my US student visa to study at Philly, I was like WTF U GUYS SUCK!
I never did visit canada while I was there =\

[LittleChief]

Negro

[schnitzel_bob]

Maybe you should cut your hair and shave once in awhile you filthy hippy.

Actually, it's funny that you mention that, since I'm currently sporting a mohawk.

Oh, and when we crossed the border, we'd just arrived from driving overnight, so we were all pretty dazed.

[future man]

If you're sporting something like a mohawk you should just expect to get shit from authority figures. Hell, I'd search you if I was in that guys position. I used to have filthy hair down to my ass and wouldn't have been surprised if I got searched.

As shitty as it is you're going to be profiled based on how you look.