posted on Jun, 3 2011 @ 06:52 AM
Hi everyone, this is just a simple rant on my experience of my trip last week to Las Vegas for my good friends Bachelor party. I had previously lived
in LA for 6 months in 1996 when I was a youngster and had loved my time in the States, the people where great, the food, the nightlife etc I love
America, or should I say I did love America. We flew from Glasgow Airport to Newark to get a connection to sin city and upon landing in Newark I
noticed straight away the difference from European Airports. I am a keen ATS info sponge so was well aware of the TSA and their rep so I had well
warned the younger members of my group not to joke around or say anything out of turn with these cretins as they would ruin there day big time.
Going through the arrivals floors the atmosphere was terrible, people seemed to feel the authoritarian attitude of these goons and it was just a #ty
way to get reacquainted with one of my favorite places on earth. We waited for half an hour for each individual person to get through border control
and when it was my turn I was greeted with a stony faced "Carlos" growling from behind a booth and announcing "PASSPORT" no welcome or hello, he
then shouted and barked instructions at me to put my fingers in to be scanned and repeatedly shook his head saying wrong finger etc. I said to him
"We it would help if you gave me clear instructions instead of acting like a huffy child. Probably my first mistake, he asked me to repeat what I
said, which I did then he let me pass. I knew I had made a mistake however I hate being treated like a child by a glorified security guard.
Low and behold when it came to go through security the scanner went off and I was put in a plexiglass box, a fat black woman shouted to another pale
faced goon "Guy in the box" I got hand swap and full pat down and treated like a piece of #. At the end I told the guy "Your kid must be proud" he
just ignored me and I went through.
We all got a taste of this and when I got back to Glasgow I looked at the American tourists being welcomed to my country with a happy smile and a bit
of chit chat. Long and short of this is none of us are keen to go back to the states. Between the way visitors are treated at the airports and the
prices in the states we have rearranged another trip next year to go to Thailand instead of New York.
I believe that Americans need to speak up to their congressman about this, your country is becoming a police state and the way people are being
treated at the airports must be costing your country hundreds of millions in lost tourism income. I still do have a soft spot in my heart for the
states, but I won’t be rushing back.
P.s Before anyone comes on and says I either brought the treatment on myself or I am soft for letting them turn me off going back to the States put it
this way I was prepared for their treatment and my temper still nearly broke big-time. What about people that aren’t prepared for this. And second
why should I pay a fortune to go on a trip somewhere to be treated like a criminal. I would like your thought.