Don't Fly During Ramadan • Hacker News Board

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#241

Post by IanDrake » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

That sucks.

First of all don't speak besides identifying yourself by name. Then the only thing to say is "Am I free to go?". If the answer is no, then ask "Am I being detained?". If no, then ask "Then I'm free to go, yes?".

Back and forth. Personally, upon hearing I'm not being detained, then I'd leave.

Second, you can't be refused medical attention. "I feel nauseous, perhaps because I've been refused water and now I feel faint. I need medical attention".

The more you say, the worse you make it for yourself.

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#242

Post by diminoten » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

Oh man, I would not handle that situation well. I'm quite sure I'd have clammed up as soon as I found out I wasn't making my flight.

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#243

Post by eternalsunshine » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

...and what does this have to do with Ramadan?

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#244

Post by jacquesm » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #176

walls wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think any airports had 'explosive detectors' before 9/11.

Most European airports have had those as long as I can remember (definitely since the mid 90s).

Maybe bomb detectors but the explosive detectors ('puffers') are relatively new as far as I know.

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#245

Post by enraged_camel » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #140

angersock wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've a friend who spent a good deal of time recently in Khazakhstan, and she was very amused by my attempts to express my fears of the United States becoming an authoritarian police state. She laughed and said that no, I did not understand what it was to have secret police following you about and all these other sorts of issues. The distressing thing is that we've been putting so much machinery into place, and gotten…

The distressing thing is that we've been putting so much machinery into place, and gotten the noose so well fitted, that when the bottom drops out we'll only have the briefest of short, sharp shocks before we find ourselves in a terrifyingly efficient machine of oppression. Or you can take the train.

Once you get out of your mom's basement and step out into the real world you may realize that the train is not a realistic option for the majority of the US population.

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#246

Post by chimeracoder » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

Robin_Message wrote: post #87

It really seems like "Flying While Brown" is this century's "Driving While Black". These and similar stories are shocking and demeaning all involved. Since the OP is here, and it wasn't totally clear in the story, I'm just wondering: if and when did you point out you were a Hindu not a Muslim†, and whether doing so and possibly additionally pointing out the historical enmity between those two groups might have helped…

> Since the OP is here, and it wasn't totally clear in the story, I'm just wondering: if and when did you point out you were a Hindu not a Muslim†, and whether doing so and possibly additionally pointing out the historical enmity between those two groups might have helped or hindered.

A few of the officers did noticeably relax their body posture when I told them I was Hindu (just as the man from Homeland Security relaxed when I told him I didn't even speak Hindi).

I didn't point out the historical conflict between the two groups in India. Given how little they seemed to know about Hinduism in general, I suspect that wouldn't have helped, but who knows.

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#247

Post by dsrguru » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #190

jwr wrote: post #73

The land of the free. As I read more and more of those stories I can't help but wonder at how things changed. I am from a formerly-eastern-europe-soviet-bloc country (Poland) and these kinds of oppressive techniques sound very familiar. The haziness of procedures, lack of basic rights, intimidation, no accountability of state officials -- we've seen all that until 1989. At the time, while the communist regime was imp…

I don't think this is that oppressive. He went through security and set off an explosives detector. The cops showed up and asked some questions. Then he left. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the government can't hamfistedly accuse you of a crime. All it says is that they have to charge you or let you go in 24 hours, give you a trial, and punish you in a consistent way. They did that here; they asked some ques…

> I think the correct answer to any question is, "my lawyer will answer that. get me my lawyer."

Hopefully. But their answer to that might contain the word "Guantanamo" and there's a chance, given that you're now an uncooperative brown person, that they're not bluffing.

I'm normally not one to buy arguments that the US is truly on a slippery slope to becoming a police state, but this year has made me seriously rethink that.

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#248

Post by javajosh » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:44 PM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #190

jwr wrote: post #73

The land of the free. As I read more and more of those stories I can't help but wonder at how things changed. I am from a formerly-eastern-europe-soviet-bloc country (Poland) and these kinds of oppressive techniques sound very familiar. The haziness of procedures, lack of basic rights, intimidation, no accountability of state officials -- we've seen all that until 1989. At the time, while the communist regime was imp…

I don't think this is that oppressive. He went through security and set off an explosives detector. The cops showed up and asked some questions. Then he left. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the government can't hamfistedly accuse you of a crime. All it says is that they have to charge you or let you go in 24 hours, give you a trial, and punish you in a consistent way. They did that here; they asked some ques…

I can imagine that the same logic was applied in our colonial period to unwarranted searches and seizures. The Loyalists surely said, "Hey, you just lost the lottery. Sure they came in and stole some things and roughed you up a little, but the bruises heal in a few days and they didn't steal that much. Overall things are pretty good, so deal with it and quit your whining."

This is, of course, evil.

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#249

Post by marssaxman » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:45 PM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #140

angersock wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've a friend who spent a good deal of time recently in Khazakhstan, and she was very amused by my attempts to express my fears of the United States becoming an authoritarian police state. She laughed and said that no, I did not understand what it was to have secret police following you about and all these other sorts of issues. The distressing thing is that we've been putting so much machinery into place, and gotten…

The distressing thing is that we've been putting so much machinery into place, and gotten the noose so well fitted, that when the bottom drops out we'll only have the briefest of short, sharp shocks before we find ourselves in a terrifyingly efficient machine of oppression. Or you can take the train.

You can take the train for now. The TSA is already nosing around trying to insinuate themselves into train travel, and it's hard to see what could stop them if they decided to make a serious push for it.

Re: Don't Fly During Ramadan

#250

Post by coldshot » Thu, Aug 22, 2013, 6:46 PM UTC

atmosx wrote: post #81

I'm European, I think I'll never go to the USA. They are just too aggressive/paranoid with security. Of course, I have no rights there.

Well, you are still kind of lucky. If you come from so-called "developing countries" or middle east don't even think about going to Europe or USA. The attitudes are almost the same besides US having better devices and more officers.