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US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

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Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#161

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #147
bitshiftfaced wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I can see, China, Germany, and USA are the big three. So it's probably pretty important to make it easy for citizens of these countries to get a visa if you care about tourism. Also, there are places in China where it's very hard to get a visa to travel.

China opened up no visa needed for western European and many Asian countries, so…they have the right idea. No one is really interested in catering to the US tourist market right now. It’s not even clear if Americans are welcome in many countries, or if they have to pretend being Canadians again.

> No one is really interested in catering to the US tourist market right now.

I don't think this is true, at least where I live (Ireland). I'm pretty sure that the economy of half the coastal towns would collapse without US tourists.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#162

Post by roxolotl »

msgodel wrote: post #155
text0404 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This person believes in the (white) replacement conspiracy theory and is trying to articulate its tenets without referencing or naming it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Replacement_conspiracy_t...

I'm fine with naming it although I think there are legitimate practical problems beyond just that. Why is it wrong to not want to be made a minority in your own country? Most of the time when that's been done to other people it's been strongly condemned for good reasons. Why when it's done to some of the most productive (and I would argue just) people in history is it considered a good thing? Why is it surprising tha…

Why does race matter at all? Why would you become a minority? We’re defining minority here as racial and that’s totally arbitrary. It’s so arbitrary that if you look at the early 1900s you’ll see that Italians and Irish weren’t considered white and would be considered a minority.

Cultural differences are already massive across the US even amongst long time Americans. If you meet 10th generation Americans in New England, The South, The Midwest, and California their cultural differences are already at the size of a different country. There is no majority that’s being replaced. I know this because I’ve lived in those places and in Europe and Asia. The US has always been a place where cultures mix and change.

I’m sorry that makes you anxious. Harming others isn’t the way to resolve that anxiety though.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#163

Post by msgodel »

awnird wrote: post #159
msgodel wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm fine with naming it although I think there are legitimate practical problems beyond just that. Why is it wrong to not want to be made a minority in your own country? Most of the time when that's been done to other people it's been strongly condemned for good reasons. Why when it's done to some of the most productive (and I would argue just) people in history is it considered a good thing? Why is it surprising tha…

Why would that be a problem? Are minorities treated badly in America?

1) Minorities are going to have a worse experience anywhere just for practical reasons and additionally because of how human socialization naturally works. That's why we're so concerned about how they're treated and constantly do our best to help them.

2) The plurality or majority that replaces us will not be us and will not share our ideas (liberal democracy, market economies are two notable examples) which naturally we're going to prefer to theirs.

3) Globally people have been exceptionally unkind to minorities compared to how we've treated them. If they replicate that behavior here (and when they've been given the opportunity to they have) that absolutely is a problem.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#164

Post by msgodel »

roxolotl wrote: post #162
msgodel wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm fine with naming it although I think there are legitimate practical problems beyond just that. Why is it wrong to not want to be made a minority in your own country? Most of the time when that's been done to other people it's been strongly condemned for good reasons. Why when it's done to some of the most productive (and I would argue just) people in history is it considered a good thing? Why is it surprising tha…

Why does race matter at all? Why would you become a minority? We’re defining minority here as racial and that’s totally arbitrary. It’s so arbitrary that if you look at the early 1900s you’ll see that Italians and Irish weren’t considered white and would be considered a minority. Cultural differences are already massive across the US even amongst long time Americans. If you meet 10th generation Americans in New Engla…

Why does anything matter if you can just define it to not be a problem?

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#165

Post by [deleted] »

msgodel wrote: post #155
text0404 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This person believes in the (white) replacement conspiracy theory and is trying to articulate its tenets without referencing or naming it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Replacement_conspiracy_t...

I'm fine with naming it although I think there are legitimate practical problems beyond just that. Why is it wrong to not want to be made a minority in your own country? Most of the time when that's been done to other people it's been strongly condemned for good reasons. Why when it's done to some of the most productive (and I would argue just) people in history is it considered a good thing? Why is it surprising tha…

[deleted]

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#166

Post by [deleted] »

casenmgreen wrote: post #5

It seems to me one of the methods of control in oppressive States is to have a multitude of rules, which are impractical to actually adhere to, where failure to adhere provides leverage to State - a "justification" for State to then do whatever it is it decides to do with you (such as deportation without due process).

[deleted]

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#167

Post by potato3732842 »

ujkhsjkdhf234 wrote: post #160
potato3732842 wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it speaks volumes to either your reading comprehension or moral character (more likely the latter IMO) that you took my comment which is to the tune of "this is the effect of group A, I blame group B" and then strawman me as blaming group A. My statement as to the scope of group B who I do blame was intentionally vague so as to include the many varieties of people within it.

I'm not taking your comment as you blaming Democrats or Republicans. I'm pointing out that the people who are largely anti-immigration are the ones perpetuating the problem and if people want to really solve the problem, we can solve it. You just have to not get distracted by false narratives.

>I'm pointing out that the people who are largely anti-immigration are the ones perpetuating the problem

You need to separate the politicians from the people. There is always someone willing to say anything to get elected. Of course they never really solve the issues, so long as not solving the issue harms their chances of reelection less than solving it does.

The root cause is the hordes of people who are unable to think several steps ahead, think about then 2nd through Nth consequences of policy and yet still vote, many of them in these comments. Because at the end of the day that's who elects the politicians. And on the other side of the equation are voters who don't actually demand results. You can blame media and whatnot but those are small factors, not the dominating factor of the equation.

>You just have to not get distracted by false narratives

I'm not getting distracted by false narratives. I've witnessed the degradation of my own states safety net services as they became inundated over the past ~5 yr as a result of federal policy. It wasn't like this under Obama or Bush. I'd happily go back to whatever that was.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#168

Post by msgodel »

matwood wrote: post #138
msgodel wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> Without freedom of association people stop socializing when you get a plurality population, you can see this everywhere in the US. What does this mean? Why would people stop socializing? > If the immigrants were a net benefit things like housing would be getting cheaper since we otherwise would have shrinking population. Because of the effect I mentioned the opposite is happening. Of all the issues with housing, yo…

>Help who? Fewer Americans are having kids

Oh so we don't need the help?

>The people already in the US need to be given straightforward paths to be legal.

No? You don't have a right to live somewhere just because you break in and camp there for a few years. If I broke into Mexico that way they'd evict me. Doing anything else is completely insane.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#169

Post by ujkhsjkdhf234 »

potato3732842 wrote: post #167
ujkhsjkdhf234 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not taking your comment as you blaming Democrats or Republicans. I'm pointing out that the people who are largely anti-immigration are the ones perpetuating the problem and if people want to really solve the problem, we can solve it. You just have to not get distracted by false narratives.

>I'm pointing out that the people who are largely anti-immigration are the ones perpetuating the problem You need to separate the politicians from the people. There is always someone willing to say anything to get elected. Of course they never really solve the issues, so long as not solving the issue harms their chances of reelection less than solving it does. The root cause is the hordes of people who are unable to…

> You need to separate the politicians from the people. There is always someone willing to say anything to get elected. Of course they never really solve the issues, so long as not solving the issue harms their chances of reelection less than solving it does.

This is the fault of the people putting them in those positions and what I mean by getting distracted by false narratives. If you keep voting for the people who fail to solve the issue then this is what you get.

> I've witnessed the degradation of my own states safety net services as they became inundated over the past ~5 yr as a result of federal policy. It wasn't like this under Obama or Bush. I'd happily go back to whatever that was.

I would love to know your state because I can promise your social programs are not degrading because of immigrants and are degrading because of tax cuts to the rich.

Re: US embassy wants 'every social media username of past five years' for new visas

#170

Post by Yizahi »

gwd wrote: post #13

Haven't these guys heard of the "reciprocity principle"? When I went to Brazil a few years ago, the basic price for a tourist visa was like $25 and could be done online. But, if you were a US citizen, it cost $150 and you had to schedule an attend an interview in person -- because , those were the costs and burdens placed on Brazilian citizens to apply for a US visa. Does the US want other countries inspecting our ci…

I wish it happened more in different countries. Your country demands that you are forbidden to bring any items, regardless of how dangerous they are, in the embassy? Apply the same rule to the citizens of that country and only for them. I'm sure they will appreciate being openly discriminated in front of the applicants from the other parts of the world. Your country demands 150-200 dollars for a shitty single time entry tourist visa (yes, I'm looking at you UK)? Charge the citizens of that country the same sum for their visas. Etc. And in reverse - if they are easing or removing absurd restrictions, then reciprocate and ease restrictions in return.
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