In the past two years, I’ve boarded international flights in 19 countries. The US is about average, in the courtesy, thoroughness and invasiveness of pre-flight security.
Makes me yearn for cross country hyperloops, but TSA would probably ruin that too.
So you guys get what we muslim* males have been getting for about a decade and a half? Yeah sorry, no sympathy, remember to breathe deeply when being probed.
*Or Sikhs for some reason. :rolleyes:
I would wager that most Americans have no idea who / what a Sikh is, and likely assume that “brown-skinned man in something that looks like a turban” must be some flavor of Muslim.
So? I imagine your average brownie living someplace in Asia doesn’t know or give a shit about the differences between and among white Europeans. I’ve run across all kinds of silly notions about Americans around the world. Why is it so satisfying pointing out such an obvious piece of human nature?
Americans can easily corredt silly notions about themselves, by producing movies and tv shows that more accurately portray American life and culture. It’s America’s choice, while exporting images of itself to generate fabulous revenue, to display itself accurately or not.
When I’m traveling, and identify myself as being from Texas, people think cowboys, not oil.
I audibly moan when the TSA guy touches me. Really puts them off.
I know for sure that the average brownie that was living in my kitchen knows in intimate detail the digestive system of this specific white American…
I flew yesterday (within the U.S.) and security was a breeze. When I printed out my boarding pass I discovered they’d put me in pre-check even though I’m not in the program. No hands-on whatsoverer, no jackbooted thugs, no requests for I.D. beyond the usual at the start, no threatening canines (except for one passenger’s dog which was apparently providing whatever “service” an animal the size of a chubby guinea pig might offer).
The most tyrannical thing that happened was the two thirty-somethings sitting behind me who spent the entire flight vocalizing every boring facet of their lives.
Another day in the Proto-Fascist American Nightmare. :(
:smack:
Yeah, last time I flew, a couple years ago, they sent me through the keep-your-shoes-on line both out as well as back, without me requesting it. I have yet to see one of those big scanner devices. I guess I have been slacking on being a general troublemaker.
Now, of course, my driver’s license is sub-par, so I am hoping the Rs in power are not going to kill Amtrak at great long last.
You could just get yourself a passport.
I want some chonies that light up the scanner with little sayings like can’t touch this, or ask me about my grandkids.
I’ve read here on the SDMB, and on other forums, that some Americans are reluctant to get a passport. I have no idea why. It allows you to go pretty much anywhere; and even if you’re not planning a trip, it’s the best ID that you can have. I’ve held a valid passport at all times for 40+ years now, and have no plans to stop holding one.
Passports are expensive. Some states also make it a hassle to get the supporting documentation. If you last saw your birth certificate 30 years ago when you got your license, and you’d have to get stuff notarized to get a new one, all so you can fill out paperwork and pay $110 to have another form of ID you don’t need, you aren’t going to do any of that.
Yes. So?
How sure are you that you don’t need it?
I have my Canadian birth certificate, from the province of Ontario. I’ve owned it all my life (well, Mom gave it to me when I was about 16). That’s all I need to get a Canadian passport. It indicates that I am a citizen of Canada–I was born in Canada; thus, I am a citizen of Canada. Hospital records can confirm my birth on Canadian soil. Nothing more is needed.
You speak about hassles, licenses, notarizations, and fees. What, exactly, are you speaking about? I’ve never run into the equivalents when I’ve needed to get or renew a passport. I simply fill out a form, show my Ontario birth certificate, and Canada produces a passport for me.
And $110 for a passport. Seriously? A US passport for $110 US is a great deal. It is a solid ID, not rejected by any country in the world. Not rejected by any state in the US, nor in any province of Canada. Not rejected overseas. Yeah, I’d pay $110 US or $120CAD (for a Canadian passport) for that kind of ID.
For you (and me), sure.
For someone who leaves town once a year or so (if that) to visit family in the next town over, and doesn’t have $110 growing in their flowerbed to waste on a document they have no intention of using, not so much. Lots of people just don’t “travel”, ever, and aren’t going to see the attraction in getting expensive ID that doesn’t even fit in their wallets.
And, of course, there is the insecure RFID paranoia.
If I’ve already got my driver’s license (which serves as ID), and I’m the kind of person who doesn’t travel internationally, and I’m living just a smidge above the poverty line, it’s hard to justify $135 for a passport, plus the time/hassle/expense of tracking down a certified birth certificate or other proof of US citizenship.
I think most Americans don’t bother to get a passport unless they’re planning a specific international trip.
And my work wonders why I keep bowing out of conferences on the other side of the country, instead finding seminars in cities I can drive to. Even four hours in a car* is less time than a short flight once you add in all the parking/check-in/security/baggage time.
And less demeaning.
*listening to podcasts and audiobooks, ALL BY MYSELF… ahhh…