Same here. I am curious about the USA but after reading and hearing a bunch of stories... really, no thanks. I know chances are slim but I still don't want to risk it.
> No wonder, given that...
Yeah. USA has a really strong propaganda system and it's a shame that even on HN, where people should be more critical thinkers, this is not widely recognized.
OTOH, I recommend strongly you consider how strong the anti-US propaganda is online, including on places like Reddit and HN. It's an entire art form now, how to be critical of the US in every possible way. Whether it's cops, health care, or imperial measurements.
The reality in the US is much different than portrayed on here, and you ought to be aware of that.
I agree and I admit I've never even been there. But even when chatting with Americans -- here included -- the culture and thinking differences are immediately apparent.
I don't actively seek out any anti-anything propaganda, and started disengaging myself from political discussions lately (this thread is the shameful exception, sadly).
I can't claim I am completely unbiased, sure. But I am mostly commenting on impressions I have from hundreds of interactions, virtual and physical.
I do think you should visit :). Every time I visit a new country I am struck by just how different it is in real life compared to everything I've ever heard about it. It's the primary reason I like to travel at all. I'm not really into the tourist stuff, I love to get off the beaten path and see how people actually live.
At least go visit Canada. Might be surprising, or not, but it shares a lot of cultural similarities with the US.
So a good general suggestion from your side but doesn't apply to what I've heard and experienced.
It's like, I have nothing to do today, oh I know, I'll just come to HN and lie about experiences with cops. Is that what you're implying?
Hopefully that’s stated directly enough for you.
Heh, okay.
As to why any of us are here, fair question!
My general stance basically is "don't look at what's written, look at what people can do and get away with it because that's exactly what most people will do".
That's the fault of "American exceptionalism". At least one positive thing happened as a result of the 45th - Americans can no longer deny that their nation is immune from falling into the hands of a proto-fascist and a gang of cronies and goons in his wake.
Anyway, the list of points is (sans the pledge) applicable across most countries in the Western world... partially because a lot of our culture is US-influenced (social networks, but first and foremost Hollywood's media industry) and because our media isn't much better. Germany's most influential BILD tabloid is a rag that spreads authoritarianism and right-wing ideology, and the cop show Tatort consistently has peak TV attendance rates.
Just one data point:
A few days ago was pulled over in Germany, I assume, for travelling on foreign plates from a small (Schengen area) country. Initially we thought we must have broken some traffic rule we weren't aware of. But it seemed more like an immigration check. Asked for passports, searched the car and asked a lot of questions. Didn't even check the driver's license and the likes, so definitely not a traffic stop.
Not particularly paranoid about this kind of stuff and they seemed nice, but I'd certainly try to push back if this has happened in the US. Don't know much about German law, I may be wrong, but I'm assuming like in most of Europe you don't have much of a right to refuse unless it's a very unusual ask (which searching a phone may be)
Don't take your phone and laptop with you on the plane. Maybe take an older phone (check lte bands and what not) that has been wiped and don't sign into things until you clear customs.
If you need a laptop, options are ship it seperately or wipe before transit and do a recovery later.
That’s really a crazy mindset man. The US receives ~100m foreign visitors annually. There is nothing special about you, they don’t care about your Facebook profile. Worst comes to worst, you just refuse to unlock your device and they deport you back to where you came from.
Who says they won't image my device using yet-unknown zero day exploits, or that I get it back at all? And I'd still be out thousands of dollars in travel costs.
Which is why I refuse to travel outside of the Schengen area. Even if I'd really like to visit the US one day once corona passes, there is absolutely no way I'll consent to essentially a digital striptease search with orifice controls.
Our digital devices - smartphones and laptops especially - are mirrors of our minds and our thoughts. Border control and police are not allowed to use torture to get access to our minds, they should not be given the power to circumvent that by accessing our phones.
> "Raising awareness" doesn't work on ruthless cops. I guess that's a mind-blowing revelation to many Westerners.
No wonder, given that
- the US has its pupils pledge allegiance to the country every single day
- authority and police are consistently shown as "the good guys" who don't have to respect rules in all forms of media and culture that don't originate from people of color and immigrants (like rap/hip hop)
- protests against said police overreach and abuse (as well as other forms of social injustice) are downplayed to outright vilified in mass media, and police abuse itself is ignored until protests turn extremely large and/or violent (such as with the George Floyd/BLM protests)
- anything "left wing" is branded "communist", and "communist" itself is branded as the devil - not just in the US but also across wide swaths of Europe.