Unbelievable, F*cking Americans ⇒

Time for a good ol' fashined rant! Christine & I just got signed up for NEXUS Highway (I already have NEXUS Air). To do that you have to send in your application, along with a non-refundable "processing fee" and then wait for them to call you to set up an appointment. We finally got the call so off we headed to the NEXUS office.

Keep in mind that the only documentation you need for this is proof of citizenship (a birth certificate) and photo id. However, Christine & I always bring our passports with us whenever we travel to the States, so we figured we would this time as well. We show up and go through the motions...fingerprint, picture and some basic questions. Then the guy looks through our passports, comments that we like to travel a lot, and asks why. We say, "because we like seeing new things and experiencing new cultures" and he mentions that he is just looking for "at-risk" countries, like Pakistan, Iran, Irag, etc. Apparently if we have visited those countries then we wouldn't qualify for this program! Out of curiousity we asked how many countries are on the list and he didn't really answer. And then I naively asked, "If an American had visited those countries, would they be allowed in the NEXUS program?"

You won't believe his response! "Oh, Americans can travel where ever they like, it is their right as an American"!!!! WTF!?!?!?! So, if a Canadian born and raised individual has relatives in Iran, and they visit them every 3 years, they aren't allowed in the program? But an Austrian-born naturalized American who visits Iraq every month can? Now, it is a dumb rule regardless, but the fact that the rule is not applied evenly is what really, really, really, really pisses me off.

And the guy said that many Canadians complain about discrimination but that they could sue the government if they wanted. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't this guy as he was very nice and civil and even cracked some smiles so he wasn't being arrogant or anything. It was just the easy way he said it and the arrogance of the country. HOW DARE THEY. How can they dictate this? I boggles my mind.

I just quake with anger when I think about it.

The true irony is that if someone did visit those countries but didn't bring their passport, they wouldn't have any problems what-so-ever! Aaaaaaaarghhhhhhh.