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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by TW
" ARE YOU TAKING $10,000 OR MORE ACROSS?". To that I responed no, if I had $10,000 I'd be going to europe. He waved me on. |
Good one. About the same thing happened to me crossing the border into TJ years ago. I was driving a pile of crap car and a US customs lady stopped
me, asked if I had more than ten grand. That was a lot of money then and it was the first time I'd ever heard of the question and it made me laugh,
really hard. I said, "You've got to be kidding," and kept on laughing. She looked at me, at my car and then she started to laugh as hard as I was.
The whole scene was ludicrous. She waved me on.
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flyfishinPam
Super Nomad
Posts: 1727
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Loreto, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: gone fishin'
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there is prejudice everywhere. try being an interracial couple with children in Mexico. once while getting into a taxi in Guadalajara four police
vehicles surrounded us removed us from the taxi and started to questioin us. they thought my husband, his teenaged son and my two toddlers were
trying to kidnap me  well that's what they said. we get questions
like whose kids are those? or I get asked whos the dad? like its any of anyones business.
also the discrimination that Skeet describes in Loreto is still alive and well. women or not its simply gringo discrimination. one popular market
clearly hates gringos and I don't go there. at the ice cream shop downtown theres a guy that also hates gringos. he waits on every single person and
always the gringo last. this is difficult when the gringo has two anxious children who want their ice cream, but I do get back at him and the other
girls (who are wonderful in there) get a kick out of it too. I often go in for the large horchata at 09:30 when he is there and I get him to wait on
me then once he gives me the drink I start nitpicking with issues like can I have another napkin? or I like two straws, or this top is cracked I want
a new one. it can go on several minutes and it is quite fun and the other girls in there laugh. the growth here has brought healthy competition and
as in the case of the popular market I can spend my dinero elsewhere.
predjuice is based in ignorance.
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Bajajack
Banned
Posts: 370
Registered: 5-20-2007
Location: Arizona
Member Is Offline
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Being Prejudice or Racist
is not about being ignorant, stupid or the lack of a college degree.
It's personal preference period!
\"take what you can, give nothing back!\"
We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the
American people.\'
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
We can have no \"50-50\" allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all.
Theodore Roosevelt
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajajack
It's personal preference period! |
Where would we be without you, Jack?
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Bajajack
Banned
Posts: 370
Registered: 5-20-2007
Location: Arizona
Member Is Offline
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Just trying to do my
part in clearing up a common misconception Dennis.
\"take what you can, give nothing back!\"
We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the
American people.\'
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
We can have no \"50-50\" allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all.
Theodore Roosevelt
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65298
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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If I drove up to the border, with no front plate (where one is required by law in my state), do not present the necessary papers required to re-enter
the US (without being asked), stare at the officer in fear or distrust, give smart a** answers like I am bringing back 'pot' instead of 'pottery',
then you better believe I will get hassled or sent to Secondary... no matter what color skin I am in!
Ken, I think we are way beyond that place where looks alone determin how you get treated. You are a nice guy, always friendly and willing to help. Try
being that way to the border gaurd...
Next time you get to the border, have a smile, your passports already in your hand, a license plate on the front of your Jeep, say hello... He/ she
are just doing their job for our government... for us, to keep us safe.
I know there are jerks out there on the border... I have experienced them, many years ago... But how will it help if I am a jerk, too? I just want to
get back home as soon as possible... so I make it as easy as I can for the officer to see that I am an American, have nothing to hide, am happy
because I just had a Baja vacation, etc. Yah, I know they should follow their rules and we shouldn't have to be extra nice... but why not. They are
human, too (or could be)
You may be black on the outside, but it is what is inside and comes out of you that counts!
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CaboRon
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3401
Registered: 3-24-2007
Location: The Valley of the Moon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Peacefull
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So explain how Ken can drive a vehicle without a front plate ... that is clearly the law in California .... and if he is out of state plated and
living and or working in California he is in violation of DMV codes that state he has ten days in CA before he has to put on CA plates and tags.
CaboRon
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65298
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by CaboRon
So explain how Ken can drive a vehicle without a front plate ... that is clearly the law in California .... and if he is out of state plated and
living and or working in California he is in violation of DMV codes that state he has ten days in CA before he has to put on CA plates and tags.
CaboRon |
Well Ron, there are many people in California who remove the front plate or never put it on... Hummers and Corvettes mostly... They don't like the
look or they put some other kind of plate there instead.
In order for a them to be cited, they must break some traffic law for a cop to see they don't have the front plate... So they add it, show up at DMV
to prove it is there, then take it back off again (if they want).
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21656
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Out and About
Member Is Offline
Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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Trolling with Columbian Bait
A few good nibbles, but no solid bites.
Oh Well.
It is (perhaps) insightful that Kennie chose South Carolina as his example, rather than any of the other numerous choices.
Southern (Dis)Comfort ?
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MrBillM
A few good nibbles, but no solid bites.
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Don't ever let anyone say you didn't try your best, Bill.
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Pappy Jon
Nomad
Posts: 494
Registered: 8-27-2003
Location: Wrong side of the Continental divide.
Member Is Offline
Mood: Temp rising.
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| Quote: | Originally posted by CajonesNow Pappy, we told you to take off your white sheet and hood before you go into
McDonalds.
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Sure glad you added the LOL. Come to think of it ... I was wearing a white wizard hat.
"The association of flowers and warm-blooded love is more than a romantic convention; it is based upon one of the great advances in the evolution
of life." Ed Abbey
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BajaGringo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3922
Registered: 8-24-2006
Location: La Chorera
Member Is Offline
Mood: Let's have a BBQ!
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Folks I know in law enforcement NOB tell me that those jobs working at the border are the last stop for many who either were tossed out from other
agencies or unable to meet the criteria for CHP/police/sheriff jobs. Those same friends in law enforcement tell me that they get treated like sh*t at
times like the rest of us when they cross back after spending a weekend with us. I will say that the worst stories of treatment I have heard from
border crossers come from those who have brown/black skin color. That includes many overtly racist comments. Sources of those stories include my wife,
oldest daughter and mother-in-law. None of these women have an "attitude", "chip on their shoulder" or demeaner that could possibly incite any such
type of comment or behavior from those working at the border. Those of you that know my wife and daughter know that to be true. My daughter was born
in the US but has the Latino features of her mother and almost refuses to cross anymore if I am not with her. All three of these women will tell you
that most of those working at the border are civil and polite with them but the times when they do experience the bottom of the barrel makes the
experience such a negative one that they always approach the border crossing with dread. They also agree that they have found the black agents in
general to be the most polite if one could generalize.
As a white man crossing with a US passport I doubt that I could fully compare my negative experiences with those of a different skin color / ethnic
origin. Racism is well rooted in our culture and civil rights legislation alone cannot change that. Common human decency is something that is taught
in the home from birth, as are racist attitudes as well.
Having an "attitude" or "chip on your shoulder" certainly will make it tougher if your skin color is off-white and obviously your crossing experience
would be "enhanced" if you could leave those personality traits at home. But to simply explain the negative experience as an "attitude" problem is to
not understand the experience of one of one living the life as a man or woman of color.
Some of you may differ in opinion and I will just leave it at that...
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slimshady
Nomad
Posts: 291
Registered: 9-3-2008
Member Is Offline
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Border guards are one notch above TSA screeners.
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dtbushpilot
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3296
Registered: 1-11-2007
Location: Buena Vista BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Tranquilo
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I cross at Tecate many times a year. I've been treated with respect all but two times. I wasn't yelled at or physically abused but I felt that the
demeaner and tone of the border guard was rude and un-called for. Both times it was an Asian guy (same guy both times).
Maybe I was a victim of racism and didn't realize it......or maybe he was just havivg a bad day.......dt
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vacaenbaja
Senior Nomad
Posts: 641
Registered: 4-4-2006
Member Is Offline
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Trust your senses Ken. Law enforcement profiles everyone and has pet
names or acronyms for everyone/thing. DWO (Driving While Oriental)
etc. My friend and I got questioned by the Federales after being in a solo rollover accident. Where are your wives? Did you kill them? What are you
two men doing traveling alone with out girlfriends or wives? Did you kill your girlfriends? We were dumbfounded. We were lucky to be alive and they
were at least six people that helped us out and brought us to the station that saw the accident. (Front tire blowout on front wheel dive diesel
sedan on superelevated portion of the highway. Never mind that we had what was left of out fishing gear and an ice chest of fish. We were potential
suicide murderers. I guess you see a lot of strange things behind a badge and it just makes you suspicious of everyone/thing.
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8964
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by motoged
Ken,
Probably a bunch of white guys responding here...
You know what your experience is....most of us white guys can try to empathize, but empathy is really a fancy word for our imagination....so we can
only relate to how we occasionally feel persecuted for the colour of our skin....and that doesn't really happen too often.
It sounds like you have travelled enough to have a bit of opinion about how different countries/immigration lines handle folks...
Que via bien, amigo. |
Gracias, Amigo. I have been searched on Oxford St. in London for simply looking out of place. Threatened while driving by a pedestrian through Baja
Sur (can't remember the city), called the N-word by 4 drunks in Tubares, Sin while my friends looked through a drip-irrigation business in the Narco
corridor of the Rio Fuerte region, stared down by 3 Neo-N-zi skinheads while on a ferry from Aaland to Helsinki (bound for St. Petersburg), so I'm not
one of those thugs walking around with a chip on his shoulder. I'm respectful of everyone around me, but I just catch hell more quickly than others I
think...thanks for empathizing.
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Been crossing since 1962. The only 2 times I have been "hassled" were both by female CBP agents. One just gave a stern warning for an admitted
mistake on my part (guess I deserved that one), the second was more interesting.
Crossing with my wife and dog (Yellow Lab). All papers and documents in order, CBP Agent (female) spotted an empty ice chest in the back
seat.......Agent: "whats in the ice chest"???.....me: "nothing, it's empty"....Agent fills out a card, puts it under windshield wiper, directs me to
secondary.........Agent (male) in secondary looks at card, asks me to open ice chest....sees that it is empty, scratches his head, mumbles...."sorry
about that" and sends me on my way.
.......go figure..........
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8964
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | | Originally posted by vacaenbaja I guess you see a lot of strange things behind a badge and it just makes you suspicious of everyone/thing.
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I traveled with my Latino apartment neighbor several years ago to Tijuana for some partying on La Revo, but before the partying, we stopped at a
Dominoes in Playas for a Large Pepperoni pizza, and we parked in a parking lot to eat it.
When the policia walked up, they didn't know why we were smiling, looking down, and reaching for....
The police officer thought me might have been...gay!?!
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Bajafun777
Super Nomad
Posts: 1103
Registered: 9-13-2006
Location: Rosarito & California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Enjoying Life with Wife In Mexico, Easy on The Easy
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Well, Ken for fact I know in law enforcement we have jerks that like to give people of different color a hard time, it is not right and jerks they
are. I have had to deal with some in regards to writing them up and to be fair I have also had to deal with people of color doing the same thing the
other way. Now, having said that all of us have had those uncomfortable moments and actions by jerks done to us that we did not deserve or ask for.
Like my good friend Fernandoi tells me "chit happens" just have to deal with it. The good thing is Ken that jerks who do racist things are now very
much in the minority. However, we also have some very good border patrol, customs and immigration officers that do the right thing every day because
they take pride in what they do and are professional. Have drank many a beer with some of these guys and gals at our local "Eagles" club in El Centro
and most are very funny and easy going. Let's face it their jobs do get very boring at times and long hours which can cause them to do or say things
they shouldn't. Ken, I agree with David K. on your personality and I have always found you to be an open and honest man. Additionally, you are also
very friendly and not only on this site but in selling things to help in the promoting of 4X4 wheeling. Note, I really liked and still have the 4x4
Baja T-shirt you sold me. Stay cool and remember "chit Happens" to all of us but your day of it just overflowed with emotion from it happening to
you. All of us have had those volcano days ourselves so "Easy on the Easy" and enjoy life as too much good happening to let the little things ruin
you day or week. Later-------------------------------- bajafun777
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Eugenio
Nomad
Posts: 206
Registered: 4-23-2008
Location: Navojoa, Son.
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
| Quote: | | Originally posted by vacaenbaja I guess you see a lot of strange things behind a badge and it just makes you suspicious of everyone/thing.
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The police officer thought me might have been...gay!?! |
Well Ken - don't leave us hanging here amigo - are you?
Back in the early 90's for about a 6 month period I used to cross the border at TJ pretty much every day - I don't know why - but I'd be sent to
secondary about every other time - it usually happened when I was in a hurry.
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