Unfriendly unhelpfulness at the American border — is this policy?

© 2017 Peter Free

 

01 July 2017

 

 

In contrast with American border protection

 

Even the characteristically terse (often dour) Germans manage to combine unquestioned authority with professional courtesy and obvious efficiency.

 

 

A reasonably representative (negative) American example

 

Prominently parked in our path (as military returning Stateside) was a young woman with headscarf and Muslim attire. Her official task evidently was to direct those wishing entry to the United States to the appropriate uniformed Border Protection official.

 

Unfortunately, she could not speak even rudimentary English. And I noticed that the line of Americans in front of me were having difficulty understanding what she wanted them to do.

 

A man carrying a foreign passport was directly in front of me. I could see what appeared to be a visa in his hand. He had already successfully passed through (a) two officials at the entryway to the young woman's station, as well as (b) the passport-scanning kiosk (and its camera) just behind us.

 

The young woman, however, denied him the opportunity to proceed to the uniformed officials. Unable to speak English competently enough to explain anything at all, she rudely flicked her fingers outward toward him and said, "Go back."

 

The man explained (in fluent English) that he thought he was in the correct line. He showed her his passport, visa and printed kiosk photograph. (Based on the signage to that point, I too thought he was correctly placed.)

 

She, however, continued to insist that he "go back" — leaving the question of where "back" was unclarified, except with a repeated and contemptuous flick of her outstretched fingers.

 

When the young man asked her exactly where he should go, she could not give him a destination or the instructions necessary to get there. I could see that she had no clue as to where "the system" actually wanted him to enter the States. Nor was she motivated enough to summon someone who might have known and been able to explain it to him.

 

 

The moral? — Is this the American way now?

 

Are we (for example):

 

 

(a) intentionally hiring non-English speaking, "token" Muslims to guard our borders

 

and

 

(b) training them to be just as rude, badge-heavy and grossly unhelpful as irritatingly too many of their non-token colleagues?

 

 

As an ex-cop and law enforcement supervisor, I see no institutional purpose to this lout-like behavior:

 

 

Is this rudeness for rudeness sake?

 

Or just complacently flaunted incompetence?

 

 

From my "seasoned" perspective, unfriendly unhelpfulness denies our culture's most admirable strength. Why would we negatively misrepresent ourselves at our borders?