1 in 3 Americans Fears International Travel and Flights

[Falcon]

Just stay in the matrix y'all, big corporate American media says the world out there is dangerous.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12827707 ... shows.html

[zboy1]

It's not surprising when you consider how most people--even on this forum--haven't traveled abroad or have only a limited experience in doing so. The rest are too busy spouting off about "American women," "n*ggers," "monkeys," "the Illuminati," "illegal aliens," or "Jews," to care about traveling abroad.

[Ghost]

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[***JP***]

Sad part about it is that the US is the country that invented the airplane yet most americans won't even get on one. A lot of people I know are afraid of flying even though time and time again it has been proven is far more safer than driving, riding on a bus or a train. When I was moving abroad the first comment that came out of some ignorant mouths was. It's so far away or the usual dumb excuse where they all think America is the center of the universe and that everything outside of it is bad.

[Hero]

I'm more afraid of the interrogation from U.S. Customs when I get back.

[E Irizarry R&B Singer]

I'm more afraid of the interrogation from U.S. Customs when I get back.

They f.ucked with me badly both times which I have come back from the Dominican Republic. Almost missed my connecting flight leaving Miami-Dade Int'l to US home for the first time.
They must really think I'm a Dominican trying to secretly immigrate to the U.S. of Gay. #Seriously?! This was earlier this year.

HOWEVER, when I came back from the Philippines via Hong Kong into LAX, zilch problems making my connecting flight to DFW to get to Santiago de Chile. When going through DFW, zilch problems, too. It was a nice 18-hour flight to Santiago de Chile. Upon arriving in Chile, Customs imposed me to pay about $110 USD (not convertible) for my Chilean tourist visa. This was 2007.

@Hero,

Word of advice, please do not travel via Detroit whatsoever. Ladislav is not the only dude whom knows about the Detroit airport!!!!

[newlifeinphilippines]

I'm more afraid of the interrogation from U.S. Customs when I get back.

me too. Thank goodness the immigration officer put a 1 on the back so i wouldn't be interrogated by customs as i passed the door like i was last time.

[Wolfeye]

Another thing is not speaking the language. Wherever they'd, they probably don't speak the language & it IS daunting to go somewhere where you're not going to understand anything that the people say & can't get anything across yourself. This is especially true if something serious happens (and Americans DO tend toward a bit of paranoia or a bit on obliviousness to danger, either one causes problems).

[Hero]

They f.ucked with me badly both times which I have come back from the Dominican Republic. Almost missed my connecting flight leaving Miami-Dade Int'l to US home for the first time.
They must really think I'm a Dominican trying to secretly immigrate to the U.S. of Gay. #Seriously?! This was earlier this year.

@Hero,

Word of advice, please do not travel via Detroit whatsoever. Ladislav is not the only dude whom knows about the Detroit airport!!!!

Wow, I also went to the DR earlier this year, and got treated like a criminal by customs at Miami-Dade. They had 3 different security guards ask me the same questions (what do you do for a living, where did you go, who did you meet, how long were you there,...) Plus they searched my baggage.

Don't worry, I do all of my international traveling through O'Hare. They haven't given me any trouble (so far).

[??????]

Speaking for myself here. I'm not afraid to fly or leave the country. Not having the money to do it is the only thing keeping me here. I am also already in school working on my trade. I've got to postpone my plans so I can have a useful skill to live abroad.

[Halwick]

I'm more afraid of the interrogation from U.S. Customs when I get back.

Most people fear the inspection/audit/interrogation process if they're trying to hide something, carry contraband or get away with something. What have you got to hide?

I just got back from Bolivia and Panama and went through customs/immigration in both those countries and U.S. upon return without any problems because I had nothing to hide, cooperated with them and smiled and did my best to look harmless and non-threatening. When one of the officials in Bolivia requested to inspect one of my bags, I smiled, ooperated fully as I had nothing to hide. After a cursory look, they smiled back and sent me on my way.

I'll admit the process is an inconvenience, but so what? It's like a game. Cooperate, move on and get over it. I think next time I'll wear a Japanese style loose-fitting Yukata, with speedo underneath, wrapped all over with suran wrap and go barefeet, just to assure the officials I've nothing to hide. Results should be amusing.

And by the way, I have no problems disclosing where I'm from, the purpose of my visit (in this case visiting relatives and tourism), providing the address of where I will be staying. It's just part of the routine.

Now when you start acting indignant about having your so-called "personal freedom, rights and property violated", or try to hide something that you know you shouldn't be carrying, and antagonistic about the whole thing, then you're going to have problems.

[Wolfeye]

Something I just remembered: if you go from one place to another & another (leapfrogging, instead of a direct flight), that sometimes gets them to think that you're a drug trafficker- or at least gives them dots to connect to try some "securtiy measures." In the story I was reading, the person went from New York to LA to Australia & I think it was the Australian customs that turned into an issue (I don't think there was any probing, but naked posturing DID come up).

Other things that attract attention, at the very least, are:
(1)Paying in cash
(2)One way tickets
(3)Light or zero luggage
(4)Planning to stay in hotels & rent cars (not staying with someone, not having your car shipped there, "transient" stuff- oddly enough, seeing as you are a TRAVELER)
(5)Coming in from "those" countries (places where drugs or terrorism are big, or just considered to be a common thing there).
(6)Sometimes race (if you're going to a country where you don't blend in, that would be the race).
(7)Gender. It seems they go after women more than men, maybe just because it's an easier target or they (men & women working in this capacity) find it hotter. Sometimes "more potential areas to hide things in" strikes someone as reason for suspicion (or to SAY that they're suspicious).
(8)Traveling with kids. It seems like they now figure it could be an easy target, since the kid is something of a hostage in that situation. The kid is also a kid, not grown.

It seems you can always go back to the last place you came from, if security is giving you shit. Maybe staying in "airport limbo" until a flight is available, possibly the next day or later (you can definitely drink from the sink in the bathroom & you don't HAVE to wash everyday- but you can probably give it a shot in one of the stalls with a few wet naps like in Book of Eli). A major point is holding your ground, because a lot of times they try to pull shit & then really chase after it. Sometimes they try to give you shit when you try to LEAVE the airport- citing all kinds of "laws" & logic that you don't really have to defeat in order to leave.

[Ghost]

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[WindowLicker]

[Yohan]

Just stay in the matrix y'all, big corporate American media says the world out there is dangerous.

Us-citizens are often badly informed. They are grossly misguided about this world.

Most US media report only about war-zones where US-men are fighting for freedom, women rights and similar BS. The US-hero is in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia. Other reports are from countries where the US-forces are 'protecting friends' - like in Kuwait, South Korea and Japan - but many US-citizens do not know that Kuwait, South Korea and Japan and some other countries pay for US-protection and not so little (Japan pays about 80 percent of the US-salaries, fuel, offers land for free etc).

I think this is all done to move attention a bit away from internal problems in USA, and to tell to everybody, despite USA has plenty of own problems, compared to others, it is still the paradise - nothing else but propaganda, but it works. A lot of US citizens do not even have a passport.

Of course, US-citizens who made it beyond US-borders and beyond US-bases overseas think quite differently about the USA-government, but critical US-people are clearly the minority.