Subject: police encounters
Date: Jan 8 13:52:24 2004
From: Paul Webster - paul.webster at comcast.net
Thanks, Gary!
As a German professor I had several contacts with the East German police
while driving to and from the old West Berlin and entering the old East
Germany from West Berlin. They were paid to be suspicious about foreigners,
asked questions and a couple of times searched my little car, and once took
a road map they thought was subversive. And all the while they were free
about pointing their guns all over, including at me.
You did a beautiful job of saying what's precious about our freedom and why
we should be reluctant to compromise it in any way.
Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.webster at comcast.net
----- Original Message -----
From: Gary Bletsch
To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 9:52 PM
Subject: Re: police encounters
Dear Tweeters:
While I agree that the police eventually seemed downright friendly and
helpful in most all the situations that other birders have shared on this
thread, it still comes down to one thing, as I see it: innocent citizens
being confronted by government officials. This ought to rub against any
American's grain. We should not necessarily feel happy when we are stopped
in the middle of a legitimate pursuit, on public land on US soil, to explain
our action--to anybody. This is why we don't have the Queen (God bless her)
on our money. It's why we have so many elections, and why we set so many
criminals free when we are ninety-nine percent sure of their guilt. It's why
so many citizens of other lands give their all to leave those lands and come
here.
All these stories bring me back to the times when I lived in countries
where I had to give up some of my cherished rights, albeit temporarily.
When I was living in Pinochet's Chile, I never got used to the "no
cameras" signs. The Carabineros made me nervous, especially as I strolled
past a certain Olympic stadium, so the binoculars stayed under wraps.
That was nothing compared to my time among the Arabs, however. It was
they, of course--mostly Saudi Arabs--who attacked us, giving us a shove down
this dangerous road toward Total Security. I find it ironic that we seem to
be getting more like them nowadays. Saudi Arabia is one of the "safest"
countries in the world. Step out of line, and a citizen is liable to lose a
hand, or find himself beheaded in the public square one Friday. People tend
to behave themselves there, at least out in public.
Must we emulate their level of "safety?"
After four years of birding in Saudi Arabia, I am definitely a
Twitcher--but not in the British sense.
Every birding trip in Saudi Arabia was like the preparation for a commando
raid, or a bank robbery, or an attempt at smuggling. That was because the
police, coast guard, and other law-enforcement units were utterly ignorant
of bird-watching, and profoundly suspicious (and ignorant) of foreigners,
optical equipment, and just about anything that wasn't either draped in
white, red, and black (a Saudi man), or swathed in black (a woman).
After a few protracted run-ins with Saudi police and Coast Guard
officials, I developed ways of avoiding them, but it left me with a
permanent t-t-t-t-twitch. I don't know if I will ever stop looking over my
shoulder for big brother now while birding.
Is it good that the police in America are stopping birders to check for
terrorist threats? I don't think so. I have spent too long in a place where
my rights don't exist to give them up again here at home.
The right to go about one's business, free from government meddling, is
what "pursuit of happiness" is all about--whether or not it includes optical
devices!
Respectfully yours,
Gary Bletsch
near Lyman, Skagit County
PS Interesting birds here during the storm: two Fox Sparrows at the
feeder; a Wilson's Snipe flying by; a flock of confused American Wigeons
trying to find a non-frozen pond.
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