US safety checks
1- I know personnally the french 1st Officer who was harassed by US personnel in JFK.
He is not the kind of guy to come with a stupid joke in front of any official in any country.
I just suppose there is a gap between his way of speaking english and what the "official" understood.
2- I had the occasion to go through US airports before and after Sep-11 : it went from perfect laxism to a high degree of paranoļa.
3- Since the Iraq invasion, I have collected a number of stories which prove that US "officials" (immigration, custom, safety) are too often glad enough to use a special degree of accuracy when they come to check french crews.
You can call it "nationalim", "racism".............. I just use the word "stupidity".
4- "Officials", as I call them, are only the low level personnel, who have been hastily recruited to ensure that a minimum level of safety is established in US airports.
This is maybe the cause why selection and training were not so efficient, and if you consider the salary level, it's another reason why this personnel is not as good as it could be, working in difficult conditions, whith a high responsability on their shoulders.
5- When you add to that the "french bashing" campaign which has been launched in USA by the highest authorities and relayed by the majority of popular media, it is not a surprise that the personnel cited above follows the attitude of the big chiefs.
6-Another consideration: in USA, after Sep-11, a number of laws have been passed which free the police authorities from the usual controls from democratic bodies in our so-called "civilised" countries. That means "officials" are now free to act as did their brothers in KGB, STASI................
7-Don't forget also that the foreign policy motto in USA is now "Who is not with us is against us", and the fact that US authorities feel free to act everywhere in the world whithout any consideration for local sovereignity.
Conclusion: is it exagerated to wait for the next step "God is on our side" engraved on the belt buckkle of these so polite "officials"?
Poor America!