Originally Posted by
Schmurrr
I will never be a Trusted Traveler now: One of the graders for my final assignment in an on-line course on terrorism and counterterrorism commented that my essay on al-Shabaab was so on point that I must know people who are linked to al-Shabaab! After an initial O.O, I found it to be highly amusing. I think the grader's native language was not English and he/she was trying to be complimentary.
One of the people I related this story to said I need to be more careful about what I say on-line. I replied that, no, I need to say on-line exactly what I would have said prior to the revelations about mass surveillance. To censor myself is to accept an unjust restriction on my 1st Amendment rights. I run the sad risk of some TSA type deciding that I should be scrutinized "out of an abundance of caution" because of something I said on-line, but I will take that chance and I will not be silent about it.
I'm still a government-'trusted traveler" -- despite the suspicions and shenanigans of others -- trusted by some of the very governments whose actions I care to cover and critique from time to time (despite being subjected to their jurisdiction and not painting the official picture the way some "nationalists" may want).
I'm no fan of "trusted traveler" programs that allow for the government to administratively make some/many free citizens into second class citizens, even as I'm still generally considered a first class citizen despite some shenanigans by some others. I'll be given the perks without taking on any sense of the obligations of these scam programs which I will continue to criticize as administrative gimmickry.