I can quite understand that things were rough in Canada decades ago, but just because it’s been going on for a while doesn’t mean it’s a valid excuse. And I’ve been stopped by cops. Yes, they’ve been detached, firm, unsmiling, but they’ve also been courteous. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.

As for the “mouthing off”…. I doubt anybody with explosives strapped to their bodies would be mouthing off to a police or immigration officer. If anything, wouldn’t they want to keep as quiet as possible so they could get to their designated target zone? (Unless their designated target zone was the officer in question, that is.) Isn’t that why we have all this x-ray screening and what have you? To stop the guys who *aren’t* having a bad hair day but just want to blow things up? If not, you can just lock up all the “lippy” ones and declare your job well done!

What I’m referring to here goes way past “only doing his job”. It’s about using the current climate of fear to shed any hint of professional courtesy and, instead, take on the persona of a pocket dictator. That’s never okay, terrorists or no terrorists.

It’s been nearly 35 years since I’d been to the Canada, but I recall they were none too friendly either. You said: yes sir and no sir and didn’t crack any jokes. They were serious on both sides of the border. Mexico too, though it was easy enough to grease palms to get through the Mexican side a little faster.

To be honest, I don’t blame them for being stern. Terrorists have been known to strap bombs to women and children. Huge caches of drugs and human trafficking cross the border in hiding places I could not even imagine. For every honest person, there are many more who try to get away with something. Border personnel are not perfect and they can’t read minds. They don’t know what they’re going to find when they check that next car.

Same way with cops. I can very well understand their icy detachment when they stop someone. I don’t like it, but I sure as hell don’t envy their jobs either.

Mouthing off to any cop who is only doing his job is counterproductive. I just want to be on my way as quickly as possible. If that means staying in my car and keeping my mouth shut, that seems a small and logical investment to that end.

When we accept that “uppity” or “lippy” is an excuse for abuse from ANYONE then we’re in a bad place. When we accept it from our government and its workers? Yeah we’re beyond bad