Ugh. So, I just found out that I will be fingerprinted and photographed when I go to the United States next week for the OSCMS conference. For some reason, I was under the impression that visitors with a visa waiver (like EU citizens) were not subject to this rule, and this was why I was still going. Perhaps they changed it recently.
Today was the first time I heard this issue mentioned, so I want to give a clear signal to the US members of the Drupal community: this is unacceptable and hinders development and business. For sure, it's the last time I'll be going into the United States while this continues, and if this trip wasn't so important to me I'd have cancelled my flight already.
Your country's government is messed up beyond belief, and its policies scares away the entire world. It wouldn't be so bad if the US didn't perpetually tout its everlasting respect for personal rights and freedom. As a European who has just moved to North America, I can say for sure that I constantly feel as though my privacy is under assault, because corporate interests, advertising and other annoyances take precedence over the right to be left alone here. It's a huge cultural difference.
This news immediately set in motion plans for subverting the system. I'd be having a little kitchen vegetable slicing accident if it were to help. Unfortunately, my prior experience with US customs a couple years back leads me to believe that any sort of irregularity would only lead to hours of delay and a much more thorough printing and photographing.
For now, the US is reduced to a bizarre, quirky, sad laughing stock for me. My visit will be bathed in the surreal air of stepping into an asylum.
