I’d almost say ‘BREAKING NEWS‘!
But…. for real?
I just read this article on Free Malaysia Today (FMT), a relatively free and independent media organisation, about the USA is going to ask for 5 years of social media accounts and usernames with a visa application. Read more on FMT by clicking the caption.
It’s a disproportional measure to ensure safety, security, filtering out “terrorists” or people who might harm the USA in any way. It brings in fear, people checking their accounts whether they haven’t written anything that some officer can misunderstand and therefore deny someone access to the USA.
We must uphold free speech, freedom of opinion and to agree to disagree once in a while/most of the times. Yes, I am critical to the USA as well for sure. Not the AmericanS as civilians as such, though I also can be very opinionated about them too, but, generally, they are part of a system they created themselves. Or at least support that system as any alternative is bad. Anyway, it is the system that I criticize, it is that system that is morally corrupt, it is that system that assumes every outsider to be a bad guy wanting to do harm to the USA in the USA. Except when you are white, Christian, from a wealthy family from an allied country. Canadian that is.
Already now, with the current procedures, with the current scrutiny it is already so bloody difficult to get a visa in the first place! I was working in the USA between 2012 and 2015 and my employer did pay a huge amount to lawyers to follow that system thoroughly before I even could get to the embassy to get the right visa. Even then, now I remember, I deleted USA-critical tweets because I, already back then, was scared I wrote something I shouldn’t have.
Even if I wanted to apply for a visa to the USA, with this blog in which I do write about the USA (yes, they are an easy target and have plenty handouts to write about), I am doubting whether an officer from rural conservative North Dakota won’t feel offended and deny my application.
Righteously, the article states: “There is a real risk that social media vetting will unfairly target immigrants and travelers from Muslim-majority countries for discriminatory visa denials, without doing anything to protect national security.”
That. is. me. too.
Therefore, USA? No. Not for me, never ever again. I said that before (after Trump got elected) and I will say it over and over again. Only when there is a free society in the USA I might reconsider. But that might take a very long time I’m afraid…
Daniel Arendzen 