Americans Traveling To Europe Will Be Fingerprinted

[January]

Not necessarily. US citizen is not the same as US government. US citizens enjoy thinking critically and are still permitted to do so. And not all US citizens object. Opinions vary.

Of course.

But nobody seems to be complaining about visitors to US being fingerprinted - just to other countries requiring it of them.

 

[oslooskar]

so US finger prints people visiting US but US citizens object to being finger printed when they visit other countries?

Well, speaking as a native San Franciscan, we’ve had our share of trouble with Australians in the past, so yeah, we want your fingerprints when you arrive. All we ask is that you wipe the Vegemite off your fingers first. We don’t want to jam the scanner. aahahahahahahahaa!

 

[OldOld]

My thought is what's next? A urine sample?

Why not a drop of blood for DNA tracing?

 

[oslooskar]

But nobody seems to be complaining about visitors to US being fingerprinted

Probably because folks from other countries are used to doing whatever they're told, no questions asked. Americans, on the other hand, have a long-standing cultural resistance to government overreach and value personal freedom and privacy, even if that sometimes makes them seem uncooperative abroad.

 

[January]

What I meant was that Americans aren't complaining about other people having to do it to enter US - only about themselves having to do the same elsewhere.
if it is neccesary one way, it is neccesary both ways.

not that the folks from other countries aren't complaining.

 

[gruntlabor]

Who cares. Unless you're a criminal.

Another idea is to clip identifying information to the right ear, you know, like a cow.

 

[gruntlabor]

Of course.

But nobody seems to be complaining about visitors to US being fingerprinted - just to other countries requiring it of them.

I can only speak for myself. I was never consulted.

 

[oslooskar]

What I meant was that Americans aren't complaining about other people having to do it to enter US - only about themselves having to do the same elsewhere. if it is neccesary one way, it is neccesary both ways. not that the folks from other countries aren't complaining.

I seriously doubt the average American even knows that foreign visitors are fingerprinted when entering the U.S. So it’s a stretch to say Americans are fine with others being fingerprinted but object when the same is required of them elsewhere. Most Americans probably haven’t thought about it either way.

 

[gruntlabor]

Probably because folks from other countries are used to doing whatever they're told, no questions asked. Americans, on the other hand, have a long-standing cultural resistance to government overreach and value personal freedom and privacy, even if that sometimes makes them seem uncooperative abroad.

We should not be uncooperative abroad. We should remember that we are guests in a country not our own and behave respectfully.
Anyway, it's not as if Americans don't have a choice. We can stay home.

 

[Aunt Bea]

It probably makes sense to create some sort of biometric profile at birth and adjust it at various milestones in our lives.

 

[oslooskar]

We should not be uncooperative abroad. We should remember that we are guests in a country not our own and behave respectfully. Anyway, it's not as if Americans don't have a choice. We can stay home.

You're absolutely right that we should be respectful when visiting other countries, and I agree. After all, acting like an entitled guest helps no one. But let’s not confuse healthy skepticism of authority with disrespect. There’s a clear difference between blind compliance and polite cooperation. I live in Thailand and follow the rules; I file my 90-day reports with immigration and renew my visa every year as required. But if the government here were to impose what I consider unreasonable restrictions, I wouldn’t argue or protest, I’d simply pack up and go elsewhere.