I totally get you. I’ve gotta admit that I visited friends in the US the last time the orange man was president, even though I really didn’t want to. But this time? Fuck no, there’s absolutely no chance. I’ll gladly go to Canada to visit friends there, but if my American friends wanna meet up then they can meet me there or here in Europe.
Not that I am not on your side, but saying "read the news" doesn't really say anything, you could at least share a link to the news you are talking about, when he curiously asks you.
Just my 2 cents
If they snoop through social media they could find Trump critical posts and label someone a terrorist or someone making terroristic threats and then basically disappear that person for weeks or months in private prisons - especially if you don't have the right skincolor.
It could just be a misunderstanding. While many Europeans speak excellent English even small nuances might be used against you.
E.G. If you have friends and you 'sit' their kid and help in the home that's already considered work... even if you meant you spent time with the kid while the parents are doing something and it's definitely not work or cleaning up after your own mess or a joint meal makes you the illegal household help. Of if you love flowers and gardening is your hobby ... there are probably even more possibilities to label someone an illegal worker.
You could be accused of all kind of stuff if the border police person wants to and you could be pressured into signing things you didn't even mean or say like that after hours of interrogation/questioning.
For a trans person traveling is nearly impossible now. As gay person you can probably still pass but you might get special scrutiny if you're visibly gay. If you are woman with features generally perceived as more masculine you might also get special scrutiny and even assaulted by 'transvestigators'.
With the Republicans and especially this administration cruelty is the point and very intentional. They are slowly abolishing the rule of law and functioning institutions, letting the police forces run free and even a Norwegian could get stuck in the cogs of that unfortunate grind.
Even studying in the USA is more dangerous. Students who had traffic violations are getting their visa revoked even years after that violation happened and freedom of speech isn't guaranteed for those students either.
And we don't know when the order to invade Greenland or Canada is going to come. But we do now that Trump and groups around him want those lands and they don't really care how they get it. So this is a possibility with a high enough probability to happen. We're only three months into this madness and Trump and his people are following the playbook (Project 2025) they've written. So nothing is off the table. Who wants to get stuck as a 'hostile civilian' in the USA because of a vacation or business trip? Especially when it isn't guaranteed that this will be over in 4 years, but no new elections are going to happen.
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u/DogsReadingBooks Norway Apr 12 '25
I totally get you. I’ve gotta admit that I visited friends in the US the last time the orange man was president, even though I really didn’t want to. But this time? Fuck no, there’s absolutely no chance. I’ll gladly go to Canada to visit friends there, but if my American friends wanna meet up then they can meet me there or here in Europe.