Many International Game Developers Plan To Skip GDC In US (arstechnica.com) 207
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: This week, tens of thousands of game developers and producers will once again gather in San Francisco, as they have since 1988, for the weeklong Game Developers Conference. But this year's show will be missing many international developers who say they no longer feel comfortable traveling to the United States to attend, no matter how relevant the show is to their work and careers. Dozens of those developers who spoke to Ars in recent months say they're wary of traveling to a country that has shown a callous disregard for -- or outright hostility toward -- the safety of international travelers. That's especially true for developers from various minority groups, those with transgender identities, and those who feel they could be targeted for outspoken political beliefs. "I honestly don't know anyone who is not from the U.S. who is planning on going to the next GDC," Godot Foundation Executive Director Emilio Coppola, who's based in Spain, told Ars. "We never felt super safe, but now we are not willing to risk it." "I honestly don't know anyone who is not from the U.S. who is planning on going to the next GDC," says Godot Foundation Executive Director Emilio Coppola, who's based in Spain. "We never felt super safe, but now we are not willing to risk it."
"Hearing European citizens getting arrested by border control over their views on the U.S. is not something I would like to test for myself," adds Nazih Fares, a French-Lebanese citizen and creative director at indie studio Le Cabinet du Savoir..
Many of the developers who spoke to Ars cite the intrusive questioning, racial profiling, and other horror stories reported at the U.S. border. "I read a few long reads about how UK/German tourists ended up detained, and that was the final straw for me," Austrian-based Cohop Game founder Eline Muijres said. "It doesn't feel safe for me."
Domini Gee, a Canadian game writer and narrative designer echoed that concern, adding: "There's no shortage of stories... about the risk of detainment, deportation, phones being searched... the consequences if I'm not [OK] could be high."
"Hearing European citizens getting arrested by border control over their views on the U.S. is not something I would like to test for myself," adds Nazih Fares, a French-Lebanese citizen and creative director at indie studio Le Cabinet du Savoir..
Many of the developers who spoke to Ars cite the intrusive questioning, racial profiling, and other horror stories reported at the U.S. border. "I read a few long reads about how UK/German tourists ended up detained, and that was the final straw for me," Austrian-based Cohop Game founder Eline Muijres said. "It doesn't feel safe for me."
Domini Gee, a Canadian game writer and narrative designer echoed that concern, adding: "There's no shortage of stories... about the risk of detainment, deportation, phones being searched... the consequences if I'm not [OK] could be high."
The US is no longer a safe country for Westerners (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: The US is no longer a safe country for Western (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: The US is no longer a safe country for Western (Score:5, Informative)
ICE has no problems detaining citizens. https://www.propublica.org/art... [propublica.org]
Oh it's cool though. They'll eventually release you after kidnapping you halfway across the country.
Re: The US is no longer a safe country for Western (Score:5, Informative)
Not always, several citizens were deported to Mexico just because they didn't have their ID, including a couple of Native Americans who didn't even speak Spanish.
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Yes. And when Canada started recommending that Indigenous people actually carry a Canadian passport if they're travelling to the US, I believe one of the Mohawk chiefs actually say "forget that, the Jay treaty will protect us". (The Jay treaty, not recognized by Canada, says that Native Americans can cross the border freely).
The problem is, while he's completely correct, he doesn't realize that the current environment that's going to lead
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including a couple of Native Americans
You can't make this up. People who came to the land a few generations ago and took it by force deport those who have been there since written history began for being "illegal immigrants".
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It's actually no different for US citizens. I fear the USA border every time I approach it, and I'm a USA citizen with no crimes, no evidence of crimes, my current and former passport, USA bank accounts and property, etc. That country has jumped the shark.
Everytime I have been anywhere near the border, all I've needed to do is show my passport, and I've never had any problems from CBP. And I'm a naturalized citizen, non-White (in case it matters!)
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Re: The US is no longer a safe country for Wester (Score:2)
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After I started my divorce process (2018), a therapist told me that I seemed to have Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) from some childhood trauma combined with that marriage to a person that was emotionally/psychologically manipulative and emotionally abusive. I've been focused on mental health since.
I did have a significant anxiety spike after Liberation Day,
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I just figure half the voting public has anxiety every 4 years, and depending on the outcome of the election, the anxiety goes away or persist for another 4 years.
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My experiences coming back to the US are often not pleasant.
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Well, in all fairness though, the airport securitygoons, of all persuasions and sub-categories, have been little more than a value-less pack of tin-plated wannabe dictators with delusions of godhood since well before trump. Mostly trump merely unfettered them to be the massively gaping dickholes they've always aspired to be. But make no mistake; they were scum and guttertrash before trump, just like they are scum and guttertrash now, just lke they will always be scum and guttertrash even after trump and a
Re: The US is no longer a safe country for Western (Score:4, Informative)
Houston was always the worst but Chicago is painful as well. It's not just the lines, it's the attitude of the people who act bothered by having to work.
The smoothest transit I had through Immigration and Customs happened this past holiday season when landing in Atlanta. The latino families in front of were all escorted for additional screening so the white male American got to walk through without even a question.
Queuing is expected. Having traveled to Mexico, half of the EU, and multiple Asian countries over the past 2 decades, coming back to the US is the worst immigration experience that I've had. That's why I say "not pleasant".
I will say crossing over into Canada, I've had mostly non pleasant experiences with them as well. I feel they put the only rude Canadians on the border as their first line of defense.
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That's because their entire job is airport security theater! It's just for the government to say "look, we did something!" It's there to be a massive jobs program for people that would otherwise be working another service job where they'd actually have to smile once in a while.
We could cancel the entire department and save all that money and everyone but the people that'd have to get real jobs would be happy.
Cancel the whole charade and let us go back to the 90s. Please!
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We were in the green card line, so the Hispanic families that were escorted away were permanent residents of the US. Maybe just a coincidence but given the political climate, seeing two "brown" families escorted away for additional question while my family and I were not asked a single quest
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Every time there's a republican in the White House (Score:5, Interesting)
It's been like this since the 1980s. Why the hell are y'all so bad at pattern recognition? I'm not asking you to pick it up right away I could forgive you for Ronald Reagan but by the time we got to Trump shooting for a second term how is it that the American people, that's you, didn't figure this out? It's been 45 years.
Oh right, the topic. We have lost tens of billions of dollars in tourist dollars thanks to Donald Trump's Gestapo going around arresting people who are here legally in the country. It's been devastating to tourist towns of all kinds. Not to mention him threatening to invade Canada
Re:Every time there's a republican in the White Ho (Score:5, Insightful)
The world's current attitude towards the US has nothing to do with the current president being a republican, and everything to do with him being Donald Fucking Trump.
There have been numerous republican presidents in the past, and altough usually not being as much liked in the rest of the world as democratic presidents, they have had little to no impact on tourism and international trade. But then again, no previous american president, republican or democrat, has ever threatened with military action the sovereignty of allied nations, and in particular of Canada, their long time partner, friend, and unwavering ally.
And what's worse is that a majority of americans, especially those working in the tourist industry, have absolutely noticed the enormous drop in canadian tourists, but when asked for the reason, they seem completely clueless. That's what is most depressing; to see that americans really live in their own little information bubble, completely ignorant of what's happening in the rest of the world.
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But then again, no previous american president, republican or democrat, has ever threatened with military action the sovereignty of allied nations, and in particular of Canada,
Ha my mind went to Denmark. He's done it quite a lot it seems.
Bullshit (Score:3)
I'm sick and tired of people acting like Trump is some kind of aberration. He is the capstone on the shit sandwich we were warned about by Ba
Re:Every time there's a republican in the White Ho (Score:4, Informative)
Forget about Iran Contra?
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One of the things I've learned is that it's possible to know something without believing it. That is the say you have all the evidence and you acknowledge intellectually that the evidence is true and points to the conclusion however emotionally you just won't believe it.
The idea that a president, Ronald reagan, arranged for Americans to be held hostage to win an election and then sold weapons
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How many? (Score:2, Flamebait)
Is this a story about a couple dozen people not attending a conference expecting tens of thousands? Does that sound even remotely relevant? Not to me. 12 out of 10,000 is meaningless. Stating "many" absent any relative context is meaningless. "Many" could mean 50, out of, again, "tens of thousands". Not meaningful.
As it stands now, I'd have to call this purely political. Propaganda, essentially. Vagaries meant to co
Re:How many? (Score:5, Informative)
We can always let the tourism numbers speak for themselves.
Tourism to the USA declined 6% while growing worldwide. Tourism from Canada is down 28%. https://www.the-independent.co... [the-independent.com]
But it's clearly only a few blue haired individuals the librul media is showcasing.
It is just unpleasant (Score:5, Interesting)
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Odd, living near the border as an American going into Canada it was that same feel for the past forty years for us.
I won't say it is impossible, but my American relatives have never mentioned it. Maybe it really is just you.
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I read that and knew immediately that you were responding to sabbede despite sabbede's ramblings being, as usual, hidden by the moderation threshold.
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How about a relevant number, like the percentage of usual attendees who will not be attending for political reasons? You know, the thing the article is about.
If tourism is on a decline, you don't think conference attendance is also on a decline? Why might tourism be declining only in the USA? Think hard now...
So there is free speech? Or not? (Score:2)
Translation (Score:2)
It's too expensive.
Quantitative Data is Needed (Score:2)
The article only quotes people who aren't going to attend. There was no quantitative data presented, either from previous years or, especially, from previous years when international travelers may have had fears or concerns about visiting the US.
To be clear, am not discounting the concerns. I do think they're legitimate. But I also think it's important to get quantitative data on how many do attend the conference, how many are international attendees, and how this compares to previous years. Why is this imp
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Exactly. TFS already states this:
"This week, tens of thousands of game developers and producers will once again gather [...] Dozens of those developers"
If that is an indication of the numbers, this doesn't say much.
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You've misrepresented the quote. Here is the full quote, from the second paragraph of the article:
"Dozens of those developers who spoke to Ars in recent months say they’re wary of traveling to a country that has shown a callous disregard for—or outright hostility toward—the safety of international travelers. That’s especially true for developers from various minority groups, those with transgender identities, and those who feel they could be targeted for outspoken political beliefs."
They're not stupid (Score:2)
Given that CBP held a WWE person from Australia, then sent them back after weeks, and tourism from that radical country of Canada has bombed...
Good choice. (Score:5, Interesting)
USA unsafe, in part, for all. (Score:3, Interesting)
I am old, white, privileged, and a US Citizens and "I" do not feel comfortable traveling in the USA at this time! This one, and any one during a conservative administration, is a good conference to skip. Seriously!
And? (Score:2)
Okay? Don't.
Thanks? Maybe try a middle east country where you're more welcome?
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Thanks? Maybe try a middle east country where you're more welcome?
Seems like only white South Africans are welcome here.
Are you white and from South Africa?
If not, maybe try a middle east country where you're more welcome.
US or SF (Score:2)
Are they put off by the US or by SF?
Same as NAMM and CES in January (Score:4, Interesting)
The number of international exhibitors were down at both NAMM and CES in January. It was especially striking at NAMM in Anaheim. This is looking like a distinct trend.
Not a good sign. Really not. (Score:2)
USians with means moving abroad, scientific panels advising the US, tourists steering clear, regulars avoiding conferences in the US, effing Iceland and Norway suddenly looking to join the EU (certainly didn't see that one coming). ... I have to be honest, I'm a tad worried about where the US is headed.
And I have a hunch that I'm not the only one. ...
Re:Consequence culture? (Score:5, Informative)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:5, Interesting)
Customs has always had discretion for who it will allow into the country at ports of entry.
I'm an older GenX Canadian. This is of course correct.
The difference now compared to 20 years ago is the outright hostility you encounter more often than not from American Customs and Border Protection agents.
While never particularly friendly, in the before-times they were very rarely antagonistic. It was an efficient, almost boring exercise.
Contrast that with now while they angrily scroll through your phone in case you have JD Vance memes while barking orders (yes, they could always look through your phone, but they were looking for CSAM or evidence of immigration violations, not whether you had an AI-generated image of Putin and Trump smooching.)
Canadians like me are saying "screw that" and going to Costa Rica, Mexico, Europe or a hundred other places instead.
We're off to the Netherlands on Thursday. Two years ago we would have gone to the Eastern Seaboard.
Of course the Trump supporters reply "Fuck you, America doesn't need you anyway" but the fact remains that across the USA there are campaigns desperately trying to get Canadians to come back. To which we respond "Fuck you, America."
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Kind of a weird time to go to the Netherlands. The weather will be unpredictable.
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Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
I have global entry, so I've never had to deal with them. You literally just walk in while the guy sitting next to his computer glares at you. No documents, no search, no anything, just facial recognition. If you regularly travel to the US, you should probably do the same. You don't have to have a US passport to get that, though I think it goes under a different name for non-US passports.
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First, I wasn't talking to you.
WTF? Do you know how forums work.
Let's keep this simple. You suggested Global Entry was a solution for non-USA travelers. I looked into it a few years back when I was traveling to the USA several times a year. I forget what the gotcha was but I passed on the idea at the time. The core problem is a USA citizen has a virtually unconditional right of entry, the rest of us have zero rights to enter and the current administration is really pushing that point home as hard as they can.
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Re: Consequence culture? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:3)
Time and manor not content based restrictions. Totally fine.
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
What's fiction about it? He claimed he was denied entry due to a JD Vance meme, but it turns out it had something to do with drug paraphernalia, which they even told him at the time.
Just like the French researcher you called attention to who claimed he was being denied entry for anti-Trump speech, even though they told him at the time that it was because he stole research materials from Los Alamos.
There's two sides to every story dude. Customs generally won't tell their side due to privacy laws, which were
Re:Consequence culture? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the main thing people worry about isn't any specific identity stuff, but simply that you'll be at the mercy of people who could and would hurt you, with total impunity, if they knew what you thought about them.
People have literally been abused for poking fun at the vice president in social media.
Same reason I won't visit Thailand, the only difference being that the king who they will harm you for criticizing, is a lot less in your face obnoxious (let alone murderous) than the US one.
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For some reason I'm struggling to identify the stand you are taking. Are you washing over the arbitrary or insupportable detainments by saying that sometimes they get it right? Or that game devs from other countries might be smuggling drugs or supporting terrorism? What, exactly, do you mean?
If it's that these border guard behaviors are fine with you, then say that. Not judging... just looking for clarity.
Re:Consequence culture? (Score:5, Informative)
Loudly support terrorists or terrorist organizations or smuggle drugs, and consequences should indeed find you anywhere in the world.. regardless of your profession.
A friend got turned around at the border because he posted on facebook that he wasnt particularly fond of trump.
My dude. This is not "Consequences" , this is a war on free speech.
Re:Consequence culture? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Because my understanding of cancel culture is people loudly saying "I will reject this socially", and there's enough of them that the media owners or whatever rethink their projects and go "hrm maybe I wont do this, because I don't want to be socially rejected" (in the case of companies, socially rejected = lose money). T
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Sure, but what does that have to do with people being afraid to go to the US right now? Are you under the impression that the crackdown on immigrants is primarily impacting terrorists and drug smugglers or people committing non-immigration related offenses in general?
'cos if you are, maybe it's time to put down the crack pipe. And by crack pipe I mean Fox News.
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'cos if you are, maybe it's time to put down the crack pipe. And by crack pipe I mean Fox News.
Yep Fox, but also the crack pipe.
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Loudly support terrorists or terrorist organizations or smuggle drugs, and consequences should indeed find you anywhere in the world.. regardless of your profession.
I see. So LGBTQ people, minorities, legal immigrants, and people who try to hold ICE accountable for excessive violence and outright murder are terrorists and/or drug smugglers? Good to know.
Re:Consequence culture? (Score:5, Informative)
Looks like the penalty for criticizing dear leader (otherwise known as the fuck your feelings party) is getting denied entry to the country. https://www.theguardian.com/us... [theguardian.com]
Turns out the fuck your feelings crowd has the most fragile feelings of all.
I'm also pretty sure that in the eyes of the crown George Washington was a terrorist.
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
That piece was suspiciously devoid of context, and about ten minutes of digging yielded'
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/0... [nytimes.com]
You might recall how not long ago, the US expelled a Russian cosmonaut for doing something similar. Nothing about that seemed controversial. So why is this?
Do tell
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You talking about the guy taking pictures of classified docs and sending them back to the motherland? https://www.space.com/space-ex... [space.com]
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On one hand, we have Tricia McLaughlin, who has repeatedly been caught in blatant lies about people DHS has taken action against.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
On the other hand, we have multiple French officials standing behind the scientist's story.
Just on that basis alone, the scientist's account sounds more plausible.
But also, how did a border agent even know what information was supposedly confidential?
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:4, Insightful)
We sure believe your state propaganda. The trump administration never lies or never violates its own laws, right?
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
The only 'cide he appears to have committed is career suicide. If the NYT is correct, it went a bit like this: First he stole research materials from Los Alamos, then he tried to hide it, and then he lied to his employer about why he was denied entry into the US.
Maybe the French government will stand by his story even if it weren't true in order to save face, I don't know, but I wouldn't put it past them. What I do know is that the aerospace industry has zero tolerance for that kind of thing, no matter wher
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The only 'cide he appears to have committed is career suicide.
They called him "town killer" for doing a genocide just like his daddy who was also called the same thing for the same reason.
Regardless, knowing you and how much you love to engage in conspiracy theories and shit play
The last cry of the cuck.
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
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A "terrorist organization" is a non-state actor
False. Non-state is nowhere in the definition of terrorism. If you knew anything you wouldn't have to make up so much bullshit.
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
An act of terrorism can also be an act of war. You don't know what words mean but want to argue about it. That's sad.
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
If it is a state actor then it is a terrorist state instead of an organization.
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A government is not an organization? Odd opinion to hold.
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All poodles are dogs, but not all dogs are poodles, reality is really odd sometimes!
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* Not a comprehensive list.
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And what is a "terrorist organization" to you? Is it the government of a country that you don't like? Is it the government of a city/state whose policies you don't like? Is it a political party you don't like? Is it a group fighting for freedom against a despotic government? Or a group opposing a religion you approve of? People trying to free others from oppression? All of the above?
Ask 10 random people around the world what groups they consider to be "terrorist organizations" and you'll get 10 different lists, at least one of which you probably are on. Should "consequences find you anywhere in the world" just because your government/group/religion does things other people disapprove of?
The core tenant of terrorism is (threat of) violence to enforce laws parallel to the state as a challenge to the states monopoly on violence. Actions and ideology are not in themselves determinative in whether terrorism is taking place.
For example if I don't like red shirts and I make it known anyone wearing a red shirt is going to get sucker punched when I find them out in public I'm threatening to commit an act of terrorism. If I just went around town sucker punching people while illegal it isn't in and
Re:Consequence culture? (Score:5, Informative)
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https://www.pbs.org/newshour/p... [pbs.org]
https://www.lawyerscommittee.o... [lawyerscommittee.org]
https://www.justice.gov/archiv... [justice.gov]
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/1... [nytimes.com]
https://www.justice.gov/archiv... [justice.gov]
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You wanted examples and you also left out the black church they terrorized.
Re:Consequence culture? (Score:5, Interesting)
It is not "just a street brawl" if it is done by an organization with a goal to intimidate. Quite the opposite, this is the very definition of terrorism.
Re: Consequence culture? (Score:2)
Yes, really, look the definition up in just about any dictionary.
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This administration has already insisted antifa is a terrorist organization despite there being no such organization, nor any evidence of organized anti-fascist terrorism.
The Antifa denialism makes no sense.
The arguments there is no such thing as antifa due to its decentralized nature is like saying there is no such thing as anonymous. Everyone knows anonymous exists and that it is legion, does not forget nor forgive.
The argument antifa is not a terrorist organization when it explicitly condones and justifies the use of violence against people who say things they don't agree with for the sake of mitigating fascist ideology... This is the very definition of terrorism.
You don
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i thought it was Obama's fault?
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i mean you can't blame hillary without blaming bill, can you? but then the problem is this brings us to Epstein, and so its all good.
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Typical Trumptard.
"I reject your reality and substitute my own !"
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Nobody cares about your pathetic attempts at rationalizing your islamophobia.
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A phobia is an irrational fear. It there is a group who publicly state they want to kill people like me and have a history of carrying out such attacks, then not liking them is completely rational and justified.
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Europe is completely invaded and co-opted by Islam, and the US is next. Yell at me all you want, hide all you want from it, when you hear prayer calls from minarets in your town THEN you'll get it, and by then it'll far too late.
None of the above is actually true, but blasting it across 'news' media and social media 24/7 is very effective in making people so pants-wettingly terrified that you can manipulate them in any way you choose, as long as you promise to save them from the fears you've inflicted upon them.
Re:no longer feel comfortable traveling to the US (Score:5, Informative)
That isn't even true. The US government has straight up murdered completely innocent US citizens with no punishments or repercussions.
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Alex Pretti: Having a gun, and having a gun on your person, are not crimes, and especially not punishable by death. He was also not fighting with them, he was helping a woman up who was knocked down by the gestapo.
Rene Good: She did not. She was turning away from the gestapo.
Please cite the laws that they broke. You are really bad at this.