reid8470

You said the worst parts of the job are the hours/morale/etc. When I head back into the US (as a citizen), the agents I interact with have always been a mixed bowl. More often than not I'll deal with a customs officer who is really nice, relaxed, and professional. Other times I'll deal with a complete asshole who is impatient, condescending, etc.

I don't expect nice, but I don't expect condescending either. When I'm going through that line, the only thing running through my head is "I've been cramped in a tiny ass plane seat or sleeping like shit on airport floors for the past 24 hours, I just want to get home without dealing with some prick."

Do you have any insight into what's behind the individuals in CBP who act like complete assholes to people? I can't imagine it's a part of training, and it's definitely a minority. Do agents just tend to lose their patience towards the end of a long shift?

It's like... I understand if someone had a shitty day at work and isn't in a good mood, but it kinda sucks being on the receiving end of it--serves as a cherry on top to a miserable day of travel, except that cherry is made of shit and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Makes an already bad day worse.

The real question here is what the fuck is that wallpaper? Do you live in a doll house? Is that real or photoshopped?

I completely believe that everyone should work a customer service job once in their life.

Yeah I get where you're coming from, and it's definitely a minority of CBP, but it confuses the hell out of me 'cause it seems like they're miserable. Act like some of these officers do in a customer service setting like retail and that person would be fired.

No problem with a CBP officer avoiding any small talk and just doing his or her job, but the condescending, talking-down-on bullshit that occasionally surfaces always makes me think "Man... Find another job if you can't treat people with basic respect."

---

Another question: my buddy swears that wearing an American flag t-shirt (with nothing covering it) gets you through CBP reliably in the quickest possible way. Any truth to that?

Someone with a large history of racist comments on social media. That being said, she's one of nearly 4,500 employees, so it's a bit ridiculous to regard the entire New York Times as a "racist organization", particularly when the times expressed condemnation of the language, but Jeong's boss(es) was convinced that it was in her past and was contextually less controversial, per the Times noting:

"She regrets it, and the Times does not condone it," the statement said, adding that "she understands that this type of rhetoric is not acceptable at the Times".

Do I think she should've been fired after the tweets surfaced? Yeah, but I also think it's hyperbolic to label the Times as a racist organization.

Because making it as tedious as possible to vote is part of the design in a lot of states.