Fear and Loathing in the Land of the Free: 1984

(with respect to George Orwell)

I thought I had problems today. My head was not clear.

Then two of my co-workers got here. I won't use their real names because I don't know if I'm committing a crime by typing and publishing this online. Dave and Kelly ride to work together every day.

Today, they pulled up, and almost as soon as Dave got out of the car, a black Monte Carlo pulled up right next to him. Two men got out and put him in handcuffs. These men were not in uniforms. Kelly was already out of the car and didn't realize what was going on until she was in the office.

I was just sitting here at my desk, eating my Quizno's Chicken Carbonara sub, reading the news online. Little did I realize that 'the news' was happening outside the window. Suddenly my coworkers started talking and asking what was going on. We watched as the officers (?) talked to Dave. Kelly went back outside and asked them if Dave would be back today because he's heavily relied on at work. They told her that he wouldn't be back anytime today and was being taken to Pontiac to be arraigned on suspicion of terrorism. There was no actual charge or crime mentioned.

Yesterday morning, Dave took his friend to his parole meeting at the courthouse in Pontiac. He does this every time his friend has to go see his P.O. It was hot yesterday morning, so Dave circled the courthouse with his air conditioning on. He had to drive around while doing it or else his car would overheat. Apparently, while doing this, he was approached by some officers who informed him that due to Homeland Security, his actions were suspicious. He apologized and told them they could search his car if they wanted, but they declined. The officers required that he give a statement as to why he was behaving suspiciously. As this was going on, Dave's friend came out, and he asked the officers if they wanted to talk to him to verify the story. Again, they declined.

This was the reasoning. This was what they told Dave today. They told him that he was being taken to be arraigned in Pontiac for driving around the courthouse suspiciously.

Months, maybe even a year ago, I wrote a post all about the Patriot Act, and how fucked up it was and what it means to us. I used lots of big words and heady political terms. Making it simple and real and human in your eyes was not easy because I had no concrete examples. Well, here you go.

Does this mean that tonight when I go to dinner near the 36th District Courthouse downtown (Detroit) and can't find a parking spot, if I circle around the courthouse a few times to find a parking spot, will I get picked up? Will I get branded as a terrorist? Could I be branded as an 'enemy combatant', absolving me of any rights via the Geneva Convention or the U.S. Constitution? Fucking ridiculous.

Big Brother is out there, watch yo' ass!

UPDATE: Dave is now in jail, under arrest, and the police won't tell his parents or his girlfriend what the charge is. Welcome to America, where they'll haul your ass off to jail just for driving around a courthouse aimlessly. Makes me think of the early days of Nazi Germany, or Russia, or anywhere else where Communism was perversely mutated into martial law using patriotism as an excuse.