Peter Watts discusses his arrest at US border

Tony from the StarShipSofa podcast sez, "Dr Peter Watts, Canadian science fiction writer talks openly to Sofanauts host Tony C. Smith about his arrest by US border guards, being maced, imprisoned, punched in the face and his feelings towards the people that did this. This is a very candid and open testament of what happened on that day and the days proceeding it."

• [Anonymous]

  Moderator please publish this.

  The only hope we have for america is that the horrible system in place will fold onto itself from sheer ignorance and lack of foresight. It is VERY VERY VERY FREAKING CLEAR that the system is a joke. Its ridiculous the level of corruption and even though we know of it still nothing is done to fix it. Democrats/Repbulicans should be ashamed of themselves for picking sides instead of issues. Police should be ashamed of themselves for enforcing with great violence laws they know in their heart are unjust, and for fleecing the public for money and adrenaline. (ps the police drug dogs are literally addicted to drugs, and police officers are literally addicted to adrenaline. AKA Adrenaline Junkies, which is exactly why they enjoy escalating the situation instead of quelling it. It also doesnt help that they are chosen for their lack of intelligence and lack of empathy. Literally if you care too much for your fellow man it will show in the psych test and you will not be hired. Then later when an unintelligent and uncaring officer shoots a couple and their dog he gets paid leave and is nearly ALWAYS “FOUND
  GUILTY OF NO WRONGDOING” The average police officer has an IQ of below 100 and the average american is above 100.
  Lets talk about judges. Well mr so and so just built a new JAIL and needs it filled. Hmmm who could he go to and give money to increase his prison population quickly? The same as a hospital with a new mri or xray machine… suddenly it needs to be paid for and they keep it humming with clients, etc. etc..
  Now lets get deeper into the system. Lawyers, If you have met one they I will not even need to inform you of the level of evil they spew onto the world.
  What about senators, politicians, and those who help form laws, epa, fda, etc. Nearly every last one of them has been BRIBED, or should I say LOBBIED. A lobbyist aka the person looking to BRIBE or PAY a politician to change his views on subjects is a criminal in any other circumstance, yet in government he is an integral and legal part. All perfectly legal.

  The government no longer views its citizens as free americans, they now view you as a commodity. They do not want your freedom or truth, they want your MONEY! AKA BONDs so they can use them as a bank uses its deposits and make money from it, So they take 5000 from you and make about 18$ from it. Thats what you are worth. They DO NOT TREAT YOU AS AN INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. ANYONE WHO HAS ACTUALLY DEALT WITH THE POLICE WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE TREATED LIKE SCUM REGARDLESS OF INNOCENCE. If you live in a nice neighborhood please do not disagree just because you dont live in an area where police get away with murder. To further prove they ONLY CARE ABOUT MONEY, if you have money then you have none of these problems and you likely have a somewhat respectable police force. Here is the SCAM. They invest your bond for the few months/years they have it. Instead of just giving it back they will nearly always confiscate it for whatever reason they can find. Oh you are innocent and even found innocent? well you still paid 1500 for a lawyer, 1000 for a bond, and an additional 200 for “court costs” looky there your freedom only cost you 2700.oo dollars. Oh by the way, if you are lucky enough to have someone post your bond because you are too poor to do so. Well the state sees that as a reason to not offer you FREE state provided lawyer. You know, the one they offer when they say you have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney if you cannot afford one. WHAT A LOAD OF BULL.

  Oh and to you Dems/Reps/Ind, you make me sick.
  studies have proven that if you take a group of very similar people and split them into teams of red and blue they will instantly form a bond and then commit constant negative actions against their “enemies”. Do you honestly look at the issue and the people, NO the majority do not because that would take character and conviction to stand against your fellow teammates for what makes sense. Instead they use it as a way to constantly attack the other side stating how stupid the other side is and flawed their thinking is because it differs from their team. Or they are just too lazy to actually review the facts and make an informed decision. The whole thing is ridiculous and shameful.

  MY HEART GOES OUT TO PETER………………….
  I AM SO SORRY YOU TRIED TO ACT AS A FREE MAN IN OUR CURRENT POLICE STATE MILITANT REGIME OF UNINTELLIGENT, LYING, AND VIOLENCE INDUCING POLICE FORCE.

  So thats it folks, the dream is dead, freedom is not free at least for you and me. Justice is not just, Illegal isnt always wrong and Legal isnt always right. At one point it was legal to rob and murder women in public if you just said the magic word Witch.

  Ill leave you with this quote from frederick douglas.

  “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.”

  • [Ugly Canuck]

    It is a very rare thing, but it has happened in the past, that for the great mass of a State’s populace what is to be feared from oppression by the State, becomes less than what is hoped to be gained by resistance to the State.
    That is when established governments get overthrown. And quickly, and without much bloodshed, too. (It is in the consolidation of power in the aftermath of such sudden revolutions that things tend to get bloody between the factious “victors” or “allies” which have succeeded in taking the vanguard, and strive to obtain sole power and leadership).
    I do not see that things have reached that point in the USA, and I doubt that they will, any time soon.
    I think that there is yet a “silent majority”,
    but that they are quite a bit to the left of the current crop of US “thought leadership” – in fact, IMHO, that majority has never left the center: it’s the paid media propagandists (quite often nowadays the most important people on a US politicians’ staff) who have been marching to the “right”: by which I mean to a point where violence and/or deceit is ALWAYS the preferred “Official Response”.

• [lolbrandon]

  As an American, I feel embarrassed and ashamed of what happened. I don’t know who Peter Watts, but the fact that something like this happened to anyone visiting this country is shameful and wrong.

  This is something I do not want to listen to, but I feel like I should. I will, just not right now.

• [ArghMonkey]

  Another reason to never ever travel to the u.s.

  That country deserves to crumble.

• [Blackbird]

  That was a great interview! Well…less interview and more telling of the story…but well done! I really hope that this will bring about some change. Everyone needs to hear what Peter has said about this incident.

• [Jupiter12]

  It’s apparently not just an American thing. Watts has problems with the authorities in Canada, too. In 1991 he was convicted for obstructing a police officer in Guelph, Ontario. I’d like to see a video tape of the border incident to find out what really happened. Hearing just one side of the story doesn’t cut it; especially when the jury heard both sides and agreed that Watts was in the wrong. Yes, the cops and border agents can be abusive but something seems fishy since this is the second time the seemingly “mild-mannered” Watts has had problems with authority figures that resulted in a conviction.

  • [Anonymous]

    If you actually listen to the interview before posting then both your points would have been answered.

    • [Jupiter12]

      I did listen to it. Only Watts’ side was presented. As I side, hearing just one side doesn’t cut it.

• [alllie]

  If they could do this to Peter Watts, who is a somewhat famous writer, they could do this to any of us. We now live in a police state.

  How do we change that?

  • [ian71]

    You can’t.

    Any radical attempt to change the status quo will be branded ‘terrorism’, such as how in the past it was labeled ‘communism’ or ‘witchcraft’ or whatever bugbear keeps you good citizens in line.

    Remember, when they say “As You Were” they really, REALLY mean it.