OT: Harassment and deportation of Stream of Passion?!

[crapola]

And how do we know exactly what the tour organizers did or didn't do beforehand? Did it ever occur to anybody that somebody might've told them wrong?

The same crap happens with the IRS. Did you know that if you call them asking for help on your taxes and the IRS agent tells you the wrong thing, they can still throw you in jail for following their own agent's advice? I know firsthand from someone who went through an audit that the IRS types don't all know their stuff. In his case, he was lucky that the agent's supervisor DID know, but I'm just saying, there's a LOT of incompetence that can screw over even people with the best of intentions who try to do everything right.

But again--the people trying to cast the band as the bad guys here are consistently failing to answer my main question: what justifies the nasty treatment from the immigration officials? I would be nowhere near as pissed about this if there'd just been a polite, "Oops, you have the wrong papers--how about you reapply using the following forms and come back later when everything's straightened out?" Instead they had to harass them and treat them with no dignity whatsoever.

i too know first hand the crap that the irs dishes out... its happening to me right now. they owe me nearly $4000AU and they refuse to pay it. i am definitely entitled to earned income credits but because i am out of the country they dont want to pay me... oh well, tough titties for me..

do we know that members of the band werent equally rude and obnoxious to the customs officers? just because they say they werent, how do you know that that is correct? and could the band be making a mountain out of a molehill? are there language barriers? we all know that not all english is english... understanding some english accents is damn near as hard as trying to understand someone from the american deep south, and if english isnt your first language then you are in all sorts of trouble, especially if slang creeps into a conversation. maybe everyone should speak australian... we all sound the same, just a few words are pronounced slightly different.

ultimately, anyone who is travelling to a foreign country should be responsible for checking their own visa requirements and not leave it to a third person, regardless of who they are.

i'm not trying to justify who was right and who was wrong, but having watched a tv show here about our customs & immigration officers and the treatment they get from visitors, when they are just doing their job, does make me wonder.

 

[Eternal Dragon]

They should have come to Australia instead...that'll teach em

Australia lets EVERYONE in (well it seems that way ).

 

[forgottenglory]

What a sad and unfortunate story...I bet while they were overzelously holding back those guys who were coming on a bona fide reason, 10,428 migrating birds have already made their way into the UK without those morons permission. They don't like all immigrants they say...are they going to regulate birds and microscopic creatures as well?

 

[DoomsdayZach]

What a sad and unfortunate story...I bet while they were overzelously holding back those guys who were coming on a bona fide reason, 10,428 migrating birds have already made their way into the UK without those morons permission. They don't like all immigrants they say...are they going to regulate birds and microscopic creatures as well?

 

[ABQShredHead]

I know firsthand from someone who went through an audit that the IRS types don't all know their stuff.

So, you actually know second-hand...

But, I find it interesting nobody expresses much anger against bin Laden and his clan these days. If we weren't dealing with these assholes who are trying to blow up whatever shit they can blow up for the sake of their jihad, we wouldn't have such heightened customs scrutinies and hassles. Look at the crap that they have broken up at Heathrow over the last year. I can see why they would treat a foreigner without proper papers in such a manner. The officials don't know who the hell SOP are, probably.

Every time I travel (quite a bit) I curse bin Laden. But, I'm sure that while he's reading posts about the havoc he has caused in this world, he is ROFLing in his cave.

 

[Rose Immortal]

LOL, a slip of the fingers. Although said source is a family member I trust completely to have told the truth, so it's about as good as firsthand.

Oh, trust me, I AM pissed off at bin Laden and all the other extremist assholes who want to blow us up.

It just seems to me in this case, there was more than adequate proof out there of who SoP was that wouldn't have been too hard to get at. This isn't like some unsigned garage band doing the same thing that has no way to prove who they are and what they're doing. But regardless, there is simply no excuse for unprofessional conduct from the immigration officials. Yes, it's a tough job, but they should know that when they sign up. Similarly with waiting tables in a restaurant or doing retail: don't be stupid and take a customer-service job if you don't want to ever deal with a rude customer. Not saying that the SoP members or promoters were rude, but I'm just saying, it makes no sense to excuse somebody for making a choice to be rude because under pressure or not, it is a choice they made and for which they are wholly responsible.

Summed up: telling someone they don't have the right papers, however it happened, is one thing. There is a professional, courteous way to handle it. Being an asshole about it is a whole other thing, and that, more than anything, is what I find so infuriating here. It doesn't matter who it's done to--it's wrong no matter what.

And forgottenglory--Didn't they just have their first bird flu outbreak in Britain? Hmm...maybe they SHOULD be watching the avian immigration problem a little more closely...

 

[Jax]

Be nice, Zach.

 

[Matt]

This shall be my new avatar.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

Be nice, Zach.

*whines* but jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax... i was being nice! Instead of saying how i really felt, i used a humorous image to convey my feelings.

 

[Horus]

It's Stephan Colbert, so it's nice by default.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

Yes. he's a nice conservative boy.

 

[SilentRealm]

Australia lets EVERYONE in (well it seems that way ).

seems that way, but its not.. they only let EVERYONE who is illegal in, and people who have the paperwork they give hell to

 

[Taliwakker]

ABQ wrote

But, I find it interesting nobody expresses much anger against bin Laden and his clan these days. If we weren't dealing with these assholes who are trying to blow up whatever shit they can blow up for the sake of their jihad, we wouldn't have such heightened customs scrutinies and hassles.

maybe not everybody thinks Bin Laden and his clan are to blame

 

[ABQShredHead]

True. But, they can't keep their heads in the sand forever. They'll eventually run out of oxygen.

 

[Taliwakker]

True. But, they can't keep their heads in the sand forever. They'll eventually run out of oxygen.

When the US end up invading the whole middle east you'll have all the sand you want

 

[SilentRealm]

there is tension a-brewin' - its hard to be diplomatic and have an opinion at the same time

 

[crapola]

^^ the boys are starting to sound a little like little johnny and barak obama...

 

[Taliwakker]

its hard to be diplomatic and have an opinion at the same time

Fuck diplomacy Charis...say what you think...its what your soul demands

 

[Taliwakker]

the boys are starting to sound a little like little johnny and barak obama...

....if he (jackboot johnny) thinks that the democrats are the terrorists "party of choice" he's saying the republicans will be voting against themselves

 

[crapola]

^^ little johnny doesnt have any idea about american politics except what dubya feeds him