Help! My boss thinks he works for Homeland Security.

I'm not as good a writer or story-teller as most of the people here at DU, but I want to relay a disturbing conversation that happened between me and an over-zealous manager today.

I work as a recruiter for a truck-training school. As a recruiter, my job is to visit prospective students in their homes to see if they qualify to join the program to earn a CDL. (Commercial Drivers License.) Yesterday I interviewed a newlywed couple from Syria. They were polite and wonderful hosts. They even insisted that I try some Syrian-style coffee & cakes. (They were delicious.)

Unfortunately, the husband could not read or write English very well and they didn't have the finances to attend the school at this time.

This morning back at the office I was talking to a co-worker about how polite and interesting the Arab couple was and a manager overheard me. (Let's call this manager "Bob.") I was called into his office and grilled about the Syrians. He wanted to know what their furniture was like, if they had Al Jazeera on the television, if they spoke Arabic to each other, did they have a copy of the Koran in view and several rather intrusive questions.
I answered the first few questions, but then I began to hesitate.

"Bob," I said, "I know that we should be on the lookout for suspicious activity. But these folks were just a typical couple... nothing exceptional about them except that they are Arab."

"Do you love America?" Bob asked me with a deadpan serious face.

"Well yes, but I don't see what this has to do with..." I started to reply.

Bob cut me off. "If you had a choice to live here or in a 3rd world country, would you leave?"

"...No." Not seeing were Bob was taking this.

"Do you know why those countries are so violent?" He asked.

"Which countries are you talking about?"

"The Arab countries. Do you know what the main causes of violence in the world are?"

"Ummm...poverty and political repression?" Still not seeing what Bob's point was

"Mr. Brainshrub, don't give me smart-aleck answers. Stop being naive. Have you ever lived in a poor country?"

"Yes."

At that point his phone rang and while he was talking I walked out the door.

On one hand I see his concern: A terrorist with a CDL would have the legal paperwork & HAZMAT license to transport toxic material all over the country. On the other hand, what the @#$% does "loving my country" have to do with not wanting to invade someones privacy?

During the application process, I take notes about the potential student. I know all the answers to his questions and much more...but if I'm asked about this Syrian couple again I will refuse to answer.

Any advise? Am I doing the right thing?

Of COURSE you are doing the right thing.

- the old chestnut about "loving America" and comparing it to other countries. This was a prevalent distractor/disruptor comment during the Vietnam War.

The "logic" goes something like this:

If you are criticizing anything about America it means you either hate America or you don't understand how lucky you are to live here.

Other countries don't enjoy the freedoms (like freedom of speech) that we enjoy in America, so they are inferior to America.

If you use your right to free speech to criticize anything involving America or its policies or its current leaders, it means that you deserve to live in a country with no rights and be tortured just like all "those people."

Only people who don't exercise their rights (like freedom to speak) deserve to live in America.

Got it?

look him squarely in the eyes and calmly remind him that Tim McVeigh was as American. Then walk away and attend to your job duties.

Thanks.

These people are an asset to our country. They seem to understand what America is about, in terms of starting a new life and advancing yourself. Your boss obviously doesn't.

... with homegrown white ultra-right-wing terrorists than Al-Queda in his backyard.

Print this off and leave it on his desk ...
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/01/279434.shtml

But it's awesome that you stood up for real patriotism. Good job! =)

I just don't know. If you refuse to give info does that not make them and you more suspect?

Sad, Sad state of affairs we find ourselves in.

(oh and by the way advise is advice, look it up in your favorite dictionary)

Or should I just start hanging out with the other morans in Freepland?

That's why spell checkers were invented. Use one and no one will ever suspect :)

That's fuckin nuts. If kerry somehow becomes president, what the fuck are all these brainwashed citizens gonna do?

And to answer your question: There heads will explode. It will be a beautiful thing.