I don't really expect a great deal from the news these days but in the past 8 - 10 years I think that most people have kind of figured out that the media is completely full of it and will run with a story if they think people are going to want to hear it without much concern being paid to whether or not it is true or whether or not it is useful.
In the case of this guy from Norway getting denied entry to the USA because, as he claims, some memes that were on his phone, I guess you could say that I don't really care and also suspect any time this happens, that there is a lot more to the story than the victim says there is but at the end of the day, is this really news?
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Mads Mikkelsen is the name of the guy and he said he was harassed and held for a time by Customs and later threatened that he would be fined $5000 if he didn't unlock his phone for the officials and that is when he says that the officers discovered memes of JD Vance and then he was later denied entry into the United States.
Homeland Security denies these claims and says that he was denied entry because of "his admitted drug use." I don't know who to believe here but it doesn't really matter to me who is telling the truth here because neither reason is a good one for denying someone entry to a place. The type of drugs are not defined in the 1 or 2 articles that I read but to me it doesn't really matter.
I am reminded of a friend of mine that was applying for Federal jobs, one of which was Secret Service and during the interview process he admitted that he had smoked marijuana in his college days in a recreational capacity on a few occasions. This was used as justification for him being disqualified for the job and it was kind of ironic because at the time George W. Bush was President and "W" had previously admitted to having a bit of a cocaine habit when he himself was in college.
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I like the JD Vance memes, I think they are funny. JD Vance thinks they are funny. They are objectively funny. Now whether or not Immigration or Homeland decided to not let this guy in the country because of this is pure speculation but honestly, I doubt it.
I haven't had a great deal of interaction with Immigration or Customs or Homeland because I have only traveled outside of the United States once, but I do recall that the people who were in those boxes were very serious individuals that seemed to be looking for issues anywhere that they could. So the people who are getting all worked up over this viral story, can you admit that it is at least possible that they had other reasons for denying Mads entry?
If he was unjustly denied entry I don't really think that it would be this big of a deal if the media wasn't constantly looking for some reason, any reason, to point the finger at the current administration so they can say "fascism." This word is used so frequently these days that it has stopped really having any sort of meaning. When you call everything that, nothing is that anymore, even when it is.
This will completely go away in a few days but isn't it just a bit annoying that the media will latch onto something like this and push it on the people while they scream "the sky is falling" yet again?
The comments section of the places that allow comments for this are just filled with the usual comments and claims of this being an oppressive regime and how the President and VP are to blame as if they were in the room with them when this happened. Creating this echo chamber of people getting so worked up about problems that aren't really a big deal seem to be the media's main job right now
This is a huge nothing-burger that I believe the term is gaslighting. Don't we have more important stuff to worry about or is everything the end of the world now?
It's annoying but also I think a lot of people are just immediately inclined to assume the media is lying or stretching the truth because no matter where you are politically, can you not admit that the media has just proven themselves to be peddlers of half-truths or just outright lies time and time again in the past decade?
I think Mads should set up a goFundme seeing as how idiots these days are extremely willing to give away money to just about anything these days. Do it Mads! Do it! That's the only way you can stay in the news!