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Tuesday, May 6, 2008

They Be

posted by on May 6 at 11:37 AM

Officially not terrorists…
2003847290.jpgtourists.

They were software consultants in town for a weeklong business conference — not terrorists planning an attack to cripple the country’s largest ferry system.

Last summer, the FBI launched an international search for two men after crew members and riders on a Washington State Ferry reported their unusual behavior — namely that they were taking pictures below deck, in areas that don’t hold much interest for most tourists.

A ferry captain snapped their photo, which was passed along to the FBI.

Turns out the men, both citizens of a European Union nation, were captivated by the car-carrying capacity of local ferries.

“Where these gentlemen live, they don’t have vehicle ferries. They were fascinated that a ferry could hold that many cars and wanted to show folks back home,” FBI Special Agent Robbie Burroughs said Monday.

The ferry captain (a fucking hick) should be punished for taking that photo.

Another news story about tourists:


Police in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro are to investigate claims that tourists visiting some of the city’s shanty towns are being offered a chance to meet armed drug dealers.

The police say they want to establish if the lives of tourists are being put at risk, but the company involved has defended its policy.

For many years guided tours of favelas or shanty towns have been an option for people visiting Rio de Janeiro.

Distinctive green coloured open four-by-four vehicles can often be seen stopping at hotels to pick up tourists who want to see the other side of life in the city.


RSS icon Comments

1

Terrorists, tourists; if you say them with a Texas drawl, they both sound pretty much the same.

Posted by COMTE | May 6, 2008 11:57 AM
2

Interesting that it's so acceptable to call someone a "fucking hick," despite the passionate feelings they possess about the prejidices of other people.

Posted by PJ | May 6, 2008 11:58 AM
3

Chances are the next attack will be through the unguarded port at New Orleans, given the state of disrepair there thanks to Kaiser Bush.

Posted by Will in Seattle | May 6, 2008 11:59 AM
4

Yeah, because that ferry captain had no right to take a photo of some people.

Posted by Emily | May 6, 2008 12:05 PM
5

Fucking Hick? Nice. So we can make fun of people and call them names? What about spooks and fags? Are they fair game?

Posted by Rotten666 | May 6, 2008 12:24 PM
6

He's a fucking hick because he thinks that even dark-complected white people like this are "different" and probably terrorists. That is as un-cosmopolitan, and thus "hick", as you can get.

Posted by Fnarf | May 6, 2008 12:29 PM
7

I hope that ferry captains cease being vigilant in the pursuit of security on the ferries.

Come on, it is SO hickish to be concerned about people wanting to blow them up.

Way to make me side with Bush types, Chuckles.

Posted by ecce homo | May 6, 2008 12:33 PM
8

sheesh, I'm becoming a right-wing apologist on the board. Ok, he's a hick...OR MAYBE... After years as a captain, and after years of seeing people take pics of the view, and never the ferry, it looked strange to see people taking a lot of photos of the ferry, so he simply reported it on to people who could judge whether or not there was anything there. It's not like he held them or attacked or anything else. He simply said here, Mr. Expert, maybe I'm paranoid, but these guys took pictures of my ship. Should I be worried? THey looked into it, and no. No need to be concerned.

Posted by MR. Language Person | May 6, 2008 12:35 PM
9

Well, come on now. If it was a white family with wee blond children along, demonstrating the exact same behavior, ain't no way no one would be concerned. Clearly these guys' presumed race had something to do with the suspicion.

It remains a tough decision, though, what should be done in a situation like this. Even if I felt suspicion, I would probably feel too ashamed of myself for my racial profiling to report it. But what about the situation where there was something to be concerned about? Ferry boom, and it's all my fault.

Posted by leek | May 6, 2008 12:40 PM
10

Good god. For once I agree with ecce home. Too bad there weren't any racist hicks hanging around those pilot training schools in 2000. Those racist non cosmopolitan hicks could have saved us a lot of trouble.

Posted by Rotten666 | May 6, 2008 12:41 PM
11

(A) The entire suspicion, investigation, and news publication of two swarthy men was grossly racist and reprehensible.

(B) Yes, the captain is a fucking hick.

(C) Despite all that, anyone can take a picture of anything on a ferry, so why not the captain? I don't see anything wrong with taking the photo. It was the reaction to the photo that was reprehensible, not the photo itself. The fear of taking photos is part of what caused the suspicion in the first place. If not for all the ridiculous suspicion, these guys could look like a Bainbridge Island gay couple.

Posted by Reverse Polarity | May 6, 2008 12:43 PM
12

@2, @5...oh, I can't list them all...

You're surprised? This is typical Stranger bullshit: Bigotry by those who claim to despise bigotry.

It's not surprising that Charles wrote "fucking hick." Savage does this kind of thing weekly. And shit rolls downhill, from the "editorial director" to everyone below him.

The Stranger's intolerance of Republicans, Christians, hicks, Southerners, etc. (I am only one of those, by the way) is shocking, particularly from a paper that so vehemently preaches tolerance.

Of course, Savage and the staffers won't respond to any of our complaints. They'll keep charging ahead with blinders on.

Posted by Dan Ravaged | May 6, 2008 12:43 PM
13

@9. It wouldn't surprise me at all if that were the captain's thought process.

Posted by MR. Language Person | May 6, 2008 12:44 PM
14

@9 of course race has something to do with it. When blond haired, blue eyed Norwegians start crashing planes into neighborhoods, I will sure as shit report them if I see them doing something fishy.

Posted by Rotten666 | May 6, 2008 12:47 PM
15

@14

So Oklahoma City, Colombine, Nazism, etc, etc, never happened?
THAT is a problem

Posted by MR. Language Person | May 6, 2008 12:51 PM
16

@10,

Concerns were reported to the FBI by "racist hicks" about suspicious activities at those piloting schools. It was the FBI's fault for not doing a damn thing about it.

Posted by keshmeshi | May 6, 2008 1:10 PM
17

@16 Duly noted, I was trying to make a point. And I agree that the FBI deserves much of the blame for not doing anything about it.

Posted by Rotten666 | May 6, 2008 1:17 PM
18

It looks like the Office of Tourism was a bit premature in aborting their planned "Say WA!" slogan to promote the state.

Posted by Andy Niable | May 6, 2008 1:20 PM
19

but **IF** they DID manage to blow up a ferry or two, the public would be up in arms for not catching them before hand.

black, white, yellow, green or polka-dotted.. i don't care.... profile all you want... i take the ferry at least three times a month, i don't want to be treading water in the Sound after that fucking thing goes down.

Posted by dawn | May 6, 2008 1:40 PM
20

Lots of people take tons of photos on and of the ferries. And those guys are not "middle-eastern". The suggestion that the captain was "being vigilant in the pursuit of security" is laughable on the face of it.

Posted by Fnarf | May 6, 2008 1:50 PM
21

I'm assuming that Charles is assuming that the captain is a white male, because only white males are capable of racism and bigotry, right?
What if the captain is an Islamic, transgender half-African half-Aleutian Islander?

Posted by john cocktosin | May 6, 2008 2:01 PM
22

He didn't say "white". He said "hick". If you don't think a person of color can be a hick, you're a boob.

Seriously, people: there is a cosmopolitan reaction to seeing people who look like this (let me guess, are you French?) and a hick reaction (they might be terrorists). If you are cosmopolitan, you are accustomed to seeing people who -- gasp! -- wear turtlenecks and stuff. If you're a hick, you don't.

Posted by Fnarf | May 6, 2008 2:11 PM
23

AMERICA FUCK YEAH

America...
America...
America, FUCK YEAH!
Coming again, to save the mother fucking day yeah,
America, FUCK YEAH!
Freedom is the only way yeah,
Terrorist your game is through cause now you have to answer too,
America, FUCK YEAH!
So lick my butt, and suck on my balls,
America, FUCK YEAH!
What you going to do when we come for you now,
it’s the dream that we all share; it’s the hope for tomorrow

FUCK YEAH!

McDonalds, FUCK YEAH!
Wal-Mart, FUCK YEAH!
The Gap, FUCK YEAH!
Baseball, FUCK YEAH!
NFL, FUCK, YEAH!
Rock and roll, FUCK YEAH!
The Internet, FUCK YEAH!
Slavery, FUCK YEAH!

FUCK YEAH!

Starbucks, FUCK YEAH!
Disney world, FUCK YEAH!
Porno, FUCK YEAH!
Valium, FUCK YEAH!
Reeboks, FUCK YEAH!
Fake Tits, FUCK YEAH!
Sushi, FUCK YEAH!
Taco Bell, FUCK YEAH!
Rodeos, FUCK YEAH!
Bed bath and beyond (Fuck yeah, Fuck yeah)

Liberty, FUCK YEAH!
White Slips, FUCK YEAH!
The Alamo, FUCK YEAH!
Band-aids, FUCK YEAH!
Las Vegas, FUCK YEAH!
Christmas, FUCK YEAH!
Immigrants, FUCK YEAH!
Popeye, FUCK YEAH!
Democrats, FUCK YEAH!
Republicans (republicans)
(fuck yeah, fuck yeah)
Sportsmanship
Books

Posted by bobcat | May 6, 2008 2:52 PM
24

Sorry, but the taller guy looks like a terrorist right out of central casting. If you visit a country that has been attacked by terrorists who look just like you do, you're bound to run into few difficulties.

Posted by Justy | May 6, 2008 3:10 PM
25

I think they're hot!

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | May 6, 2008 4:13 PM

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