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Comment by tonyedgecombe | Hacker News Reader

These stories we keep seeing do the US no good at all. From the outside the you look don't look very attractive to visit or do business with.

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I have to say that from the inside, we don't look all that attractive any more, either. Do us a favor and boycott us loudly - money's the only thing our government actually understands.

If this gives you any solace, I'm planning to boycott the US for the near future.

Being French, I've always wanted to visit the US, and I'd love to come work / build a startup in the Silicon Valley. I'm really interested in American culture: I read mostly american books, and hang out on various English communities (reddit, HN, ...).

But, over the last few years, I've been following closely the various US policies (TSA, press freedom, wikileaks), and I have decided this country is not for me, at least for now. If I were to emigrate, I'd go to Germany or Canada, not the US.

That said, I might be biased by all the stories I see on Reddit...

I hope you change your mind about visiting the US, and the Silicon Valley in particular. If you're concerned about your safety or enjoyment while you're here, that's fine, but I wouldn't boycott the US to make a political statement. The strange minority of Americans who don't understand freedom aren't gonna get the message. Your boycott is gonna hurt the Americans who most want our country to be a diverse, welcoming place.

I highly recommend San Francisco in particular. We have a decent sized French expat population, and the city is fairly multi-cultural and liberal, even by European standards, I think. Once you arrive here, you're in driving range of stunning natural beauty--redwood forests, SF Bay, Yosemite National Park, Big Sur, etc.

Yeah don't pay too much attention to everything you read online. I mean it's all true--as well as annoying and frightening--but such politics and invasions of privacy are confined to a small aspect of a much, much larger, diverse, and interesting society. It's not like TSA agents are raiding our private homes, or quizzing us on the way to and from work (well, unless your work is of the traveling variety).

That's true, but is it really a good choice for me to continue living in the US, afraid to visit abroad and to thereby set myself up for the hassle of getting back in?

I know that for me everything I'm hearing has dropped the US quite a bit on my "places to visit" list.

To be fair, I realize my impression is probably slanted because of the origin and type of foreign news I'm exposed to.

Keep in mind this is a sensationalist story. The TSA unfortunately consists of workers trained to follow procedures by the book and have no authority to use common sense. Luckily the only place you ever deal with them is at the airport and usually you'll just walk right on through.

This does not represent the people US who generally like tourists and will be delighted and impressed by your accent, and helpful to show you around our country. (Yes, even in New York City!) Don't be put off by a few assholes, unfortunately we have them here too.

To be clear, I was not blaming Americans for this. Most of them look to be great folks - it's their government that's starting to give me the heebie-jeebies.

Trust me we don't like our government any more than anybody else does!

Thank you for your honesty. As an American, this issue deeply concerns me.

I have relatives in the US since my mother is from Rhode Island and I find myself always putting off a visit because frankly the last time I was there the border patrol made my girlfriend cry. We were separated because we weren't yet married and she was quite aggressively questioned because she didn't know the exact trip details. I refuse to brief my loved ones for possible interrogation before a vacation.

I have to say that most of the time I've travelled into the US things have been perfectly fine. However, one time I got questioned about why I had travelled to Turkey so often and got questioned a lot about why I liked Turkey as a holiday destination - which afterwards seems a bit surreal but at the time was quite alarming.

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