I'm a relatively brave traveler, so I'm fine with traveling the world, though I will continue to avoid the same places that I avoided in 2024. As a citizen of the US, my biggest worry is that the government junta will find a way to impose martial law, particularly in those states whose residents show the greatest opposition to their various illegal and unconstitutional actions. That would severely limit my ability to travel to my favorite places in the US.
"As a citizen of the US, my biggest worry is that the government junta will find a way to impose martial law, particularly in those states whose residents show the greatest opposition to their various illegal and unconstitutional actions."
This won't happen because the Dems didn't get elected, thank goodness.
What scares me now is travel. This is an apropos time to post your article. With the events of the last 24 hours, I’m worried about traveling into Times Square New York City or other major city. I’m worried about flying overseas or flying from country to country in Europe. I’m worried that we might start seeing terrorist attacks that we haven’t seen in decades. Something‘s gonna happen and I don’t wanna be there when it happens and I generally don’t panic over these things. We have a trip upcoming end of September to Sicily, but I can’t believe I’m saying this. I’m glad it’s on a non-US airline. And of course today we’re flying home from a cruise but thankfully from Miami to New York. I am very concerned now all of the other things seem trivial about travel in my opinion now.
Bernard, I hear you. I'm also staying off U.S. airlines -- just in case. Flying a low-cost Korean airline over to Germany next week. Definitely not a possible terrorist target.
I’ve long aimed for foreign companies even within the U.S.
they may have an American pilot but the crews are usually foreign. And the service on East Asian airlines has always been superior for me than local US flights.
Fear that when at logan airport, tsa will pull me aside because I posted something mean about trump. Fear they will inconvenience me and delay me because they can, and smugly make us miss our flight. My wife getting mad at me because it’s my fault. Fear that bringing my Canadian passport in my luggage gets flagged (I am dual us/can and yes I will leave usa as is but want to and have in the past enter EU as a Canadian because I honestly do not think it is good to be usa now, but just saying this and thinking this and having the Canadian passport will cause the above first issue). Fear that something changes to make us cancel things and some hotels we have have deadlines as to when you can cancel for a full points refund (now even with status many chains have begun to slip that crap in lately. For example, one place in Italy needs a month out for cancellations) fear that cancelling will make our return flight on American which I paid for refund to vouchers which I hate. To make it refund to cash I would need to give them a few hundred dollars which is robery. Fear that we land in Philly to find my or us detained because of something I had posted on fb or just cuz we are residents in a blue state or some big problem happening and we are stuck there and can’t get home to Boston. Fear that my small business is so slow we cannot afford this trip but we already booked it. Fear that we need to go now because the world will change to prevent it soon. Fear of the asshats that negativity respond to this post.
I am the most afraid of our own U.S. policies that are turning Americans into pariahs around the world and targets at home. The anonymous masked goons whisking people off our streets and carting them off to foreign gulags is frightening to us and scary for any potential foreign tourists. The seizing and checking of phones/social media for any critique of the current U.S. regime is shocking. Political murders in the U.S. reminds me of mafia revenge killings. I think avoiding U.S. travel is smart and keeping a low profile as an American overseas is wise.
I lived in the Middle East for 10 years including during the Gulf War when it was not unusual for political kidnappings of Americans. We pretended to be Canadian.
I am worried about terrorism against Americans at home and abroad now that we are in another Middle East war.
I also worry about how American institutions at home will react to threats given the immigration crackdown and who will get caught up in it the dragnet.
1st fear: the American regime and its thugs. 2nd fear: the world's retaliation against us. Dump has put a target firmly on all of our backs!! I used to work as a subcontractor on cruise ships. Haven't done that in almost a year. Just doesn't feel safe no matter how you spin it.
How quaint the problems of hostile locals, overcrowding, sickness, tours and airlines seem now that Americans abroad can expect to be targets of revenge.
I worry about, in no particular order, hurricanes, floods, pandemics, volcanoes, airport closures, strikes, strokes, financial crashes, broken bones, thefts, pickpockets, scams, stolen credit cards, lost passport, traffic accidents, political upheavals, terrorism, food poisoning, the unknown, fear itself, and, of course, the boogeyman.
Be prepared with a good lawyer. Invoke your 5th Amendment right to remain silent. Invoke your 6th Amendment right to speak to an attorney. Anything you say will be used against you in the court of law. Never speak to law enforcement officers without a lawyer present. CBP can harass you but can't detain you indefinitely.
Unfortunately, Congress has given CBP broad powers. They are allowed to rummage through your electronic devices and even make a copy of the contents. Appalling privacy invasion, seeing how our whole lives are contained in our phones nowadays. Good luck! We are all going to need it!
Traveling, and not afraid. If you want to travel, there are certain risks inherent in doing it. Weather and mechanical delays are ones that have happened to me multiple times, but I eventually got where I was going. Trip to Europe coming up, but not to the most popular places in the most popular countries. A woman in my neighborhood was killed in her bed when a large tree crashed through the roof in a storm. She would have been safer on a trip. Such is life.
Well, woke up this morning in Puglia with a text from my husband warning me and our daughter that the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities. Uh! Oh! While this Puglia paradise feels a million miles away from the current global chaos we’re scheduled to fly home tomorrow. Have absolutely no idea what to expect at the airport. Got refundable airfare tickets and comprehensive travel insurance. Fingers crossed but will approach tomorrow with a flexible attitude.
Travel fear/anxiety is caused, at least in part, by the MSM, Facebook, and social media in general. And frankly TDS is also a major source of that angst.
The bread and butter of this newsletter is travel horror stories and while you may offer ways to avoid them and help with their resolution, it does feed into the general fear of something going wrong whenever you step out of your home.
6 of us took all of the right steps in planning a Viking Danube cruise. We picked late spring to assure that water levels would not be an issue, created our own short extensions and booked our flights. 12 hours before our planned departure from home our cruise was cancelled by Viking. Yes they refunded us our money but offered us pittance in compensation for a future booking. They ruined our long planned vacation.
Sure they refunded you your money but I bet you wish they paid you interest on that money you put out. I was planning to do a Viking cruise next year but hearing your story I am going to do more research. Thanks for your comment.
Had a great experience on a Viking Rhine cruise last October. Booked it the previous May (hubby stressed about water levels all summer), and yes, they do want payment quickly if you haven't sailed with them before. I read the fine print carefully and noticed Viking's 'cancel for any reason' insurance only puts the fee toward another Viking trip, not reimbursement. I declined Viking's insurance and booked my own (found thru a recommendation on this site)--which happily we did not need.
I'm a relatively brave traveler, so I'm fine with traveling the world, though I will continue to avoid the same places that I avoided in 2024. As a citizen of the US, my biggest worry is that the government junta will find a way to impose martial law, particularly in those states whose residents show the greatest opposition to their various illegal and unconstitutional actions. That would severely limit my ability to travel to my favorite places in the US.
I hope that doesn't happen. If it did, it might keep people from leaving the country. That would be very, very strange.
"As a citizen of the US, my biggest worry is that the government junta will find a way to impose martial law, particularly in those states whose residents show the greatest opposition to their various illegal and unconstitutional actions."
This won't happen because the Dems didn't get elected, thank goodness.
What scares me now is travel. This is an apropos time to post your article. With the events of the last 24 hours, I’m worried about traveling into Times Square New York City or other major city. I’m worried about flying overseas or flying from country to country in Europe. I’m worried that we might start seeing terrorist attacks that we haven’t seen in decades. Something‘s gonna happen and I don’t wanna be there when it happens and I generally don’t panic over these things. We have a trip upcoming end of September to Sicily, but I can’t believe I’m saying this. I’m glad it’s on a non-US airline. And of course today we’re flying home from a cruise but thankfully from Miami to New York. I am very concerned now all of the other things seem trivial about travel in my opinion now.
Bernard, I hear you. I'm also staying off U.S. airlines -- just in case. Flying a low-cost Korean airline over to Germany next week. Definitely not a possible terrorist target.
I’ve long aimed for foreign companies even within the U.S.
they may have an American pilot but the crews are usually foreign. And the service on East Asian airlines has always been superior for me than local US flights.
Fear that when at logan airport, tsa will pull me aside because I posted something mean about trump. Fear they will inconvenience me and delay me because they can, and smugly make us miss our flight. My wife getting mad at me because it’s my fault. Fear that bringing my Canadian passport in my luggage gets flagged (I am dual us/can and yes I will leave usa as is but want to and have in the past enter EU as a Canadian because I honestly do not think it is good to be usa now, but just saying this and thinking this and having the Canadian passport will cause the above first issue). Fear that something changes to make us cancel things and some hotels we have have deadlines as to when you can cancel for a full points refund (now even with status many chains have begun to slip that crap in lately. For example, one place in Italy needs a month out for cancellations) fear that cancelling will make our return flight on American which I paid for refund to vouchers which I hate. To make it refund to cash I would need to give them a few hundred dollars which is robery. Fear that we land in Philly to find my or us detained because of something I had posted on fb or just cuz we are residents in a blue state or some big problem happening and we are stuck there and can’t get home to Boston. Fear that my small business is so slow we cannot afford this trip but we already booked it. Fear that we need to go now because the world will change to prevent it soon. Fear of the asshats that negativity respond to this post.
No negative comments here. I think a lot of us share these fears.
I am the most afraid of our own U.S. policies that are turning Americans into pariahs around the world and targets at home. The anonymous masked goons whisking people off our streets and carting them off to foreign gulags is frightening to us and scary for any potential foreign tourists. The seizing and checking of phones/social media for any critique of the current U.S. regime is shocking. Political murders in the U.S. reminds me of mafia revenge killings. I think avoiding U.S. travel is smart and keeping a low profile as an American overseas is wise.
I lived in the Middle East for 10 years including during the Gulf War when it was not unusual for political kidnappings of Americans. We pretended to be Canadian.
I hope you liked the illustration.
I could not have appreciated it more. :-)
I am worried about terrorism against Americans at home and abroad now that we are in another Middle East war.
I also worry about how American institutions at home will react to threats given the immigration crackdown and who will get caught up in it the dragnet.
That's a legitimate fear. I'm concerned about anti-American violence. I keep a VERY low profile while I'm traveling.
1st fear: the American regime and its thugs. 2nd fear: the world's retaliation against us. Dump has put a target firmly on all of our backs!! I used to work as a subcontractor on cruise ships. Haven't done that in almost a year. Just doesn't feel safe no matter how you spin it.
It's gotten a lot less safe in the last 24 hours, I think.
How quaint the problems of hostile locals, overcrowding, sickness, tours and airlines seem now that Americans abroad can expect to be targets of revenge.
From both domestic/regime and from abroad!
I worry about, in no particular order, hurricanes, floods, pandemics, volcanoes, airport closures, strikes, strokes, financial crashes, broken bones, thefts, pickpockets, scams, stolen credit cards, lost passport, traffic accidents, political upheavals, terrorism, food poisoning, the unknown, fear itself, and, of course, the boogeyman.
At this point, I think EVERYONE is afraid of the boogeyman.
1) Afraid of being pulled aside and harassed by CBP upon landing at ORD. For hours or days.
2) Afraid of Lufthansa or Munich Airport employees going on strike, causing me to be stuck at the airport for days with my 8-year-old child.
I'm keeping a safe distance. I heard they think I'm the "enemy of the state."
No words. 😫
Be prepared with a good lawyer. Invoke your 5th Amendment right to remain silent. Invoke your 6th Amendment right to speak to an attorney. Anything you say will be used against you in the court of law. Never speak to law enforcement officers without a lawyer present. CBP can harass you but can't detain you indefinitely.
Unfortunately, Congress has given CBP broad powers. They are allowed to rummage through your electronic devices and even make a copy of the contents. Appalling privacy invasion, seeing how our whole lives are contained in our phones nowadays. Good luck! We are all going to need it!
Traveling, and not afraid. If you want to travel, there are certain risks inherent in doing it. Weather and mechanical delays are ones that have happened to me multiple times, but I eventually got where I was going. Trip to Europe coming up, but not to the most popular places in the most popular countries. A woman in my neighborhood was killed in her bed when a large tree crashed through the roof in a storm. She would have been safer on a trip. Such is life.
I agree -- all travel is risky.
And enjoyable, which is why any risks are worth it.
Well, woke up this morning in Puglia with a text from my husband warning me and our daughter that the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities. Uh! Oh! While this Puglia paradise feels a million miles away from the current global chaos we’re scheduled to fly home tomorrow. Have absolutely no idea what to expect at the airport. Got refundable airfare tickets and comprehensive travel insurance. Fingers crossed but will approach tomorrow with a flexible attitude.
I hope this situation is quickly defused, but I have my doubts. This will probably get worse before it gets better.
re: flex tixs and travel insurance. Very smart! Positive thoughts for your return!!
Travel fear/anxiety is caused, at least in part, by the MSM, Facebook, and social media in general. And frankly TDS is also a major source of that angst.
The bread and butter of this newsletter is travel horror stories and while you may offer ways to avoid them and help with their resolution, it does feed into the general fear of something going wrong whenever you step out of your home.
We're all about helping people avoid trouble, regardless of their political leanings.
6 of us took all of the right steps in planning a Viking Danube cruise. We picked late spring to assure that water levels would not be an issue, created our own short extensions and booked our flights. 12 hours before our planned departure from home our cruise was cancelled by Viking. Yes they refunded us our money but offered us pittance in compensation for a future booking. They ruined our long planned vacation.
Sure they refunded you your money but I bet you wish they paid you interest on that money you put out. I was planning to do a Viking cruise next year but hearing your story I am going to do more research. Thanks for your comment.
Yes, they should have paid you interest.
Had a great experience on a Viking Rhine cruise last October. Booked it the previous May (hubby stressed about water levels all summer), and yes, they do want payment quickly if you haven't sailed with them before. I read the fine print carefully and noticed Viking's 'cancel for any reason' insurance only puts the fee toward another Viking trip, not reimbursement. I declined Viking's insurance and booked my own (found thru a recommendation on this site)--which happily we did not need.
Thanks for the info!
Bernard also thinks it would be most prudent to avoid all travel locations/destinations where Israelis and Americans tend to congregate. Do you agree?