At the Library today - -Grrrrrrrrrrrr

[Minnesota Libra]

I went to one of my favorite places today – the library – and came away with the feeling that I’m living on a totally different planet than most everyone else.

I checked three books out, one of which as was a small book entitled “Uniting and Strengthening America By Providing Appropriate Tools Required To Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA Patriot Act) Act of 2001”

During my inquiries as to whether they had the “New and Improved Patriot Act” as I put it to the librarian I was told, “That is in the reference department. We prefer you read that here at the library.” My comment to that was, “Why? What’s wrong ith taking it home to study it?"

The woman standing in the line next to me checking out her books butted into the conversation uninvited of course and said, “If you aren't doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about.”

Well, I’ve got a cold, I fel like a warmed over peice of ...., and I’ve heard that statement just one too many times.

I turned to the woman with a voice absolutely dripping with :sarcasm: and said, “Lady I don’t know what country you’re from but the country I remember was nothing like this. In my country if a person was suspected of doing wrong the government had to go to a judge and get a court order to start gathering evidence. With a court order and not before, they could tap my phone, search my residence, search my records, gather information from other people and sources, and even search me. In the country I was from my government then had to charge me with a specific crime in a court of law, I as given legal representation, and 12 of my fellow citizens listened to the government’s evidence and in the end either found me guilty or innocent. Apparently I’m in the middle of one horrible nightmare though that I can’t seem to wake up from because in your country things are totally different. I feel like I’ve gone back in time to Nazi Germany. This government of yours can search my home, search my records, search me, put me in jail for absolutely no reason, deny me legal representation, and keep me incarcerated for as long as they darn well feel like it, without ever bothering to charge me with a crime. They can torture me for absolutely no reason and to get away with all this all your government has to do is label me an enemy combatant. Now, until you can tell me how to wake up from this nightmare and get back to my own country where I was innocent until proven guilty why don’t you get back to doing whatever in the crap you were doing and leave me the f*** alone.”

No one else in earshot said a word but there were 10 or 11 people that could hear my voice and the majority were nodding their head.

Question to everyone. Was I too over the top?? In a way I wish I had held my tongue and just walked away from her but that little tirade popped right out there before I knew what was happening.