Bike Mag article - US Marshals with Guns drawn?!?!?

[Phelonius]

In the latest Bike mag there's an article about the "Hick Hucksters" getting busted while building an illegal freeride trail in North Carolina.

In the article US Marshals with guns drawn (wearing bullet proof vests of course) emerge from the forest swat style to take down these obviously dangerous trailbuilders/felons.

US Marshal with Guns Drawn?!? What the fuck is that?!!

I'm sorry, but that is a STUPID STUPID thing. They were building an illegal trail. Give them a fine, whatever.
But pulling guns on these people?
According to the article they were lucky not get get thrown in jail for a year???

WTF? What is wrong with that country? They need to calm the fuck down.
I'm boycotting any future trips to the US. That shit is just plain wrong.

[comfortablynumb]

We've been boycotting trips to the US unless they're necessary for a few years now.

Simply cause we're Iranian, we have to get finger printed. This was even before 9 11...none of us have been to the US since like 2000.

Even if it were after 9/11, and they choose to be so stereotypical, why finger print Iranians? There were none involved.

And if you want to say "they're muslims, they could be terrorists", that would be a) a false statement. very false and un educated and b) how do they know if I'm muslim or not? I am of no religion.

[the flying moose]

I am a stereotypical white guy from the suberbs. I havent been able to cross the border in years. Apparently im on some sort of list and i have no idea why.

[Phelonius]

If Bush gets back in I hope the world does the whole "tourist sanction" bit....no more trips to disneyland or any US city.

I was there in July on my Honeymoon, (New Orleans), the people are really pretty nice, but something about the society seems to be going offtrack there.

I just can't believe illegal trail builders needed to get the SWAT treatment! For chrissakes! At what point are people going to look in the mirror and demand some changes?

This shit would have never happened anywhere in Europe or Canada. It would have been dealt with in the proper "misdemenour" arena of offences.

[tazzmenn]

I am a dual citizen so you would think that crossing the boarder should not be a problem for me. But I have got tired of dealing with the US boarder guards and there attitude. So I no longer go there unless it is work related. The US guards can be very difficult to tollerate. It has become more trouble then it is worth to go south for fun. Besides there is just so much fun to be had here at home. I dont miss the US at all. Glad to be back where I was born and raised. Swat team for a trail builder. Thats a little overboard dont ya think

[NickS]

A trail we built got chain saw masacred and the Dnr was asking around for who built it. The states are geting gayer with Dubya leadin. Thats so overkill for just trail building, probibly did it cause they had chainsaws and axes or somthing.

[Phelonius]

I imagine on the next episode of COPS we get to see a SWAT team bust into the apartment of some Granny....that has 3 unpaid parking tickets...

Get down on the floor Mabel! US Marshalls!!!

[tazzmenn]

I wana see the cops where the builder goes Paul Bunyon on the swat team and chops them down and saws them in half.

[Smoke]

You can talk to the Hicks at www.hickhucksters.com and www.da-drop.com

The article was a bit inaccurate (what a surprise). The author had a bit of an agenda going into the story. He's not exactly into the freeride scene himself, so there was a bit of bias. None of the pictures were actually of the trail in question. The stunts the hicks built are little more robust than a bunch of little twigs pegged to a rotton log.

For those of you who don't know already, Brad (aka Wyld Willy) is the dumbass yokel with the crazy teeth at the beginning of NSX 6,

[Phelonius]

Even if the article isn't 100%, the fact that guns were pulled on these guys is just plain wrong.

It's reasons like that which make the US so fucked up.
No wonder their population is the most incarcerated in history. Putting people in prison appears to be the national pastime.

I wonder what they would have done to some kids if they had built a tree fort without permission? Perhaps lock em up til they were 18?
:rolleyes:

[ghostrider]

hey guys,
get used to it...since 9/11, and even before that, the US has been a police state. The border guards, SWAT incidents and the like are proof of that. We forget that the US has stuck it's nose into other countries and cultures all for the sake of their own 'interests' for far too long now. And what happens when you get pushed around? You push back and are immediately labelled a terrorist. Now I don't agree with what happened on 9/11...but that's a VERY extreme example of what happens when the wrong guy gets pushed around.
Read up on your history, you'll know what I mean. Its happening in Iraq, it's happened in vietnam....why were they there in the first place? You can guess it wasn't for building trails!

[Oysterboyz]

I'm scared of the US. I think their way of thinking is completely different than ours. Each individual is pretty cool to deal with, but their society as a whole sucks. Canada sometimes seems like it's the opposite. Everyone here is okay to talk to , but as a whole, we all rock.

[Kevin26]

then theres the bahamas and jamaica, "Your three minutes late!" "not by my watch" "no your a whole minute late!" "no not by my watch" "I'm going to be late for my meeting!" "aw man its total grid lock!"

geez, SWAT and guns on trailbuilders... they must have called a jump the anti bush or something, like a pun.

[Joe Dick]

Originally posted by Oysterboyz
I'm scared of the US. I think their way of thinking is completely different than ours. Each individual is pretty cool to deal with, but their society as a whole sucks. Canada sometimes seems like it's the opposite. Everyone here is okay to talk to , but as a whole, we all rock.

Really? I find Canadians to be a bunch of self-righteous pretentious hypocrites. I see the beginning of this way of living starting to crop up in the few Canadian urban centers I know. I have seen it in different forms in all cultures. I think social problems like this have a lot more to do with Urbanization and the resulting destruction of community then they do with any one nation or government.

On a side note, I read part of that at the news stand. Don’t quite know what to make of it. I do find if odd (or maybe perfectly normal) that the nature loving, back to the roots trail riders have such a pickle up their collective asses over other peoples form of fun. Seems like the hickhuckster types are more old school mountain bike roots thinking then the nu stealio hardtail 20mile loop types. Just and observation, could be way off the mark.