Peter Watts

[Argent'horn]

Peter Watts (Canadian sf writer) was recently arrested at the U. S.-Canada border under what appear ot be dubious circumstances at best. Nalo Hopkinson has posted an entry on her blog about it, with links to other relevant items.


www.nalohopkinson.com/2009/11/12/Peter_Watts_assaulted.html

Nalo is scared that this could happen to her. I find myself wondering whether this is a situation where being female is a major advantage, trumping race, since Watts is male and white. Anyone have any thoughts?

[Steven Barnes]

"When Peter got out of the car and questioned the nature of the search, the gang of border guards subjected him to a beating, restrained him and pepper sprayed him."
I would need to see a neutral report on what happened. Failing that, I'd like to hear what Peter, his passenger, AND the Canadian police said about it. I simply don't believe that Peter politely questioned these guys, and they beat the hell out of him. My take: Nalo has absolutely nothing to worry about. She understands that you remain polite to men with guns. Met too many white males who feel like they have the right to be stroppy, then get their feelings hurt when they are disrespected. Until I know more, I'm going to assume that Watts used non-optimal body language and speech, which led to the problem.