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> The perception of police spending most time harassing minorities and exacerbating humanitarian crises? That's a US problem. Literally no one else has it. Fra
by civilitty 3y ago
> The perception of police spending most time harassing minorities and exacerbating humanitarian crises? That's a US problem. Literally no one else has it.
France just had weeks of riots because the police shot Nahel Merzouk [1] due to similar dynamics that have been developing in France since at least the Algerian crisis [2]. I don't know if "spending most time" is a fair characterization of French minorities' perception but the antagonistic relationship between police and minorities is far from a US only problem.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahel_Merzouk_riots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahel_Merzouk_riots
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_massacre_of_1961 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_massacre_of_1961
- stavros 3y agoI think that merely the fact that people are bothered enough to riot shows that the problem in the US is much more extended, where shootings by the police were such an everyday phenomenon that the biggest reaction you'll get is an extra-high shrug.
- civilitty 3y agoThe French do love a good riot but don't forget that the George Floyd protests just a few years ago were the largest in US history - during pandemic lockdowns, no less. They devolved into something resembling riots in only a few cities but "extra-high shrug" is hardly how I'd describe that series of events or the other smaller protests since. The Minneapolis ones only wrapped up in May of this year after the criminal cases were resolved. I think with US suburban sprawl it's just a lot easier to ignore what's going on in the cities.
- stavros 3y agoAh, interesting, I may be wrong then. I remember the George Floyd protests, but didn't know of any more recent.
- rsynnott 3y agoWell, also, it is _France_; proud tradition of very large dramatic protests and riots going back over two hundred years. It's kind of their thing. French farmers routinely shut down whole cities when they're vaguely irritated about something; it's unsurprising that protests around more serious and emotive matters than France enforcing an EU ban it was already meant to be enforcing on a pesticide get a bit dramatic.
- stavros 3y agoI don't know if that's just a France thing, I remember here (Greece) ten years or so ago, when a police officer shot a teenager, and the whole country was in flames for a week from the riots. There are still marches and protests every year, on the anniversary.