It is not a police state because: - You can learn about these issues. - You can protest against these issues. - Media reports about these issues. - You can choose which media to listen to. - All medias are not state-controlled. - Media that complain about state abuse don't get shut down. - You can publicly talk and write about what you want. - You can get elected while protesting against these issues. - The internet is not state-controlled. - I could go on and on.
I'm tired of people equating China, Russia and western democracies. Imperfection is not tyranny.
(Similar lessons in Atlanta and Baltimore, who have majority minority electorates and minority leadership and have increased police funding.)
Democratic governments responding to rising crime with more police is totally different from non-democratic governments responding to political agitation with police.
Those articles aren’t exactly uncommon around here; although it’s usually more polite to just look for them on the front page rather than asking people to post them in threads that happen to be thematically related. It just creates noise, you know?
The US has the highest rate of imprisonment in the world, it's not even close.
It's not pretty close to the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarcera...
Rate per 100k
1 - United States - 639
25 - Russia - 325
129 - China - 121
So bbc is a bit out of date so double checked the source.
So you’re still wrong as “it’s not even close” is wrong.
But my point still stands. We have no real valid data of china, and if you included Uyghurs it would most likely exceed the US in total imprisonment.
I don’t talk about Russia because I know very little about it.
> I don’t talk about Russia because I know very little about it.
Except to tell lies, apparently.
No. I looked at your claim and your claims were false. Even with updated data it’s still a false claim.
But in any case, it's whataboutism because police brutality has nothing to do with what is happening in Hong Kong, where the central government is removing local autonomy to impose totalitarianism.
As an European, I do feel scared in the US. Sickos carry a gun, and that includes the cops. They perceive you to be doing something bad, you may resist out of reflex because you know you are innocent, and it can end up pretty badly for you. No thanks. I would rather stay here where we had perhaps 40 murders per year, and have not seen a cop use a gun ever, not even on me while I was resisting arrest. I would probably be dead if this were to happen in the US.
You know what is sad? When family members call the cops on their family members because they are mentally sick, probably having a psychosis. Cops do not know how to handle it. It usually ends up with the mentally ill person's death. Why is the US so eager to use the gun then ask later? How is it possible that here in Europe cops can handle mentally sick people without killing them?
At any rate, I will never set foot in the US.
(It is just my own opinion. My own fears, be it rational or irrational.)
I've been curious if this is something that's typical in Europe/France? Or maybe they weren't military but national police force. Personally I'd rather have armed police officers that, in theory, live in the area than having national security that could literally be flying in from 1000's of miles away.
There were not any conflict during that time either, for the record. Everyone was minding their own business. I do not fear military personnel either. I do think it was unnecessary, but perhaps they knew that we lacked the hospital workers who could assist with testing and so forth. They were not there to intimidate you and they never had the intention of harming you in any way. I know this because I have talked to many of them, and I have a family remember who worked for them, too. I do not fear the cops, either. I do fear the guards once you are in prison, but that is a different story. That said, I have seen inmates and cops having nice conversations with lots of laughter. They have to pass the time somehow, and humor is usually their tool to do that. They know the system is fucked anyways.
Maybe this is possible because our society is relatively stable. 40 murders per year in a large enough country is almost nothing, I would say. What gives this cohesion? Cultural differences? By the way, we are known to be hating each other and especially each other's success, yet... I would say that even thievery is uncommon around here, whatever the reason is. They usually do not get away with it anyway. There are at least 15 people who are currently on the run for thievery. That is a negligible amount. With the help of people, I believe they will find them, especially if the thieves are going to keep doing what they are doing.
They are military, and they've been patrolling the streets for years (10k soldiers). The stated aim is to help people feel safer from terrorism, and dissuade attackers.
The things you described does not really happen here, or not that I know. They are trying to waste less time with minor crimes. It takes a lot of time and money for them and they are not eager to ruin people's lives either. They know they will not get rehabilitated in prison.
You can interact with police here just like with any other person, just do not keep them up if they are doing something. I had some discussions with a lot of them. My teacher used to be a chief of police. He is a very humble and nice person. I love him.
I am not trying to say everything is nice and dandy here, a lot of things suck in this area, but I definitely do not have to fear for my life for being shot for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, like one of my friends was. They did not shoot him, they talked to him, and let him go after a while, and he is a gypsy. They are known to be treated poorly. He could have easily have gone to prison if anyone wanted that to happen. He was running away from a place where someone committed a crime. As I said, it is not in their economic interest I would say. I may be wrong, but it does not seem to be trendy to just unnecessarily kill or imprison people.
Where is here, the US? I am willing to have my mind changed about it, of course. I have never really lived there, and I am sure it varies a lot between states. Maybe I watched too many videos from PoliceActivity. :P
Police details here:
My local police forces are two, one of the city and one of the county... Harm reduction and efficient policing is becoming prominent in our metro force. The county force polices the same area, in not just outside the city limits. These police see and interact with each other but generally don't like each other. The county force is much more representative or a darker past, as I hinted to when I said entrenched. They tend to be the ones escalating, sometimes literally having fear based panic attacks as they arrest people. Their training is problematic. The federal state troopers on the highways seem mostly annoyed or indifferent to these dynamics but I can't speak to any generalization there. The high profile infamy here is deserved when the national police union prioritizes their members above all else. They are "in the car" together, much like the classic Italian mafia.
Anyways, do come check it out if you have the chance - and honestly post your fears on local forums (e.g. subreddits) because there would likely be an outpouring of hospitality to keep you from having to worry about that.