In the United States, the police are really bad right now. But much of the American public has been taught they have certain civil protections which have been getting stripped away since the PATRIOT act in 2001, so they might be of the belief they still have rights and protections that no longer exist.

So if I'm interacting with law enforcement but in an industrialized nation that is not the US, I'm likely better off by far

The contrast came up in one of Beau of the Fifth Column's videos ( Here on YouTube ) about black American tourists in Denmark that were arguing (in need of insulin that didn't get packed on their trip), and when the officer came to help, the man dropped into total submission-and-compliance mode, fearing for his very life (which was embarrassing to the poor officer).

I certainly would rather be arrested in Denmark even not knowing the law or my rights, than arrested here in the States knowing the degree to which our rights have been gutted. The crime for which I am accused (or whether I am guilty) doesn't affect that equation.

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Wow, you really are just a dumb American with absolutely no clue how the rest of the world works. Like yeah the cops aren’t as racist in Denmark, literally more than 95% of the people living there are white. Indigenous Australians die often at the hands of police here. The police fuck with ethnic minorities constantly, for example Lebanese immigrants and their descendants. Like y’all aren’t special snowflakes with super serious problems that are worse than everywhere else.

Maybe take the National Lawyer’s Guild’s advice and Shut The Fuck Up about shit you know nothing about?

[–] Deme@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 year ago

The only OECD country that can beat the US in killings by law enforcement per capita is Colombia with 33.1 and 34.1 killings per 10 million people a year respectively (according to wikipedia). I think the person you replied to were right in saying that "So if I’m interacting with law enforcement but in an industrialized nation that is not the US, I’m likely better off by far". Granted, Mexico isn't much better off either, but beyond that the numbers start to go down.

Police brutality is definitely not a uniquely US thing, but it is a lot more prevalent there than in comparable countries.

[–] crackajack@reddthat.com 1 points 1 year ago

Wow, Lemmy users are as bad, if not worse than Reddit users. Why so serious, asshole?! Got something up your arse? Got something under your skin you can't get rid of to act like a total bollocks?

[–] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 1 points 1 year ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

National Lawyer’s Guild’s advice

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[–] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 1 points 1 year ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

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[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

What?! I want a refund!