this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2026
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I wish people would realize that the ability to protest is directly tied to social safety net.
You get beaten by a cop, you will get free healthcare that is not directly tied to your job. In the US, if you do have healthcare, it is tied to your job and your job can fire you for protesting if they want (unlike France we have no protection for being fired for political opinion).
Tell that to the Nepalese.
Not just that, but US police are extraordinarily different from police in most of the world. They trace their roots back to organizations first formed to hunt escaped slaves. They are heavily militarized, almost never face any consequences for abusing their power, and are usually encouraged to use violence against left-wing protestors.
At points during the BLM protests, Trump called in the National Guard, who proceeded shoot and kill both protestors and bystanders.
Isn't that why some of you guys worship the 2nd amendment? in case you have to deal with a tyrannical government?
they still do that. if they accuse you of drug abuse, and you are too poor to hire a lawyer you get sent to a forced labor camp (private prison)
There is also the gun factor. Self defense is not generally accepted as a reason to own a gun in France, so there is no self defense carry. That automatically makes the cops less likely to react suddenly and violently.
Truly spoken like someone who knows nothing of European policing. CRS resort to violence as the priority solution to all of their problems, the French just understand that fighting the cops is an inherent part of fighting for your rights.
Are they this quick to resort to lethal violence though?
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/video-shows-chicago-teen-wasnt-holding-a-gun-when-shot-by-cop
French police trace their roots to sending Jews to Germany, just fyi
And drowning north Africans and such
So it is true. Americans can't protest like the French. You just interpreted it wrongly
Nationality isn't the issue, location is. You can't protest in America like you can in France.
Tell that to the entire American working-class movement of the early 1900s that gave us our right to unionize. They had those same problems but it didn't stop them. Why? Because they fucking organized their communities to provide that safety net for each other without relying on a third party entity to do it for them.
The problem with America these days is no one knows how or wants to be part of a community with each other. We are so fucking endeared to the capitalist system that people can't fucking imagine doing anything without it.
A century of dedicated propaganda and class division will do that. And our police are better armed now, and the federal government is very openly on their side.
The federal government has always openly been on their side. That's nothing new. The state has always been the enemy of the working class.
Them being armed isn't an excuse to not take action. It just means we have to take precautions and adapt our tactics to deal with it. They aren't invincible.