A policeman/policewoman in the street stops you and asks for your ID. / Un agent de police vous arrête dans la rue et vous demande vos papiers.
authority
Posted by Jonathan on March 1, 2004
It seems that we get more upset in this situation than we do. Do you think that this indicates that you guys have less of a problem with authority than we do?
re : authority
Posted by Belliard on March 2, 2004
Salut jonathan!!!
Je ne pense pas qu'on ai moins de problème que vous avec l’autorité, mais c'est vrai que les français respecte peu être plus l'autorité même au niveau des limitation de vitesse, de l'alcool au volant la police est intransitive et c'est vrai que les français essaye de faire attention.
petite correction par rapport au texte de Gaëtanne
Posted by Caroline on March 2, 2004
La police est "intransigeante", ce qui n'a pas tout à fait le même sens !
merci caro
Posted by Belliard on March 2, 2004
merci caro....faute de frappe.
freedom of privacy
Posted by Nicholas on March 2, 2004
Another, probably more self-righteous way to look at the greater frustration on the American side is to say that we have a higher regard for the freedom of personal privacy. To be asked to show an ID for no apparent reason is considered to be an invasion of privacy by many people, and in the country where the right to privacy is held most dear, it is understandable that the people would be most upset at such a situation.
surprise at American answers
Posted by Molly on March 4, 2004
I was actually completely flabbergasted that such a small percentage of Amercains didn't seem skeptical/upset that a policeman would be asking to see their ID for no apparent reason.
What do you think of the police?
Posted by Phil on March 5, 2004
In America, we have a very funny relationship with the police when you stop to think about it. If a police officer were to stop you in the street like this, I know a lot of people would probably go along with it but grumble about how they should be out "keeping us safe" and not violating our rights. Then, if we were to be pulled over for speeding on the highway, we grumble that they should be out "catching the real bad guys". However, if we got robber or held up, especially by a repeat offender, we wonder why they didn't watch him more carefully to prevent it from happening. It seems that, in the view of the public, the police are often cast in a bad light. It was stated that the French likely have more respect for the police. Is there a similar disdain for the police in France?
Police brutality
Posted by Peter on March 5, 2004
Perhaps America's negative view of the police comes from the publicity of police brutality cases over the course of the last several decades. I think, at least in our history in war, America has demonstrated an aversion to governmental authority of most kinds, whether through a revolt against British authority, as in our war of revolution, or through a reluctance to take on authority, as in WWI and WWII. There seems to be a deep-running fear that should America take its authority too far, it will quickly turn into yet another "evil," hegemonic police state that seeks its own interests first before considering the national interests of the world around them. So, when people begin seeing images in the media of police beating, injuring, and killing unsuspecting and sometimes innocent citizens, they immediately react negatively to make sure that their individual liberties will not be sacrificed for the sake of the state. Considering France's history and the nature of your own revolution, I'd think that the French reaction to policemen would be similar to the American reaction, but this evidently isn't the case. Why do you think this is?
French Rebellion
Posted by Jonathan on March 9, 2004
Please correct me if I am mistaken but my impression is that the French did not have revolutions to get rid of the yoke of tyranny limiting their individual rights, but rather because it was felt that the current authority was not operating in the best interest of the people. When I say people, I refer to the common masses, the proletariat, not to individual persons.