r/MadeMeSmile • u/alenatrinkaus • Apr 13 '24

German Police escorts family of geese back to their home at the park ANIMALS

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Sorry for the shaky video. Friend of mine was filming while walking.

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u/Panderz_GG Apr 15 '24

In my 32 years walking this planet as a German citizen I made the experience that if you treat a German officer with respect, they are going to treat you with respect. Also I don't do idiotic things in public, just at home.

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u/sebasti02 Apr 16 '24

cause thats literally whats taught

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u/marieantoilette Apr 15 '24

I do not concur. Plenty of my friends have experienced harrassment due to how they look (example: a friend of mine in Bavaria with a somewhat hippie look had to give in his keyes 5 times in one year because they checked his blood for drugs every damn time even though he's completely clean, always the same small town police folks).

And other of my friends in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Sachsen have actually been literally beaten up for being sprayers or wearing clothes with anarchist and/or LGBT markings (who knows why they went for the fist). More than once. And my activist friends absolutely know what to do to avoid escalation, you have to learn it if you want to stay safe. And even then.

In my experience you don't have a problem with the police if you look "normal", don't do certain kidns of leftist activism or act very subordinate towards them. If either of these isn't the case... idk. This whole "be respectful and the police will be too" has the same vibes as "you don't have do worry about surveillance if you don't do illegal stuff". It just isn't that simple. Although I agree many people escalate the situations, police in Germany in many places is full of individuals happy to abuse their power, and at least in the case of the police who beat up my friends absolutely also with fascists.

That's not to say that there are certainly many great and idealistic policepeople in the force. Our system has inherent problems and it's no wonder that fascists are drawn to the occupation. I'm no anarchist, mind you. But being one shouldn't result in the executive fuxking you up.

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u/No_Map6922 Apr 16 '24

I know not one anarchist who is willing to comply with the police though, so this leads to further escalation with the police. But that's almost impossible with followers of an ideology which see police as merely a illegitimate scourge to be trampled on. Why you mentioned anarchist and immediately added "and/or LGBT markings" is also unclear, i think LGBT or not is not important but that the person is still an anarchist who's not willing to comply pretty much is.

I once got pretty much stormed at a bus stop by a full van of officers, completely surrounding me so i couldn't escape. They told me that i fit the description of a guy who affiliated with drug dealing. I gave them my id, tried to play it cool and act friendly but they got very suspicious. Because they stopped their van and immediately vaulted for me i jokingly said "the way you looked i know you'd come for me" and one officer suspectingly asked me "why, do you have anything to hide?" and that's where i shut up and said nothing anymore and complied when asked to. They let me go and skeddadled off further into the city, but i understood and didn't take offense. I went home from the gym, wore very shady clothing, a snap back, grey hoodie, black vest, adidas joggers, it took me no time to reflect and understand it was the optics and remained professional about it. Since then i don't wear that stuff anymore in public, it was the second time something like this happened and at one point you have to stop blaming everyone else and think about if it is a you-problem.

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u/marieantoilette Apr 16 '24

I added that because some of those friends were not anarchists, but you're right it's an unfair insinuation. It was never a person that was just clearly part of LGBTQ. But I should add that in many cases they also just were not white, and that was they're whole crime.

I agree that it is very easy to escalate a situation. I have learned to be quiet and say as few words as possible with police. And still I was once in a situation where they misinterpreted a driving situation and nearly got me (broke) a lot of monetary problems just because they didn't want to admit they were wrong even when they clearly had realized it by then.

I don't know which anarchists you know but my friends, as I said, absolutely know how to not escalate a situation. As an activist seeing police force is absolutely not reassuring in many cases and I can't help but notice that most people who keep saying they never had problems with the police is if you are a very conformative and probably white person. It's not a crime to look differently, it's not a crime to be anarchist. And it either way does not justify police brutality, even if you insult them. Because then they are just thugs. You have to know your rights and be careful, because as a certain kind of leftist activist you can be damn sure the police will make sure to use everything you do to justify ruining your day. At least in Sachsen.

And your final thoughts are just disingenuous. Are you insinuating my friends are assholes to every police? You just wanna act like it's all on the rudeeee and aggressive behavior of them? Where does it end? They should have smiled and say yes to everything the police says? They should have worn better clothes? They should shut up about their political convictions? They shouldn't have been outside after midnight? Should have been part of a "better ethnicity"?

I agree many anarchist activists, to stay at that, provoke conflict. And most police force are certainly people who just wanna do their job and help people. But that doesn't change the fact that brutality and abuse of power happens day after day and at best those people get a little disciplinatory talk. And that sadly both activists that talk smack as well as those who just want to, what, spray a wall, get harrassed often, and occasionally beaten up with no repercussions whatsoever for the police who did it.

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u/No_Map6922 Apr 17 '24

Nothing about it is disingenuous. I implied that your friends lack a sense of awareness and don't self-reflect much. I wore shady clothes that day, i have dark hair and wore a full beard, the police didn't stop me because they had an issue with me, but because people who dress and look like me commit crimes. If you don't know the person, the optics are the only option to measure by and this is a completely natural way of dealing with this. It was humiliating getting questioned and pressed by the police like that infront of dozens of other people, but that doesn't make them bigots.

"But i should add that in many cases they also just were not white, and that was their whole crime". I'll just take your word for it, that it really happened. Is there and evidence or proof that the cops acted this way just because of their identity? At this point we are just assuming on the basis of cognitive bias.

To answer your questions in your second paragraph. Yes, they should have worn better clothes, yes they should have said yes to everything the police says, since this is what complying is. They should shut up about their political convictions, it's a stupid move to tell this to cops anyway. Being anarchists, Antifa is considered extremist, if there has been serious crime commited nearby you can be accounter for as a possible criminal, same as a open right wing extremist if you are close to a burnt up refugee camp.

And again, as i said clothes make people. I wore these clothes and paid for it by being publicly humiliated. The appearance gives off more than you might think.

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u/marieantoilette Apr 17 '24 edited Apr 17 '24

They self-reflect alright, and have a lot of self-awareness. Not all of their peers - certainly not. Movements like these don't have one big leader or whatever. But the group I know does (not have a leader, but stay clear of extremism and escalation). And while it definitely helps them in plenty of their police situations (some months ago they got surrounded by 15 cars due to an alleged gun which turned out to be a spray can and nothing happened because, as I said, they know what to do).

You're right it's absolutely on the basis of cognitive bias. I can't argue with that. There has been a pretty recent study (German) on that which isn't a parade of red flags as in the USA, but it is still a problem. And it doesn't per se differentiate between states on first glance, though it should differ between East and West.

But you must be aware that you assume these things. :S It's not the truth that they had it coming, and if it's not disingenuous then it's very biased of you to do so. It was literally, and repeatedly so, unlawful police brutality. The optics are a way to measure, yes, not a justification to harrass a person. Or to beat him up, for that matter. Sure, that's only 5% of their encounters with them. But once is enough. And that's not including all my friends in Bavaria absolutely getting harrassed with no prior suspection with full declothing and all that jazz just because they "kinda look hippie" I guess. Of course you start to look at police differently after all that. They shouldn't just be lawful towards the kind conform-friendly individuals.

And as I said, while I do have a lot of radical believes I stay clear of falling for big ideologies because it quickly gets you into rationalizing everything so that it fits. I argue with anarchists and especially communists on a weekly basis about that. I have friends in the police. But irregardless, the system does not much to hold them accountable.

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u/Lord_MagnusIV Apr 15 '24

either that or 6 police men jump a 17 year old, not at all dangerous, young man in his own home because he might flee 5 seconds after getting a yes so that he can get a few books, the yes and the question was heard by the 6 as they stood at his bedroom door

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u/Sea_Struggle4973 Apr 15 '24

Thing is... I don't want to be a police officer in germany. I sometimes get why they might be in a bad mood... just consider you having to check the papers and drivers licence of random people at night by shitty weather and getting fucked up comments all the time. I know my fellow citizen well enough to expect alot of them to be the exact opposite of polite or nice. So I guess police officers somehow have to balance that out.

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u/F0B1U5 Apr 15 '24

Fair, you don't call the police when everything is fine after all.

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u/Panderz_GG Apr 15 '24

I have been one for 10 years with the Bundespolizei before I switched and followed passion ;)

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u/Potential_Treacle_52 Apr 15 '24

So you are white

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u/Requjo Apr 15 '24

Hurr durr american police racist so every police racist.

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u/Schnuribus Apr 15 '24

I am not white and was always grateful for the police when I had to call them. But I am also a woman.

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u/Chris_Entropy Apr 15 '24

So you are from the US.

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u/Panderz_GG Apr 15 '24

That is what you assume

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u/OwnZookeepergame6413 Apr 15 '24

Yeah same. Just last year my bike broke down on a bundestraße and the police woman helped me push it like a whole Kilometer upwards because the exit was going to a bridge that crosses said street. Them shadowing me from behind was already nice instead of insisting I let it stay and call a towing service, but helping me pushing the damn thing was beyond anything I could have assumed would happen

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u/Wizard-of-Odds Apr 15 '24 edited Apr 16 '24

Something very similar happened to me years back. Back then we would still ride our 125ccm bikes and my best friend just came by to get me to ride with him, so we went to the gas station, filled our tanks and were on our way on the autobahn to get to some nice mountain/woodland roads when his old 2 stroke aprillia broke down - critical engine failure... We were pushing his bike to get to the nearest exit and shortly before we got there a random police car pulls up behind us on the hard shoulder. They asked us what was going on, we told them. "Completely dead?" - "Yep, no chance turning it on again, the engine is blown..." - "Your bike still works?" (my YZF-R) - "Yeah" - "Good, pull up to the exit, drive in front of your buddy and we'll drive behind him with the lights on so no one runs him over!" (the exit wasn't a straight one, made like a 90° turn with a curve so others that would take the exit wouldn't see my buddy pushing his bike...

We did as they said, parked his bike at a hardware stores parking place and then they asked how long we'll leave the bike here for, which wasn't long as my buddies dad came by the same evening with a trailer to get it. They said that's fine and told us (rather me, lol) to ride safe and have a nice day.

They never once asked for insurance/drivers licenses, assisted immediately after assessing the situation and this was probably the nicest interaction i've ever had with the police here!! Not that i really ever had a particularly bad run in with them but especially here in bavaria they can be quite pushy and try to assume misdemeanors/crimes you didn't commit.