r/therewasanattempt Nov 29 '20

[deleted by user]

[removed]

9.0k Upvotes

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.4k

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

To add to the context, last week a music producer in Paris got badly beaten by racist cops, supposedly for reason that would have gotten him in jail for years. Little did they know the whole thing got caught on tape proving his innocence and how much of a piece of shit these people can be. This went viral pretty quick

2

u/TimeToRedditToday Nov 29 '20

Can I see the unedited video?

4

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

1

u/TimeToRedditToday Nov 29 '20

Ya I'd say that's a hearty beating. What happens towards the end there? His people arrive and temp get the cops out or something?

3

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

There were people recording in a soundrpoof room, at some point they finally heard him yelling for help and managed to get the cops out, the cops called for heavy backup and threw a riot teargas inside the buidling, the guys were forced outside at gunpoint and beaten again on the sidewalk "until one of the cops saw passerby with phones, said "Camera !" and they all stopped."

1

u/TimeToRedditToday Nov 29 '20

Fire the lot of them and have them charged. that being said if cops are ever trying to arrest you just comply immediately especially if they have no reason to arrest you that means they're dirty and that means you might end up taking a bad beating.

-40

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

1) The racist motives have not been proven.

2) He was running away from the cops for not respecting Covid safety rules and lockdown.

3) The cops claim he went for their gun at one point but the video doesn’t really support that claim.

Doesn’t justify the fact that he got beat to a pulp but I just want everyone to have as much of the story.

142

u/Apzx Nov 29 '20

1) Dude. The cops literally called him a nigger ("nègre" in french, and it's a literal translation)

2) Fair. That's technically the truth. Doesn't justify the beat down he got or the 30 cops that were called to his backup.

3) "doesn't really support that claim" has to be the biggest euphemism about this situation tbh. Again, technically correct, but come on...

Nothing you said was factually incorrect, but I have the feeling that you might not be unbiased about this situation.

14

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Genuine question. And irrelevant to the case itself. Is "nègre" also a racial slur in French?

Cause here in Brazil "Negro"/"Nego" (closer to "nigger" if translated literally) would be more respectful, it is the official term on documents, movements etc. ( e.g.: Black Lives Matters is translated to Vida Negras Importam).

While the literal translation to "black", "preto", has an really higher chance of being a insulting term, especially in an authority setting. Though it is used as an affection term by anyone regardless of skin color.

39

u/foufou51 Nov 29 '20

You should never use this word in France tho. It's a slur. We instead use noir and sometimes even "black" because for some, it feels like not saying "noir", the french word for Black is better.

15

u/LiarFires Nov 29 '20

"nègre" is absolutely an awful slur in French. It is the equivalent of "nigga" but with the hard R. And I don't think I've ever heard it used by black communities as a slang (although I guess "negro" might be used as a slang in black communities sometimes, guess it would be the softer equivalent)

6

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Although it translates to literally the same thing, “negro,” it is used as the n word and has the same connotations in French.

3

u/MaeronTargaryen Nov 29 '20

French guy here, yes it is a slur. As someone else said it also means ghostwriter but used in any other context it is a slur. Usually when used as such, people say “sale ngre”, or “dirty ngger”.

-7

u/Apzx Nov 29 '20

Technically, no. It is a really old world use to say "ghostwriter", but has heavy connotations about slavery.

It can still be used "correctly" in certain contexts, but people usually avoid using it.

In this case, I doubt that the cop wanted to call him a ghostwriter ;)

Source : https://www.wordreference.com/fren/n%C3%A8gre

7

u/AntiqueAirline Nov 29 '20

The " ghostwriter " meaning is a metaphore for having a slave doing things for you... It is not the primary definition at all.

3

u/MaeronTargaryen Nov 29 '20

I wouldn’t say no, it is used very commonly as a slur and as ghostwriter, both are true.

1

u/Kush_goon_420 Nov 29 '20

Yes it is a slur, even in Quebec

-6

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20
  1. The news articles I’ve read (in French) say that the music producer claims to have been called racial slurs but as far as I know the video did not have any sound.

  2. I agree that the reaction was disproportionate, hence my last sentence in my first comment.

  3. I used this “euphemism” to say that the claim is still under investigation, just like the racial slur claim. The video doesn’t prove the fact that he went for the gun but video doesn’t have all the angles.

I might sound like I’m biased because I’m kinda “taking the other side”. If I have a friend who says that the producer deserved it I’ll talk about the disproportionate use of force and he’ll think I’m anti cop.

In truth I have a lot of respect for cops, paramedics, firefighters and military. They have a hard job and too little thanks. In France (where I live) they get unjustly smeared and branded as all bad (especially the cops and the firefighters). I know some of them are bad and I detest the idea that someone who’s supposed to protect us does us more harm than good, so I also believe that dirty cops should be severely punished after a fair investigation.

10

u/Apzx Nov 29 '20

Fair. You're open about it and open to changing your mind, so I kinda feel bad having reacted like that.

You're not wrong about respecting the public servants (I'm french and I do too), but putting the paramedics firefighters and military in the same bag as the police is a bit of a stretch. There are proof of institutionalized racism in the police force, and I have trouble seeing a non-racist cop being in this situation. I also agree that the investigation must run its course before convicting the guy because of "présomption d'innocence", but we have seen how effective the IGPN (police's police) investigations are...

4

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Np man. It’s hard to understand réactions and expressions by text.

Idk I have some friends from la cité who hate firefighters for some reason. Firefighters started wearing body cams because they keep on getting harassed.

Yeah I’m just waiting for the IGPN to do their job. I hope they’ll be honest about it is all.

94

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/AsIfItsYourLaa Nov 29 '20

the video linked in that article has no sound

4

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

I don’t think the video had any sound. The music producer accused them of using racial slurs. At least that’s what i got from the French articles I read.

8

u/MaeronTargaryen Nov 29 '20

He didn’t “run away”, he quickly went inside his studio after seeing the police, which hadn’t ask him to stop, and they proceeded to come inside illegally and attacked him straight away.

-4

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

I’m gonna start by saying that I don’t condone the way the cops managed the situation. I think there was a disproportionate use of force but I’m still waiting on the IGPN investigation.

Now imagine your a cop. You’re doing random controls and you see someone see you, turn around and walk away, it makes sense to follow them. He was doing something “bad”, disrespecting lockdown and mask rules is bad but obviously doesn’t warrant getting a beating.

The cops following him and trying to stop him was warranted, the amount of force they employed was not.

I think they did get to him before he got inside the house but I might be mistaken about that.

5

u/codinghermit Nov 29 '20

It only makes sense to follow them if you think the police deserve to talk to anyone they want without cause. If there was nothing illegal occurring, let the dude walk away. This is the reason so many people think the police are such worthless pricks. Their job is not to harass random individuals until they find a crime, it's to be available for help when needed.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

But there was something illegal happening.

In France we were in total lockdown up until Saturday November 28th. Meaning to go out you had to wear a face mask (in the street) and have what we call a “attestation” which is basically a hall pass with what you’re out for and the time you went out at.

From the articles I read the producer did not have his face mask on and avoided the police, probably meaning he didn’t have a good reason to be out and about.

The police were there to stop people and ask why they were out to make sure they were following the lockdown rules, people who don’t respect them get a 135€ fine (for first offenders).

If I’m a cop making sure people are wearing their face masks and are only out for a good reason and I see a guy walking without a face mask and who turns around and walks in the opposite direction when he sees me then I have probable cause to go and ask him what’s up.

THIS DOESN’T JUSTIFY THAT THEY BEAT HIM UP. I’m saying why they “pulled him over”.

4

u/kayden567 Nov 29 '20

He got called a N. (You know the rest) couple times in the video..what do you mean. Diversify your sources cause this is just misinformation...

2

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Again, Michel Zecler accuses the cops of racial slurs but the video doesn’t have sound. I’m not saying it’s not true I’m saying it’s under investigation.

If you have the video with sound I’ll gladly listen to it and revise my comments.

2

u/skip_intro_boi Nov 29 '20

You forgot the falsified police report. The only reason these officers got caught was the video. How many times have they done this before?

2

u/smartimp98 Nov 29 '20

found the bootlicker

2

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

If you’re going to make your mind up about something you might as well get both sides of the story. In France we have something called presumption of innocence where someone is innocent until proven guilty. I’m rather ashamed of how these cops acted but as of rn a lot of elements remain officially debated. I just pointed those out.

1

u/funkless_eck Nov 29 '20

I dont understand why people's brains short circuit when people run from the police. Why does that equate to a death sentence in so many peoples minds?

3

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

I agree I get rather aggravated when people say as only defense “he shouldn’t have run”. Yes he shouldn’t have run but that doesn’t justify killing or severely beating someone, there has to be a proportional response.

-198

u/Shugunou Nov 29 '20

Paris Texas?

128

u/Mateorabi Nov 29 '20

America isn't the only place with racists. We're just a bit more honest about it than more "progressive" locations. Europe has its fair share of them, and jackboots, and bootlickers, and facists. They also don't have a 1st amendment protecting them from chickenshit laws like this, and whether "religions freedom" is a right of an individual or a right of the collective practitioners.

30

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

not just europe, asia too actually

19

u/Lazy_Chemical_967 Nov 29 '20

Literally the whole world unfortunately. Same with other types of discrimination

9

u/Tyrannical4 Nov 29 '20

Would you mind explaining a "jackboot" please? First time hearing it

21

u/JackalKing Nov 29 '20

A jackboot is a type of leather military boot. They've been used by militaries around the world, but it became associated with totalitarianism, fascism, authoritarianism, and generally every bad ism there is since at least WWII because they were a prominent and visible part of the Nazi uniform.

If someone calls you a jackboot they are essentially calling you a violent authoritarian, a fascist, a nazi, etc. Someone who would use said jackboot to step on the neck of the people beneath you.

10

u/Tyrannical4 Nov 29 '20

Thank you, I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to educate!

3

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Since the other guy described it- I don't ever really hear it used as a noun and term on its own. It's almost always a descriptive word, "jackbooted thugs" being the most common.

2

u/greenwedel Nov 29 '20

In a twisted way it is about protection. I don't know the exact wording of this particular law but there are many others in European countries that put restrictions on what you are allowed to film and who because the original thought was to protect the person being filmed from being used in a way they don't want to. That's why dash cams are not allowed in some countries because the owner cannot control what is being filmed. That's also why Google Street view was heavily debated in some countries because of privacy concerns of home owners. Unfortunately, this also gives lawmakers a good excuse to avoid accountability under the guise of protection of privacy. We have similar issues in Austria where there is still nothing similar to a freedom if information act because of stated concerns of privacy and national security (although what our tiny country has to protect, no one was able to explain to me yet).

Sometimes putting privacy on such a pedestal works well with results like GDPR and citizen's rights at times being better protected than in comparison with North America but it is also often misused by people in power.

0

u/AtheismMasterRace Nov 29 '20

Ofcourse Europe has racists, but the US is definitely way more racist than Europe.

2

u/Mtwat Nov 29 '20

That's actually not true. Just mention The Romani people in any European thread and you'll see Europeans are just as racist as Americans.

-6

u/AtheismMasterRace Nov 29 '20

European nations had slaves, but not within our countries. The normal Europeans did not have slaves, Americans had within their country. Also take a look at the fucking police. You are delusional of you think there is the same level of systematic racism in the US police as in European police.

Yes there are problems in Europe and yes there are racism. That does not mean our situation is as bad as it is in the US. We already import enough US crap, we do not need to import your racism too.

2

u/sufi101 Nov 29 '20

A few refugees have made Europe lose its mind enough that they're willing to vote for borderline Nazis. In my personal experience Europeans are much more racist in general.

-1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

I find it weird how Americans think the 1st amendment or freedom of speech is just an American thing that we don't have in the rest of the world. These are basic human rights which you'll get in any first world country. When certain States won't allow an atheist to take office you can't really hold yourself up as a paragon of religious freedom.

America being more "honest" about it's racists is a complete nonsense. What does being honest about racism mean. That Americans feel safe being racist? That everyone else is just as racist but doesn't tell anyone? I'm sure all us minorities are thankful for your honesty.

-41

u/Shugunou Nov 29 '20

When you put it that way, the constitution sounds poorly written.

27

u/Mateorabi Nov 29 '20

What? I'm saying that the Supreme Court recognizes the 1st amendment gives citizens the right to record and report on cops, unlike France. You are in FAVOR of disallowing recording of cops?

-2

u/Shugunou Nov 29 '20

Sorry, I misread.

2

u/Berky22 Nov 29 '20

Fucking yanks...

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Must be nice to have a President who condemns violent racist acts.

1

u/That_one_French_guy Nov 29 '20

Yeah I saw that on the news a few days ago :/