US tourist pushes British homeless man into Paris river

[Flagg]

US TOURIST PUSHES BRITISH HOMELESS MAN INTO PARIS RIVER

Received Sunday, 5 November 2006 11:49:00 GMT

PARIS, Nov 5, 2006 (AFP) - A US tourist pushed a British homeless man into the near-freezing waters of Paris's Seine river on the weekend after a row over a photograph, French police said Sunday.
The altercation occurred Saturday, when the unidentified tourist tried to take a photo of the tent the homeless man was living in on the sidewalk alongside the river near the Musee d'Orsay.
The homeless man, a British citizen aged 35, tried to prevent the American from taking the photo and a fight broke out between the two men, during which the tourist pushed the Briton into the water.
Police said the homeless man remained only a few seconds in the chilly river and did not require medical assistance.
The American had left the scene before officers arrived, they said.
Several homeless people live under the bridges along the Seine, some of them in tents recently handed out by a charity in a campaign to highlight their plight. The otherwise scenic banks of the river are heavily frequented by tourists.

http://www.ttc.org/200611051149.ka5bng528740.htm

[DRoseDARs]

1. Allow me to be the first USAmerica here to say "I'm sorry..."

"...that the US tourist didn't fall in and drown or at least get hypothermia."

I especially love how the coward fled the scene of his crime (assault).

[Katzenjammer]

20. And I'll be the second. What scum that tourist is, and I hope he reads this. (nt)

[tom_paine]

2. Only a Bushevik would want to take a picture of tragedy

You know, make himself feel better about the chains he waers about his neck.

And THEN only a Bushevik would fight with the guy (I have no doubt tough guy Bushevik started it) and throw him into the water.

They do SO LOVE bullying the weak. That's why so many in their leadership and fundraising structure are pedophiles, I think.

99% chance this guy was a Bushevik, and probably a Freeper.

[iamjoy]

7. I Do Not Understand Your Statement

The first one that is.

Lots of people take pictures of tragedy - it's called the evening news. And we have had photos of Iraqi War victims here at DU. Sometimes the purpose of taking a picture is to open our eyes, and sometimes it's to remind ourselves of things we'd rather forget.

However, the man's actions AFTER show he was taking the photo for selfish purposes.

[LordLovesAWorkingMan]

29. Second that well-constructed post nt

[EFerrari]

14. What would a Freeper be doing in Paris? n/t

[geardaddy]

54. I'll anwer that one.

Q: "what would a Freeper be doing in Paris?"

A: Eating at McDonald's and shopping at the Gap.

My girlfriend and I experienced such a tourist while on a night train from Paris to Florence. He was from Texas and was proud of the fact that he hadn't eaten any French food or seen any cultural sites in Paris. The friend he was travelling with was embarrassed to be seen with him.

[cornermouse]

3. I hope they find him and prosecute him.

[kurth]

4. or turn him over to the young Parisians in the Arab ghetto

for a friendly chat.

[ClintonTyree]

5. Republican tourist........

why can't the media get the facts straight? There isn't a Democrat in the world that would do something like that. Not even Joe Lieberman.

[Jon8503]

6. The Ugly American rears his head again. - Just helping to boost

our wonderful Bush-like reputation.

[rodeodance]

8. glad to see the man is OK.

[liquiduniverse]

9. A lot of people on this thread are quick to judge...

• There is scant information in this article to begin with.


• There was no American ever questioned in this article to give his side of the story.


• How does the homeless person know this person was American?


• There are different reasons for taking pictures of a homeless people - one could be to bring attention to their plight.


• It could be that the homeless man attacked him after taking the picture, and the photographer was merely defending himself.

I'd like to know more facts about this story, before I form a concrete opinion.

[bluerum]

10. Give. Me. A. Break.

This article is just as credible as anything else we get from the whores in the news media.

[liquiduniverse]

12. Where did I say this article isn't credible?

I said there was scant information in this article. I think people here are reading more into this article than what are in the words of the article.

[bluerum]

15. You are right. You did not try to frame it as not trustworthy. Sorry.

My bad.:sarcasm:

[tinymontgomery]

11. "There was no American ever questioned in this article to give his side of the story".

Thats because the coward ran away!

[liquiduniverse]

13. How do you know this?

The article only says that there wasn't an American found for questioning. Consider this scenario - What if someone attacks you while you were in a foreign country, you push them off of you, and they end up slipping in a river of which they quickly got out. Then, his friends all run up to help him and come after you, I know I'd get the hell out of this. I'm not saying this is what happened, but to just say this person is a coward for leaving seems a bit judgmental to me.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tinymontgomery]

47. Spent 23 years in the Navy Traveling around Europe

during six different cruises. Was always taught to not run away and to stay and give your side of the situation. But then again maybe it's just me thinking you accept responsibility for your actions, thats why I'm a DEM and not a repuke.

[Retired AF Dem]

59. Now you are touting right wing talking points

I was once told here by an esteemed gentleman from NJ (that has passed away) that personal responsibility was a right wing concept. :)

[Retired AF Dem]

58. Quit wasting your time

time and time again here on DU people are judged guilty without a trial. And time and time again these people are proved wrong. The most famous case was the judge up in Chicago whose husband was killed. Tons of DU'ers blamed white supremacist, and of course in the end white supremacist had nothing to do with it. By the way welcome to DU.

[brentspeak]

22. You're correct. The article gives us very little to go on.

I'd at least like to have a name or a description of the alleged "American attacker" before making any kind of judgement at all.

[Richard Steele]

38. Exactly. ALLEGED "American".

[geardaddy]

61. Agreed.

Alleged American it should be. The reporter should have written something like "Tourist thought to be American" or some such thing.

[smirkymonkey]

26. Thank you - I was just thinking the same thing.

Where is the proof for any of these assumptions. For all we know, the homeless person could be mentally ill with a fine, hearty hatred of all Americans and threw himself into the river to cause an incident.

His explaination is of course, possible, but it amazes me at how many people here automatically believe every negative news story about Americans, and yet doubt the veracity of negative reports about certain other countries and nationalities (depending on one's personal prejudices.)

[progressivebydesign]

28. You're the voice of reason, Liquiduniverse... but you're new..

so people will jump on you attack you for a while before they see your point. Sad truth about DU.

While the way the story is framed, it looks unprovoked, but if I was being attacked for taking a photo, then someone might end up in the river. If any of the folks that jumped on you for waiting for more info would think about the most noteworthy photography in the last century, it was most often photos of people like the man in the tent. And yes, perhaps the photographer was trying to document the reality of Paris... physically attacking someone for taking a photo doesn't really make the attacker sound like a reasonable person.

[MrPrax]

32. Your just as quick...

BUT since things like this happen in the US, sometimes video taped and sold on the internet as 'entertainment'...I figure it's a good cop. Your standards are surprisingly high for journalistic integrity...for foreigners.

Do you figure that the French media are smearing Americans?

(Can't imagine that ever happening...I am sure many many American had their 'facts' when they declared the French 'surrender monkeys' for the crime of, not pushing the homeless into a river, but for merely agreeing with the FACTS as presented by the UN inspector teams and not the FACTS presented by Bush, Powell and people like Haggard)

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[liquiduniverse]

42. You are stepping over the line...

To blindly make all these assumptions that I'm hearing is ignorant. I didn't make any posts about Haggard, and based on his behavior and what Haggard's accuser was saying, I believed Jones.

Regarding this tourist story, as I've said a couple times already, this story is scant on facts. You're accusing me of spewing "repuke talking points". Do you think that the republicans have bothered to come up with any talking points about an alleged American tourist in Paris? And then somehow I'm privy to their talking points? To assume this is fallacy, so there goes you 100% perfect record.

My point is that you should try to be objective before making judgments. Maybe you should try it just a little bit.

[Ilsa]

16. Crap. And it looks like my husband has to go to France

on business pretty soon. True or not, all we need is more "ugly American" shit. My husband is a thoughtful, kind, socialist good guy, BTW.

[IndianaGreen]

17. Nothing like a Freeper in France

taking pictures of a homeless Brit to bring back home and slam the French. This moron should look at the millions of homeless we have in our own country.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

18. Kneejerk much?

Indeed, it may turn out that this was a nasty Freeper picking on a homeless guy because he hates both France and poor people.

But how the **** do we know that from this article?

Maybe the American was a Democrat.
Maybe the American was a-political (like most Americans).
Maybe the American was provoked.
Maybe the American was drunk.
Maybe the American was just a jerk.

I don't know how people on this thread (to be fair, only a few) automatically jumped to the conclusion that this was some Freeper asshole picking on a homeless European.

I'm not sure why this was even news, since the homeless fella wasn't even injured. It's sad and ugly, no doubt, but it's not really Breaking News or the start of WWIII or a disaster for Americans traveling to France.

[brentspeak]

23. Maybe the "American" was a Canadian

Or maybe there wasn't even a Canadian. I agree -- there are people on these boards who would be quick to buy a news story that said an eggplant ate Chicago.

[cool user name]

57. EXTRY EXTRY:

EGGPLANT EATS CHICAGO

Da Bears put up no defense.

:D

[LordLovesAWorkingMan]

30. It's just that Self-Righteous Indignation...

...seems to provide a high comparable to a heroin/orgasm mixture.

[torrentprime]

31. hear, hear!

Knee-jerking our way into a "it musta been an evil repub" only cements a stereotype of the left...

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[stepnw1f]

44. So Far That Stereotype of Republcians is True

Ever notice their domestic policies regarding the "homeless"? Give me a break...

[TankLV]

36. Because so far, we haven't ever lost once assuming the WORST of RPUKES!

We could be our lives and fortunes on that...

[MrSlayer]

19. Strange to attack a guy for defending himself.

Why is everyone jumping on the alleged American here, some even wishing he drowned? If he was attacked for simply trying to take a picture and defended himself, why is he to blame? How does anyone know it wasn't an accident that the hobo ended up in the river or that it wasn't his own fault? There isn't enough information here to make these kind of rash judgments. The people here claiming they know it was a republican or screaming "ugly American" for attacking the "weak" are way out of line. Just because a person is homeless doesn't mean they can't be wrong or that they are being preyed upon. Apparently the guy started the physical altercation himself and was either tossed or fell into the river. What should the tourist have done? Just allow the homeless guy to beat him up or take his camera? There's no law against taking pictures. I find some of the comments here very disturbing.

[all.of.me]

24. "alleged American" - exactly

How do we know he is an American, if he was unidentified?

[Julius Civitatus]

21. The guy was certainly no professional photographer, this is why

From personal experience, this is how a professional photographer (news media, freelance, or otherwise) would act:

- If he wanted to take a picture of the tents, he would do it from afar with a tele lens to not disturb the subject, or...

- If he wanted to specifically take a picture of the homeless man for a report, he would approach him and ask him for permission. People usually don't mind. Also, a responsible photographer would offer the homeless man some money in exchange. Engage the person in conversation, ask him about his circumstances, offer some money in exchange. People (even the most derelict of homeless men) react positively to kindness.

I believe this tourist was a complete moron, and certainly no professional photographer. Pushing the homeless man into the Seine only furthers my assessment. Possibly even a Freeper.

[Oeditpus Rex]

40. A professional photojournalist

would not offer someone money in exchange for the right to photograph them. That would be a violation of ethics, the same as paying for a story.

The photographer might give a homeless person some money out of the goodness of his/her heart.

[SoCalDem]

48. and a professional would TALK to them FIRST and get their permission

:grr:

[Oeditpus Rex]

55. Not necessarily

In most situations, permission isn't legally required. Without actually seeing it, I'd guess this one — a tent city of sorts under a bridge — would not require permission as it's in public view.

HowEVer, since those living there apparently desire and expect some degree of privacy — that's partly why they camped under a bridge — a pro who isn't a jerk would understand this and inform them of what he/she wants to do, and respect their wishes if they objected.

Generally, the laws regarding invasion of privacy by photographers require "reasonable expectation of privacy" by the party being photographed. Each situation must be weighed on its own merit.

[momster]

25. "The otherwise scenic banks

of the river are heavily frequented by tourists."

Sounds like tourists are ruining the scenic beauty of the Seine. Hmmm...little dig there? Big dig?

[Vidar]

27. Several years back, a homeless Vietnam vet explained to

me that, because a farmer allowed him to pitch his tent, he had now acquired 2 squatters. 1000 + homeless in a population of 40,oo in northern Michigan (Catholic Curch figures).

[TankLV]

33. Great - another REPUKE asshole on the loose...

That he was a repuke I have no doubt...

I have been proven right 100% of the time in that regards...

[mmonk]

39. The info is a little scant if you ask me.

[BreweryYardRat]

41. The info is insufficient.

People, I know from personal experience that hating Freepers feels good, but keep it in check until we find out more. As many people have already said, there's no way to know for certain what happened or if he's even an American, since the Paris PD didn't find the guy (yet). We don't have a monopoly on jackasses, you know.

If the tourist is found, and turns out to be a Freeper-type, fine and dandy, commence cursing. If not, take a good look at yourselves.

[majorjohn]

43. So what exactly is the point? n/t

[petronius]

45. 'We hate tourists' spin + 'we hate freepers' = this thread

:rofl:

An unidentified man, allegedly an "American tourist" attempts to photograph a tent that was intended by design to attract attention, the occupant of the tent attempts "to stop" the photograph in an unspecified way, the tent-owner falls into the river, several of the tent-owners neighbors are in the vicinity, and the photographer flees.

Given that we don't know anything about the photographer, how the photo was attempted to be stopped (who was the aggressor here?), the threat level to the photographer, or the biases of the article writer (the last sentence is a clue), I hardly see how this adds up to 'Evil freeper defiles Europe.' It could be a whole bunch of things, really - but don't let that stand in the way of the outrage...

[SoCalDem]

49. It almost sounds Python-esque

a BRITISH man thrown into a FRENCH river by an AMERICAN..

[petronius]

50. I thought that too...

Perhaps that's why it was reported, and the 'humor' got lost in translation... :shrug:

Who knows, really - it's not only the American press that has to deal with slow news days, after all.

[Oeditpus Rex]

56. If it were Pythonesque

he would've knocked the guy into the river with a fish.

[Catherine Vincent]

46. Why was this reported?

Big deal.

[bobbolink]

51. Thank you for your concern.

Noted.

[Catherine Vincent]

62. What I am saying is there are worse crimes than this that don't get.

reported. The man was pushed in the lake and he was alright and the guy that did the pushing never returned. So why make a big deal out of it? :shrug:

[bobbolink]

52. Thank you for your concern.

Noted.

[In Appreciation of]

53. Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke!

[yurbud]

60. someone should tell him he can only do that HERE