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Yes. It means that they still consider it ok to fight with your wife (maybe even physically, as was the case in the US until the 80's or so), kind of a left over attitude from when wives were men's property. In the US the tendency is more to ask the woman if what's going on is ok with her. Germany hasn't caught up yet, apparently.
The police officer should have asked them both, not just the man or the woman.
My wife and I were having a discussion in a train station regarding which train to take. Because we had opposing opinions, our voices were slightly raised. A policeman walked up to me and asked me (first in German and then in English), "do you know this lady"?. I said "she's my wife!". Then he said "Okay, perfect!" and skipped away. At no point did he attempt to make any conversation with her.
What do you make of that?
BTW we're an interracial couple if that is of any relevance.
I think the best way to not have any issues in the future is to not have opposing opinions "with slightly raised voices", problem solved.
I agree,it doesn't even look like a race issue,the cop by respect talked to the man.
Usually,women are victim of abuse and in most cases,men are the cause of abuse,so i don't see anything wrong with cop asking the guy questions.
My wife and I were having a discussion in a train station regarding which train to take. Because we had opposing opinions, our voices were slightly raised. A policeman walked up to me and asked me (first in German and then in English), "do you know this lady"?. I said "she's my wife!". Then he said "Okay, perfect!" and skipped away. At no point did he attempt to make any conversation with her.
What do you make of that?
BTW we're an interracial couple if that is of any relevance.
I guess because you had slightly raised voices he was just trying to make sure your wife was okay. When he found out everything was all right he made a diplomatic exit. I think he was a policeman doing his job and good on him.
I think it was odd - from a common sense point of view - that the police officer would ask the MAN (not the woman) if he "knew this woman" and once he determined that, he just walked off. How does that address ANYTHING? I mean, for all the police officer knew, the man was a sex trafficker and the woman was in trouble?
I live in the American south. A police officer would ask BOTH people if they were OK if the situation seemed odd to him/her.
I lived in Germany for several years. I found many of the attitudes and assumptions in general to be odd and sometimes unsettling, though I enjoyed my time there immensely and had very few actual negative experiences. By the way, we were an interracial family living in Bavaria. I literally cannot think of a single negative incident regarding race, but I do think that Germans in general are more macho and have a more traditional mindset when it comes to gender roles - especially Germans over, say, age 45.
There was a minor quarrel and the police officer tried to intimidate the guy by talking to him. No big deal. He obviously figured that they were both tourists/native English speakers and thought that that wasn't a situation to worry about...
Another angle is a cop or dominant male will address the perceived threat in a situation, which would typically be the male regardless of race.
You establish authority in challenging like this.
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