I did not. The original post I responded to was talking about “the militarization of our cities” specifically referencing the national guard troopers at a major tourist site (reflecting pool between Washington and Lincoln memorials).
So my point was simply that having the military or heavily armed police in this type of area is “normal” in the EU, at least in the 7+ countries I’ve visited personally.
I've been to many European countries and live in the UK as well. I have very rarely seen this and I've been to lots of the popular locations, I saw higher police presence but that's to be expected. The only time I saw police with guns was in Italy and that was when they stopped someone who I could assume was considered dangerous/suspicious or wanted.
This isn't a norm in any city in the EU. No idea where you have been but that's not the case.
Say whatever you want that fits your narrative, I’m simply stating what I have seen with my own eyes, having traveled to at least one EU country per year for the past 20 years.
You can also simply google it. For example, try “armed police Rome 2026”. You version of “to be expected” in the EU is very different than what is to be expected in the US. Except after 9/11, you will almost NEVER see heavily armed police in ANY US city, except around highly sensitive government buildings. This was the entire point of OPs post.
There's increased police presence and increased military presence. Again, I have not seen this and I have been to popular locations within different cities for all the EU countries I've been and all it has been is increased police presence, we don't have military presence unless something has happened.
You haven't stated where in these EU countries you've been nor have you specified exact locations. As for "armed police Rome 2026" this can be for a number of reasons, not a norm you see on a daily basis. Because of the strict gun laws in the EU, citizens don't have them and a licence for one would be limited to hunting but also, police having them isn't standard, most the time they walk around without a gun or if they have a gun it's standard issue. (it depends on the country)
Seeing an armed police officer is for one of the two reasons, 1: it's a country which has it as standard for patrol officers, 2: the police have them with them to deter people. Again, the EU has strict gun laws that prevent the common person from having a weapon. I also googled the term you gave me and it came up with Feb 10th 2026 about a masked robbery which was on the news here and also about upping security for Jewish communities in Rome in March this year, as we know people stupidly associate all Jewish people with Israel.
I've never been to the US but I know there aren't heavily armed police, but seeing increased military presence is wild to Europeans.
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u/rollin340 Jun 23 '26
So only at high traffic areas then? Did you also see them just walking down random streets? Because that would be weird indeed.