Le Sequoit

Wild in the Streets

Could there be a more welcome event for writer's blocked, inferiority complexed panderers to culturally naive mainstream America than riots in France? Oh, man the words just fly onto laptop screens across the country as cheese fattened France bashers like Rush Limbaugh and Cal Thomas offer their "I told you so, na na na na"s.

Here's O'Reilly:

But now the tide has turned, hasn't it? France is under bitter siege by Muslims. And the weak Chirac government has been exposed in front of the world. For nearly two weeks, Chirac has allowed the insurrection to build in ferocity, refusing to use his military, allowing anarchy in the streets. This makes hurricane Katrina look like a comic book.

For the O'Reilly's of the world there is always one answer, escalation. Call in the Army, shoot the bastards. Ramp it up. Wouldn't it make more sense to let the fire burn out? Wouldn't it make more sense for the community to come to its senses, see for itself that violence is no solution, and learn that to police itself is the only way out of this mess? These riots are not about religion, despite the Great Crusaders' glee in taking the bait while characterizing all Moslem/Christian relations as Holy War. These riots are about, as are most aspects of this "Holy War", and all wars, money.

These rioters are the second and third generations of immigrants to urban France who find themselves left out of the loop economically in a France that is still far more capitalist than socialist. The ultimate destination for these youths is gang-style street life. These riots are far more rooted in economic frustration, like those in 60's Watts and Detroit and Chicago, than in Jihad.

Today's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel contained three pieces, back to back to back. "Fire in the Streets", "A Warning for our Future", an "What the French Have Failed to Learn". There is so much crap in these, it's hard to know where to start.

From the first I read:

The United States needs to safeguard its tradition of effective economic and cultural integration.

Wow! This coming in a city that is one of America's most segregated. A recent New York State University study said the disparity between white and black family income in the Milwaukee-Waukesha region was the fifth worst among major U.S. population centers.

And how about that second op-ed, syndicated and from late-night Faux-News guy Cal Thomas?

Again hopelessly blind to the economic reality of racism, like most fascists he sees a cultural solution:

Why shouldn't we fight back by reaching out to them with our religious and political doctrines?

I know Muslims who have been converted and now live peaceful and productive lives among us. We shouldn't passively allow them to proceed with their conversion agenda with no response.

Let's peacefully and lovingly share our far better religious and cultural message with them.

Shall we look for an example of this lovingly shared and better religious and cultural message our not so silent Cal has in store for potential converts? We don't have to look far; let's try the first paragraph of this worthless screed:

Observing the riots in the suburbs of Paris, an American is tempted to rejoice.

I guess that would be you with Bill O'Reilly, over there giggling by the coffee machine when San Fran gets anthraxed.

And then there's what's behind column number three, by the Washington Post's Annie Applebaum:

Although there isn't yet evidence that this bout of rioting is Islamist in origin, it's pretty clear that large un-integrated, ungovernable and unemployed Islamic communities in Western Europe will continue to incubate radical Islam.

For proof of this Annie-get-Your-Gun cites that the twentieth hijacker was French-Moroccan. I guess it's also pretty clear to her that evidence of the rampant radical Christianity of unemployed rednecks that helped put Bush in the White House might have been sniffed out in the actions of one Timothy McVie.

Of course, the straw that broke Frenchy's back was non-belief in the free market, she explains:

...the refusal of French politicians to lift restrictions on employers, to promote entrepreneurship or to deregulate make it impossible for young people to integrate through the economy, as immigrants do in this country, despite discrimination.

This is ownerspeak for bust labor, give away working class jobs to immigrants, cut social programs and cut your own taxes and pay your maid and every other immigrant contractor that works on your suburban cul-de-castle in cash. The American Example.

I'm sure the French upper class, speaking the universal language of money, are fully aware of the benefits for them in such a system, however short-sided they will likely turn out to be. The difference in France is that the labor class, not being ignorant dupes munching Doritos in front of Fox News, realize that in a democracy they have the power, and they will not give up their livelihoods to the sons and daughters of the upper class's maids and landscapers.

No, the French will have to come up with their own solution. Our assimilation of Mexicans is no example for them, as their workers will not simply stand aside and let North Africans take their jobs, and we have little evidence of our own assimilation of blacks to point to. The "Free Market" scenario will only enrich a few while staving off the inevitable surplus of working class.

Servants have children, somebody should have thought of that.

posted by sequoit @ 11:34 AM