Update II (11/9): The Barbarians at the Gates of Paris
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Known collectively as the Paris riots, the madness continues to rage out of control in France (Curfews?).
In the past few days I’ve heard so many excuses for this barbaric behavior. The “youths” are poor, white French people are snotty, France failed to assimilate Muslims into French society, the police killed two teenagers, and on and on. I, on the other hand, make no excuses for these thugs, and what I’d do to crush the riots guarantees that I’d never be elected or appointed to rule over anyone.
Pat Buchanan has written another great one. He lays out some pertinent and frequently ignored-by-the-media facts in his latest column, Paris Burning: How Empires End:
The rioters are of Arab and African descent, and Muslim. While almost all are French citizens, they are not part of the French people. For never have they been assimilated into French culture or society. And some wish to remain who and what they are. They live in France but are not French. The rampage began October 27 when two Arab youths, fleeing what they mistakenly thought was a police pursuit, leapt onto power lines and were electrocuted. The two deaths ignited the riots.
Buchanan makes an important point here. While blacks were not integrated into the economy or society in general during Jim Crow, they were fully assimilated into America culture. One of my many pet peeves is hearing people talk about a “black culture,” when it’s actually the “black subculture.”
Black Americans are uniquely American and have more in common with white Americans than with black Africans, for instance. “Black” slang (”ebonics”), expression, music (including jazz), style of dress, etc., are all part of a subculture of the American culture. Whether some blacks wish to believe otherwise is their sad problem.
To this, Buchanan adds:
Black folks were as American as apple pie…immigrant peoples, let alone people of color. Moreover, the African and Islamic peoples pouring into Europe — there are 20 million there now — are, unlike black Americans, strangers in a new land, and millions wish to remain proud Algerians, Muslims, Moroccans.
Some “African Americans” may long for a romanticized affinity with the African continent, but the reality would drive them back to these shores faster than you can say “Kente cloth.”
Buchanan wrote a book called Death of the West several years ago, and I devoured it. He contended, in so many words, that America is becoming a Third World nation. As foreign non-westerners continue to flood into the United States without assimilating into American culture (the best in the world, by the way), they bring with them the worst of what they fled from, ironically. As they continue to out-produce Americans, the kind of people who made this country great will become the minority and die out if they don’t reverse the trend.
It’s already happened in some states, including Texas, of all places.
Buchanan attributes a conquering nation’s decline to rebellion among the subjects. To compare it to lunatics running an asylum may be a bit of a stretch, but not much. Be offended by that characterization if you like. It really doesn’t matter to me or the rest of the world.
As an aside, I want to talk about imperialism. Nations conquer nations. That’s the nature of the human race. At various times in history, certain countries built empires to exploit resources of other countries. Whether you believe it’s wrong or evil to do so is not the point. In one way or another at one time or another, countries with the military might to do so have built powerful and far-reaching empires, including followers of Islam.
Founded in the late 13th century, the Ottoman Empire extended from North Africa to the Mediterranean to parts of southern Europe. The end of WWI put an official end to the Ottoman Empire, which had been in decline years before that. Fascinating stuff, history, but the point is that all people of all races and religions conquer other nations. The United States and Europe are not unique in this regard.
Buchanan concludes with this warning:
Nor should Americans take comfort in France’s distress. By 2050, there will be 100 million Hispanics in the United States, half of them of Mexican ancestry, heavily concentrated in a Southwest most Mexicans still believe by right belongs to them.
I’d like to think Americans would fight to the death to protect this country from foreign invaders, but that’s only a fantasy. Mexicans have invaded this great nation right in our faces, and they do so boldly as they pour across the border in violation of our laws.
King George even wants to grant them amnesty for their illegal activity. That’s crazy and suicidal. Perhaps he’s descended from that other George, you know the one who wanted to maintain control over his rebellious colonies?
America fought to gain freedom, respect, and independence all those years ago. Let’s see if there’s any fight left in her.
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Bloggers: Conservative Cat, Wizbang, Captain’s Quarters (Update), TTLB topic page, Kerfuffles, The Agenda Gap, The Brussels Journal, Jihad Watch, Adloyada, BlackProf, much-needed comedy from BlameBush!, Clive Davis, Michelle Malkin, The Mudville Gazette…
What’s going on in France, where young Muslims are rioting in the streets, may be readily explained. By most accounts, Muslims are treated with everything from indifference to hostility by the police and by French society.But the violence cannot be justified or countenanced by the government there.
I have come across this shocking bit of evidence that while France burns, Chirac has spent the last eleven days reading the French version of the much maligned children’s story “My Pet Goat.â€
Related posts:
Sources: The riots rage on despite curfews and state-of-emergency declarations. France won’t be a tourist destination for a while.
More bloggers: Winds of Change, The Galvin Opinion, Blogs for Bush, Mean Dean…
Update: From WorldNetDaily:
U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., in an interview with WND, said he believes the chickens are coming home to roost in France because, for years, the country with the largest Islamic population in Europe has ignored rising Muslim tensions within its own borders. The real issue the French “are now dealing with,” he said, “is [that] you cannot integrate some people into your society.”
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My wife and I were planning on going to Paris for our 10-year anniversary, but now I think not.
LaShawn:
I guess I don’t see why some of the things being said about the Paris riots aren’t all true:
1. It’s true that the rioters are thugs and that the French government’s reaction has been anemic and indefensible.
2. It’s true that the French authorities helped set the table for these events by failing to keep order within the Muslim enclaves for a long time. The thugs then felt that they could conduct a campaign of violence with impunity.
3. It’s true that the French who, after all are rather celebrated for their snobbery, have treated the five-million Muslims in their country with contempt, disdain, and discrimination. This has apparently, been especially true of the police.
Here you have the ingredients necessary to create what Mark Steyn calls a “Eurabian civil war.”
I look at all of this from a Christian perspective at http://markdaniels.blogspot.com/2005/11/christian-perspective-on-paris-riots.html.
God bless you, LaShawn!
Mark Daniels
By the way, in my early posts on the riots, I mention what Buchanan eludes to in his piece, that many of these riotous youth have no desire to be integrated into French society. They want rather, to establish Islamic hegemony. These are the rioters who are clearly under the influence of Islamofascism. Not all of them are. The combination of firmness, resolve, and intelligence with which the French government now handles things could well decide how many of the youth in the streets of France become part bin Laden’s cadre. Much hangs in the balance.
Mark Daniels
Excellent commentary LaShawn. I absolutely believe that the U.S. “empire” will fall, and probably within the next 50 – 100 years. There are predictions that the Chinese economy will rival that of the U.S. within 20 years. Christianity is under assault in the U.S. as we speak, and I fear we haven’t seen anything yet. I’m not so sure I agree with you totally on the Mexican situation. I do agree we should not tolerate illegals; however, they are for the most part Christian, and can integrate into our present culture. Can you imagine if the millions of Mexican illegals that have already come here were Islamic? It would be a totally different situation.
Sorry about China, but I don’t believe they will come close to the US in the near future, because repressed people don’t produce to their ability.
But La Shawn is correct – Black Americans have a lot more in common with White Americans than Africans.
And as a “Rich White Male”, I played trumpet in grade school. My nick name was “Satchmo” – I just didn’t know that this “colored guy” that played the trumpet wasn’t just as American as I was.
#8 – If you’re not worried about large scale, out of control Mexican and Latin American immigration, you should be. The religious component is a mitigating factor I’ll agree, but their culture is very different from ours, and simple common sense suggests that when you have two competing cultural and linguistic groups occupying the same real estate the likelihood of conflict is greater, not less. We are headed for big trouble, and many of our elected officials, starting with Jorge Boosh, have chosen to side with, in his words, the “new America.” I actually think there’s a very good possibility that America will rupture along ethnic and linguistic lines within the next 50 years, with large parts of the Southwest being given some form of autonomous rule.
Riots in Paris…. well gee let me think…. what goes around comes around? France was so open to taking in Algerians and others from the Arab community for years. Now France is no longer populated by the French but just like us her in the good ole USA is over run with Foreigners who are trying to make the country resemble the country they came from. Call me a racist if that’s what you think, but “when in Rome” ….. When you move to another country you are supposed to Adopt that country and it’s customs and it’s ways. You are not supposed to bring the other country here. If you are celebrating in your own home that’s one thing… but for gods sake, ASSIMILATE… don’t expect us to change to suit you. You’re not victims in this country you are guests. Act like it. France is beyond hope, as far as I’m concerned let them burn themselves to the ground. To the innocent people in the area, if there are any… this is a war zone…. GET OUT.
What’s funny is that while some American black people are all Africa-oriented, there are Africans who are baffled by them when they get here. Also, there are Africans who are not impressed by American black people’s behavior, especially in the inner city.
#4. Mark Daniel hits the nail squarely on the head when he notes: “many of these riotous youth have no desire to be integrated into French society.”
The French Revolution carried the slogan: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. These rioters have come from abject poverty in their North African past to live a much higher standard of living in France, even if they exist in poverty there. They have embraced “Liberty,” and demanded “Equality” while eschewing “Fraternity.” It is their job to assimilate into the culture new to them, not the responsibility of the culture to rebuild itself to accommodate them.
As to the “Mexican problem” in the US, the legal immigrant that masters English and provides a salable skill or commodity and supports the basic tenets of American culture is welcomed and desired no matter what his birth origin.
We cripple that process when we compromise by not requiring English to be spoken. Mastering English is one of the costs of assimilation. Without that requirement, we encourage a divided citizenry. And that is a source of conflict that will not be resolved. A common language is the linchpin of any modern state.
Here comes the terrorist French Fries. I kid you not!
“He contended, in so many words, that America is becoming a Third World nation.”
We’re certainly taking on certain traits, like income inequality, plutocracy, etc…
Wow! Did you hit the nail on the head or what!?
Yes, I think assimilation is a large part of the issue, so is law enforcement (perhaps part of the assimilation process) and — the church. The latter not having their own plan to assimilate their neighbor.
My experience with the illegal immigrant community in Texas has been pretty positive. Most are law-abiding – except for immigration status and (sometimes) car insurance. Most are hardworking. Most would like citizenship. Most see the corruption and waste at home as the blight that it is. If they bring the family, they want schooling for their kids and the American dream of a job, car and home. Most know that learning English is a requirement for success. In short, they are like my ancestors from Germany.
Don’t think the self-appointed spokespersons for them are reflective of their ideals anymore than you think Al Sharpton speaks for all black Americans. Sure, they have Spanish language TV, radio and newspapers – there used to be German and Polish language papers in Chicago, too.
How’s this for a solution?
Constitutional Amendment
Freedom of religion shall not be construed to apply to any group whose founder ordered his followers to commit torture, commit assassinations, attack those who disagree, kill those who exercise freedom of conscience to believe another religion, or hold hostages for ransom, even if that group should view itself a religion or a religious sect. The question of the involvement of the founder of a religion in these topics shall be a matter of protected free speech and decided on the basis of the historical record of a group’s founder.
Trying to use economic disparities as the primary rationale for the outbreak of orchestrated violence in France is far too simplistic. There are a great many communities of indigenous Europeans (of Christian lineage), that suffer high unemployment rates, discrimination and isolation from the “mainstream”, yet I don’t see them organizing campaigns to burn down their nations.
The reason for this violence is rooted in deeper ground than economics or lack of job opportunities. The fact is, France has been an active partner in the establishment of virtually autonomous Islamic enclaves that owe little or no allegiance to their adopted country. An alarming number of the residents in these enclaves identify with the Islamic umma and their countries of origin, not with the French Republic.
The European Union went along with the Arab League’s demands that Muslim immigrants should not be required to adapt the customs of the European host society. Such thinking underpins the social situation in France that has encouraged millions of Muslims to live in what can only be described as a national sub-culture.
The same has happened here in the U.S. We continue to be plagued by the memory of past ills, to the extent that we tolerate everything, in the name of tolerance and diversity. We “celebrate” our differences, yet continuously fail to emphasize anything that may bond us as a nation and establishes a cultural identity. This is “multiculturalism” run amuck and we are quickly becoming a nation adrift at sea without a rudder.
The residents of these Muslim enclaves exist in satellite communities with their own indigenous world view. Many regard the society around them as “the enemy” (witness the targeting of government institutions bearing the flag or symbols of authority) and would sooner slit their own throats (but preferably someone else’s) before calling themselves “French”.
This is a recipe for disaster, and talking about economic disparities completely ignores the truth that many Muslims choose to be distinct, isolate themselves, and are rioting for reasons that are a lot more complex than the lack of a job or opportunity.
New: Texas uses state money to beef up border patrols, challenges feds to step up also.
http://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou051108_ac_borderpatrol.3d3b4c67.html
Please note, any of you who say “Hispanics don’t assimilate, aren’t real Americans, Tex-Mex isn’t really an American culture” (racists) out there, please note the number of government officials supporting this move — and who helped organize this move — who have Hispanic surnames and are serving this country loyally.
I’ve lived in TX since I was 3 years old and I have a hard time getting all worked up about the whites being the minority in TX … some of my friends are from Hispanic families who have lived in this land before it was ever part of the U.S. Guess what? They’re glad to be Americans.
Gee!! Aren’t the French supposed to be perfect?
Or had a real good spin team going.
Can you believe the stupidity of this man and his government? What wimps! I’ve got quite a Rant at my blogspot about the impotence of Chirac and his so-called government. Hat tip to Right As Usual for providing such a great line for my post title!
I know that what I am about to say may sound a bit insensitive. But it really happened and I must share it.
Two days ago, I said this:
“I just can’t believe what I am seeing on our T.V. screen! Chirac and his impotent government are doing NOTHING to stop this insanity! I asked my husband today, “don’t these officials in France realize the terrible message they are sending to brutal Islamic terrorists?” Look at the stupidity. They can’t even stop these YOUTHS, as they have been so “politically correctly” labeled by CNN news commentators (CNN doesn’t have a CLUE EITHER!) then how would they EVER be able to stop people like Zarqawi from invading, terrorizing and then taking over their country?
My husband had a gem of a one liner.He said, “They wouldn’t want it. Would you?”
If I had some personal charisma and wanted to rally the rational French people (assuming there are some left) to protect themselves, I would argue that their government is on the side of the rioters and that it is time to overthrow Chirac and company and replace the rioter’s supporters with a government that would restore law and order.
That might start a chain of event with unexpected and unfortunate consequences, but it seems to me that the government has left a perfect opening for the right person to step up and start a revolution.
“The real issue the French “are now dealing with,†he said, “is [that] you cannot integrate some people into your society.—
The funny thing is the french never really tried. There’s no system of affirmative action to make sure that immigrants are welcomed into civil society. The cops are white, the judges are white, the jobs are white etc….
This from James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute:
“It’s the act of an underclass with expectations that have gone unfulfilled for a long period of time, striking out, out of a combination of despair and anger”—(AFB) Chicago
No, actually it’s not that at all. It’s simply an evil that is being tolerated by a libertine, welfare state. Let’s call the rioters what they are E-V-I-L. Why are we so afraid to acknowledge that evil exists in society? This might be the only forum where I won’t get in trouble for calling radical Muslim and Islam the absolute EVIL that they are.
The French law enforcement is no more going to shoot the evil rioters….than we were going to shoot looters in N.O.
Tolerance, and refusal to label an evil, will keep this thing going, and insure that it happens again and again.
In the past few days I’ve heard so many excuses for this barbaric behavior. The “youths†are poor, white French people are snotty, France failed to assimilate Muslims into French society, the police killed two teenagers, and on and on. I, on the other hand, make no excuses for these thugs, and what I’d do to crush the riots guarantees that I’d never be elected or appointed to rule over anyone.
Just out of curiosity, what is it exactly that you would propose?
I haven’t read Buchanan’s “The Death Of The West” yet, but I would recommend Dr. James Woods Jr.’s “How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization” as a companion piece.
Big Question: To what end are we directing our aggression towards the Islamic community?
I just wanted to know if the Immigration of people into the modern world is no more viable?
So… after asserting (correctly) that “African” Americans are culturally American, not African – you go on to quote Pat Buchanan and endorse a “raise the drawbridge” approach to our borders?
Could you pinpoint exactly when America started drawing “undesireables”?
Were the ‘hispanics’ on Columbus’ ships of sufficient caliber – and now that we know many of them were Jews escaping the Inquisition, what would Pat B. say?
What about the ‘wretched refuse’ that built the Pacific half of our railroads? Or the ‘unskilled dregs’ that came over on the slave ships?
Sorry, LaShawn, you are way off base – one of the most unique things about American culture is its polyglot nature. The talk about whether France’s Muslims want to assimilate takes place against a reality in which Frenchness has very clear religious, racial, and ethnic elements – which is not the case here in America.
The Mexicans and Chinese are doing just what previous waves of Polish, Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants did – building themselves up and enriching our ever-evolving culture in the process.
And they had to fight their way up despite Buchanan-type bigots among the
“previous arrivals” – the true “native Americans” having been dispatched to reservations.
If we Americans are going to sniff condescendingly at Europe’s problems, we better make sure we aren’t lapsing into the same stratified, clean-my-toilet-then-go-back-home mentality.
The problem with illegal immigrants is the ILLEGAL part.
What don’t you understand about that?
I don’t give a flying &&%$^&^ WHAT the policy on immigrants is.
BUT I do want control over who comes in and who goes out of this country. And if they are not citizens then how long they are here and get them out when their time is up.
You can have completely OPEN immigration AS LONG AS YOU KNOW WHO IS COMING IN AND WHO IS GOING OUT.
The question today is not about immigrants it is about illegal immigrants.
There is a big difference for anyone with brains.
I think people are going a little overboard with the Hispanic wanting the leave the US union. It is a greater probability that Northern Mexican states will see the US as a country that can help them and be drawn more toward us rather than the other way.
Keeping your native language is very common, it decreases through successive populations. Teaching in English is essential to integration however.
I leave this up to market forces, so the US will be fine. You see lots of Spanish stations and such right now because there is demand. If your Spanish and want to be in the high return workforce you need to learn English.
If Hispanic parents want their children to succeed they will learn English. Just like the secessionist movement in Hawaii, any Mexican one will fail because it is not in the majorities best interest.
#42 – I don’t believe I (or anyone else) suggested secession per se, I posited that autonomy based on ethnicity and language is a possibility that cannot be discounted, on account of the sheer number of people and their concentration. When southern California is 75% or more Hispanic and Spanish, rather than English is the everyday language spoken on the street, it’s naive to think that there will not be a well organized effort to create a Puerto Rico or Quebec-like state within the USA, complete with demands for special privileges and massive federal handouts “or else”, the “or else” being a referendum on secession…to be followed by more shakedowns.
My experience with Latin Americans, especially Mexican immigrants, is that they really want to be Americans. They don’t hate us, our culture or our religion. They want to intermarry and be part of the mainstream. Don’t pay attention to the self-appointed spokespeople (like MALDEF), many of whom don’t speak Spanish, don’t know anything about their parents’ culture and despise their religion (typically Roman Catholicism). We need to cultivate an alternative Hispanic intelligentsia to confront these socialist multiculti tribalists. Moreover, the USA should do much more to encourage assimilation of the right kind. Teaching English by making its use more of a daily necessity would be a start. What motivate the immigrant to learn a foreign language is necessity. What motivates the student is necessity. We should also do a better job teaching our glorious history, our values and our heroes. Warts and all, our heritage is something to be damn proud of.
Have any of you ever read the Koran? The poisoned source of Islime?
There is NO hope for integration and peaceful co-extisence with the mohammedans. The “tolarance” of “diversity” is a deranged, suicidally VAIN fantasia on the part of self-indulgent Westerners.
“Have any of you ever read the Koran? The poisoned source of Islime?”
Karen Hughes said dubya is reading it.
Is france going to crumble will all french women be forced to wear burkas and all french men forced to grow beards and face mecca will they rip down the efelle tower and the arc de truimph will the make pepi le pew a crinimal
We used to be proud of the American “melting pot” that made us all Americans. In recent years, we’ve been told that metaphor is not politically correct. Now, we’re supposed to be a “salad bowl,” with various ingredients in the same bowl, but still distinct from one another.
The French have followed that recipe, with French citizens who aren’t really French, and don’t feel French. And now look at what they’ve cooked up! The kitchen is burning.
We need to forget all of our hyphens and get back to all being Americans, before we head down the same road as the French.
A few decades ago, a fellow named Pascal Bruckner wrote a book called “Tears of the White Man”. It described the self-righteous attitude of French Liberals in their dealings with the third world. They would provide help and benefits to the poor but grow bored and indifferent rather quickly, particularly if those receiving this French beneficence didn’t behave as expected. The sub-title of the book was “Compassion as Contempt”. The French refuse to learn from the past yet again.
“The sub-title of the book was “Compassion as Contemptâ€.”
Sounds like a rehash of “The White Man’s Burden.”
I hope and pray Buchanan, whom i usually don’t agree with, is right about black folks being american, still. i say this because since 9/11 i have been surrounded by folks who are on the other side! my grandparents and parents did not lie about racism, but they were americans and proud of it. today, some people seem to think the war on terror is a war between the coloreds and non coloreds and we have to fight on the colored side. at least they talk that way. i’ve given up arguing with them. i just hope they don’t mean what they say. what’s really galling to me as an american who is black is that lots of these people are immigrants from the caribbean and africa, some of the africans would have literally died or been in prison if they were not here, they came here voluntarily are doing very well and would die if someone tried to make them live in a country of people of color.
And to yhink that it was france who helped our country to become the USA when they sent in the navy to YORKTOWN to keep the british from sneaking out now look whats happened NAPOLIAN is spinning in his tomb
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