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Thomas Sowell: Riots in France
Townhall.com ^ | November 8, 2005 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on 11/08/2005 3:33:09 AM PST by Puzzleman

Riots that began on the outskirts of Paris have spread into the center of the French capital and to other communities in other parts of the country. Thousands of cars have been set on fire and the police and even medical personnel have been shot at.

-- snip --

Like housing projects in America, many of these are centers of social degeneration, lawlessness and violence. Three years ago, profound British social critic Theodore Dalrymple wrote of "burned-out and eviscerated carcasses of cars everywhere" in these projects, among other signs of social degeneration. This was in an essay titled "The Barbarians at the Gates of Paris" that is reprinted in his insightful book, "Our Culture, What's Left of it."

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: crueligans; france; frenchifada; gwot; insurgency; intifada; jihad; parisriots; quagmire; religionofpeace; riots; surrender; terrorism; uprising; wot
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A good article by Sowell. He references the essay, "The Barbarians at the Gates of Paris" which was discussed at FreeRepublic here.
1 posted on 11/08/2005 3:33:10 AM PST by Puzzleman
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To: Puzzleman

I love his use of the word "Moslem".


2 posted on 11/08/2005 3:40:03 AM PST by Past Your Eyes (Some people are too stupid to be ashamed.)
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To: Past Your Eyes
Great snippet:

In the name of tolerance, these countries have imported intolerance, of which growing antisemitism in Europe is just one example. In the name of respecting all cultures, Western nations have welcomed people who respect neither the cultures nor the rights of the population among whom they have settled.

3 posted on 11/08/2005 3:47:17 AM PST by Vigilanteman (crime would drop like a sprung trapdoor if we brought back good old-fashioned hangings)
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To: Puzzleman

4 posted on 11/08/2005 3:48:32 AM PST by Bon mots
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To: Puzzleman
Chirac has become the Henny Youngman of France... “Take my country... PLEASE!”
5 posted on 11/08/2005 3:50:07 AM PST by johnny7 (“What now? Let me tell you what now.”)
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To: Puzzleman

I read the other day that the reason these communities are all muslim is because the Muslims frightened all others away.


6 posted on 11/08/2005 3:50:28 AM PST by sgtbono2002
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To: Puzzleman; Michael81Dus; Atlantic Bridge; Atlantic Friend; Fair Go; Aussie Dasher; Fred Nerks; ...
Another great quote:

...much of the media, the political classes, and the cultural elites of the West cannot bring themselves to even criticize, much less stop, the dangers or degeneracy among groups viewed sympathetically as underdogs.

Ping!

7 posted on 11/08/2005 3:52:13 AM PST by NZerFromHK (Alberta independentists to Canada (read: Ontario and Quebec): One hundred years is long enough)
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To: Puzzleman
" ... Not all Moslems, nor necessarily a majority of Moslems, are either a cultural or a physical danger. But even "moderate" Moslem organizations in the West who deplore violence and try to discourage it nevertheless encourage their followers to remain foreigners rather than become part of the countries they live in."


The good Dr. Sowell failed to see the hypocrisy of this paragraph.


One cannot help but notice that by Muslim organizations failing to encourage a certain action, in this case assimilation, they are encouraging their fellows to remain foreign and violent.


Enough of this B/S already!


We have met the enemy. It is Islam. Each and every one of them.



8 posted on 11/08/2005 3:53:22 AM PST by G.Mason (The barbarians are at the gate and the Democrat Party will open it for them)
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To: Puzzleman
But even "moderate" Moslem organizations in the West who deplore violence and try to discourage it nevertheless encourage their followers to remain foreigners rather than become part of the countries they live in.

And therein lies the rub. It is not us that are being intolerant, prejudice, etc. as these people try to claim all that is victimhood. It is we, the truly free people, who are the victims. If one comes to a free society, one must become part of the society and not hide within that which is familiar to ones own culture. One must step outside those cultural norms and do so with the same understanding, sense of adventure & discovery as that of other free peoples. It also means one may not like or approve of what one discovers, but one must respect, be tolerant to the other culture. One is free express one's disdain for the matter, but one does not have the right to suppress the expression of the other. Thousands of foreign cultures have come to our shores and struggled to make a life for themselves here. They learned to be American. Many have stepped outside the famliar and have come to celebrate cultures that are foreign to them.

Cultures that will not, that refuse to grow beyond the familiar will not succeed within a free state. France has offered housing, money, and education some say they have no access. Last night I heard Villipan say improved housing project is being moved up 18 months, and there will be 3x more scholarships available...these items were already slated for these people. More was already slated to go to these barbarians. The simple truth of the matter is they don't want it. None of the proposals will improve the situation until these people decide what culture they will participate within.

9 posted on 11/08/2005 3:54:58 AM PST by EBH (Never give-up, Never give-in, and Never Forget)
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To: Vigilanteman

That pretty much sums it up.


10 posted on 11/08/2005 3:55:15 AM PST by mlc9852
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To: Puzzleman
In the name of respecting all cultures, Western nations have welcomed people who respect neither the cultures nor the rights of the population among whom they have settled.

If someone wants to join our family, it can't be just to rip us off. Unacceptable.

A condition of coming here has to include that the person wants to become an American. It's not enough that an immigrant wants to live in a wealthier county, or that they want to live off our labor, they must want to accept our values. Our ways, our freedoms.

Muslim ways have created the poverty and hopelessness of Muslim cultures. If they bring those beliefs with them, they'll bring the misery here too. Coming here has to entail more than just a desire to have more stuff.

11 posted on 11/08/2005 3:59:53 AM PST by GOPJ
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To: NZerFromHK

Very true!


12 posted on 11/08/2005 4:00:57 AM PST by Fair Go
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To: Puzzleman

Quagmire.


13 posted on 11/08/2005 4:01:16 AM PST by Loyal Buckeye
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To: NZerFromHK

Very true!


14 posted on 11/08/2005 4:01:36 AM PST by Fair Go
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To: GOPJ

"Coming here has to entail more than just a desire to have more stuff."

They don't want more 'stuff' they want the whole country! In Denmark they are shouting at the Danes THIS COUNTRY BELONGS TO US!


15 posted on 11/08/2005 4:04:09 AM PST by Fred Nerks (The media isn't mainstream it's the ENEMY! The enemy enemy ENEMEDIA!)
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To: Loyal Buckeye

Lol yeah your right. France should just pull their troops out.


16 posted on 11/08/2005 4:09:49 AM PST by whershey
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To: G.Mason
One cannot help but notice that by Muslim organizations failing to encourage a certain action, in this case assimilation, they are encouraging their fellows to remain foreign and violent.

Isn't that what Sowell was implying?

17 posted on 11/08/2005 4:14:05 AM PST by Tom Bombadil
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To: G.Mason

Great tag line!


18 posted on 11/08/2005 4:14:56 AM PST by Past Your Eyes (Some people are too stupid to be ashamed.)
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To: Puzzleman
This squeamishness in word and deed, and the accompanying refusal to face blatant realities is also a major part of the background for the breakdown of law and order and the social degeneration that follows.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil...face the consequences.

19 posted on 11/08/2005 4:15:00 AM PST by shezza
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To: Puzzleman

Maybe I have just missed this in every story I've read about these riots, but why were the two young men running from the police in the first place? Were they innocently standing on a street corner and saw an officer running towards them? Or were they doing something else that might have attracted the police' attention? Just curious.


20 posted on 11/08/2005 4:20:20 AM PST by a.c.t.32
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