We learn more from the straight-talking email than from the PC MSM "news" stories.
Posted on 11/06/2005 9:49:36 AM PST by rock58seg
This is an E-mail I recieved today from a friend who has lived in europe quite some time now. He is probably the last of what I would call a true Independent, although most of the time he leans Conservative. He is very credible to me, and has even appeared on various European political shows as a pro U.S. pundit.
This is what he replied when I asked permission to put his article here. (Incidentally he know's me as Tex)
Tex:
It’s a good idea to keep my name out of it. They do have international phone directories with addresses these days. It should be passed on as something I sent you personally, as a friend (i.e. it was not written with public consumption in mind – just in case your conservative chat lines do have a wide audience).
I’d be interested in how you preface it, i.e. your own view (I suspect we are not that far off on the immigration problem at least – something conservatives seem to find more common ground on these days since the neo-con schism.)
Tex:
I lived in Aulnay sous Bois north of Paris in 1971, with a group of young people from the US, Europe and (one) Japan. Stayed there for a few months after returning from Germany to start work at CBS News, while looking for an apartment in Paris itself. There were lots of Africans (mostly north, but some sub-Saharans) already in the area then, a few of whom once mugged the American girl from our “commune” as she was walking home from the metro after work, about this time of year coincidentally. Others from our house had occasionally been harassed. This was only a few years after my old neighborhood in Brooklyn went belly up, and rioting in US cities had become commonplace. My warning to the French then (and subsequently to German friends years later when I went to work at RFE in Munich – where the so-called Gastarbeiter program was in full bloom) was that they were setting themselves up for the same kind of problems we were having if they didn’t get their immigration under control.
When I returned to live in Europe (specifically, Austria) in 1991, I saw just how much major sections of cities I once lived in like Paris and Frankfurt had been turned into ghettos by 3rd world immigrants – just like at home. Vienna wasn’t so bad, but a right-wing populist politician named Joerg Haider was making tremendous inroads by warning against Austria’s complacent immigration policy. In order to combat Haider’s growing popularity, the 2 main political parties started tightening up a bit on immigration, while at the same time bemoaning his crude, direct speech. Not long after I returned from Africa, Haider’s party became the 2nd most popular in Austria, and formed a coalition government with the main center-right Christian democrats. Upon which demonstrations broke out here and all over Europe, and Chirac and his Belgian counterpart led a movement to isolate Austria diplomatically, a movement which the US government gladly jumped on board. Hungarian immigrant Congressman Tom Lantos – Israel’s self-proclaimed voice in the US congress and the man who would (will) be chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee should the Dems again become the majority, called for a boycott against Austria.
One of Haider’s more colorful remarks was that Austria didn’t turn back two Turkish invasions of Christian Europe in order to later turn the country over to the Turks through incompetent immigration policies. Ariel Muzicant, the new head of Austria’s main Jewish lobbying organization, unlike his mature, discreet, effective and well-liked predecessor, had already embarked on a very public, media savvy campaign to warn that Haider’s anti-immigration rhetoric augured a return to Nazi-like conditions here (Haider had previously been bending over backwards to convince Jews he was their friend, despite his softball treatment of some right-wing veteran organizations). The US embassy duly broke off contact with that part of the coalition government. Muzicant on several occasions followed the new US ambassador on her periodic trips to the States, making sure Jewish groups would keep up the pressure against the new Austrian government, a pressure Muzicant felt the Ambassador might be trying to loosen through her direct talks in Washington. Because Haider – who with his potential coalition partners realized how untenable his position was internationally – allowed his charming, moderate female deputy (Susanne Riess-Passer) to take the vice-chancellor position that he would normally get as party leader, and because the center right coalition government quickly showed itself to be extraordinarily moderate, reasonable, and more market-oriented, Haider’s deputy Riess-Passer eventually got something of the red carpet treatment in Washington (it helped that she was also in favor of buying a bunch of US made fighter jets). Haider remained ostracized, started getting more radical instead of less, and eventually became outspokenly anti-US government, helping turn more of the right as well as the left against us. Haider’s party itself then broke up into radical (extreme anti-immigration) and moderate elements, with Riess-Passer and others resigning. The more moderates nevertheless held out, but the right-wing party itself was very weakened, and now the center-right, moderate, main stream party pretty much controls the government.
But: the government seems to have learned a lesson or two from events elsewhere in Europe and adamantly opposed Turkey’s membership in the EU. This has outraged the Bush Administration, which openly lobbies for Turkish membership that Austrians fear will lead to an even greater flood of Islamic immigrants here, immigrants from the most backward areas of Asian Anatolia. Austria is again on the US shit-list (how dare they not welcome the chance to enhance the country’s wonderful multi-cultural mosaic!). As if we don’t have enough enemies, little Austria is tow telling the US to shove it – to mind its own g.d. business. I forgot to mention that the US Embassy established a new position here a few years ago (after earlier having decided that - with the cold war over - we could easily merge and reduce the size of the political-economic section). The new US embassy position: a “diversity officer.” Yes, that old missionary wing of our foreign policy establishment deemed we need an American official here to enlighten Austrians on the joys of ethnic and religious diversity. Well, what the hell, there is so little else to do with all that tax money we have.
So Tex, your “Uncle Busy Body” school of foreign policy has still been very much in the ascendancy under your guru president. If he has his way, Vienna will go the way of Paris, London, Amsterdam etc. in this regard (the way major areas of US cites went long ago – but that’s OK for you I suppose; you’re a country boy at heart and don’t like cities per se). You’re all worked up about Islam – but have been crusading for our dim-wit President who has become addicted to meddling abroad, just like those ex-imperial powers of Europe who paved the way for massive immigration from their old colonies and the creation of ghettos such as in my old Aulnay sous Bois. Yes, those north Africans are doing the work that the European natives won’t do (the 50% who are not unemployed at least), so the economic argument goes, or went (familiar?), an argument that ignores the fact that countries that don’t rely on cheap 3rd World labor, like Japan, are much more apt to develop robots and other technology to do the routine work. That plus a decent wage for shit jobs can have an amazing impact on solving the labor shortage problem that ostensibly has provided an additional justification for 3rd world immigration on top of the perceived “obligations” stemming from an imperial past. It will be interesting to see how many more Iraqis the US will eventually have to provide refuge for as a result of our continued “obligation” to them stemming from intrusive attempts to save their country.
The barbarians, my friend, are inside the gates, not at the gates, something I noticed a long time ago at home as well. I don’t mean to equate immigrants with barbarians – but they have a fairly high percentage among them who don’t bring out the best among our own home-grown barbarians. Neither our Republicans nor Democrats are likely to do anything effective about the problem. Nor will Chirac or a French socialist if one eventually replaces him. The local moderate, anti-socialist government in Vienna has pretty much learned to ignore (quite a change) the intrusive platitudes from Washington policymakers. The latest Paris mess has helped shore up its resistance to the airy-fairy politically correct immigration grandstanding of the American and European political class. Margit and I still go to sleep summer nights with our door wide open to the terrace and roof (easily reachable by a potential intruder). And without a gun in the house! The already low crime rate has been declining even further. But the immigration door is far from secure, and the pressure to deal with immigration issues the way the Bushes and Chiracs of our political classes have dealt with them continues. And guys like you still think the answer is for American soldiers to prance around the world armed with incantations and bullets that will turn these medieval societies into thriving democratic economic miracles where the emigration urge will subside. Good luck!
Surely you jest. The entire world was an enlightened utopia until America was discovered.
That's because most of the Brooklyn neighborhoods, were pretty well finished "changing" by then. Most of the "change" at that time, was happening along the Brooklyn/Queens border.
Of course some of those areas are now undergoing gentrification. The people it changed to then are now lamenting the "changing" neighborhood.
I myself Bought a house in what was then being called a changing Queens neighborhood. We at one time had 57 different nationalities living on our block of one family houses.
What most people are usually cry about is the change in property values. In my case the house was bought for 24,000 sold 27 years later for 150,000. Also, The mortgage payment was very low compared to what rents were going for. Those houses today are selling at 650,000.
It showed a family living in Sunset Park (Bay Ridge?) moving into Park Slope, which was a neighborhood that, at that time, was widely thought to be on the wane.
Well the fact that I was from South Central Texas made me sort of immune to the thought that there was something wrong about living near Black or Hispanic neighbors. By the time the Viet Namese, Persians, Marielitos, Koreans and Haitians became the new wave in the 80's, Our area was already very diverse. Diverse had a much better connotation then, than now.
The real heart of the matter was, we assimilated people who had the means and sense to take care of what they bought. There were no instances of low-class tolerated , and when they briefly occured, (There were some rental homes.) they were handled by the ethnic group involved.
I thoroughly loved our block parties!
The left and right in Europe hate us. Which makes me so happy to see their cities and "ancient culture" go up in flames.
The neighborhoods that "changed" were largely inhabited by parochial white Catholics, who would freak if they saw a black walking down their block, let alone buying a home. Now the non -religious yuppies are buying in Williamsburg, Bushwick, East Harlem, etc., indicating that those "soft yuppies" are made of tougher stuff than the white Catholics who "tawked like dis."
He is unfortunately correct in stating that the US has been feverously lobbying for Turkey's EU membership. The US goverment is simply not credible in the eyes of many European conservatives due to this fact.
Another disgruntled, Kerry-supporting PEST sufferer?
Then he ought to know better.
I had to go look that up. Not so bad. Most philosophers were iconoclasts, just depends which ox they are goring at the time.
Oh, I'm certain that's what he meant. It's an implicit assumption that we'll cut and run, or otherwise "lose". His problem is that while he may very well be more knowledgeable about the situation in Europe, he is woefully ignorant of the actual situation in Iraq, and is viewing it through the blinders of his own prejudices.
That's only if we lose, which suggests that this so-called "pro-American" ally is rooting for an Iraq loss. I'm so glad that our friends in Europe think so highly of us, our President, and our military.
He certainly doesn't seem to lean conservative to me. All he does is bash Bush and America.
Delete this crappy post and revoke his citizenship.
Oh Clemenza, it wasn't just the Catholics. It was almost anyone who considered himself "White". That's why the suburbs grew as fast as they did. That and rent control with no decent new affordable apartments being built. The old ones not being maintained in order to squeeze the last dime out of them before they imploded.
We learn more from the straight-talking email than from the PC MSM "news" stories.
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