Via Drudge, we learn that France has declared that a nuclear response to terrorist attacks on French soil is not out of the question. "Bravo!" I say. Though I'm not eager for a nuke to go off anywhere, I'm happy to know the French retain enough vigor to make such a statement.
A lot of Americans think the French take their individualisme and valorization of la différence to an absurd degree. These Americans might think that France-- the culturally Western part of it, anyway-- is therefore extremely open, tolerant, and pluralistic.
Fact is, the French like Arab jokes. Here's an old one:
A guy grabs his rifle, drives down to Marseille, gets out of his car, then starts looking around for Arabs. He finds some, and he shoots them down. He finds more in another part of the city; fries them, too.
Pretty soon the police, following the trail of Arab bodies, catch up to him and arrest him.
As he's being pushed into the squad car, he protests. "What the fuck was I doing wrong?"
One of the policemen turns to him and says, "You've got no hunting license, wiseass."
Jokes like that are pretty common in France (and admit it: unless you're Arab, you thought it was funny). They're a decent reflection of what many non-Arab Frenchmen think of the population in their midst. Makes me wonder whether the French declaration was directed just as much inward to domestic elements as outward to foreign-based terrorists and their sponsors.
_
Shame, shame. You must now wear an onion-skin hat to all your classes as punishment.
ReplyDelete