March 17, 2005
Where Human Shields Come From
A key role of the adolescent school experience - in whatever culture - is to impart the essential values and practices of the society at large to the younger generation. It follows, therefore, that an important part of the French lycée experience is to pass along the essential Gallic arts of striking and street demonstration - for if these skills are not handed down, the society would likely cease to function (or at least become unrecognisable).Read it all.
Needless to say, most (all?) of the student demonstrations are organised and carried out by the left, ostensibly as calls for social equality for the "underprivileged" - that is, those of arab and black descent. The current row is over proposed changes to the educational system that are seen as "a particularly acute threat to minority students and those who attend schools in working class communities," in the (English) words of the International Committee of the Fourth International. Large crowds of students have been demonstrating across the country in response to the pending reforms.
So far, so ordinary.
But the lead story in yesterday's Le Monde reveals an unexpected new angle. It seems that, during these protests, many of the white liberal teens are being beat up and robbed of their phones and money by gangs of the very black and arab youths (up to 1,000 of them, in a recent Paris demo) that they're so earnestly trying to help. As a result, attendance at the most recent event was markedly lower than that of those previously held.
As one bewildered victim rather plaintively put it:"We're demonstrating against inequality, and they're beating us up."
Posted by Peter at March 17, 2005 08:05 PM
This is amusing to be sure. It reminds me of the joke-- what do you call a liberal that was just mugged? A conservative.
But, beyond the humorousness here, what is your answer? Is it any of these?
1. You shouldn't bother trying to help people. They won't appreciate it, and will even turn on you.
2. Why should we help criminals?
3. The idiots stealing the phones and money don't understand who is trying to help them-- they see everyone as oppressors.
3. Isn't it funny to see a goody-two-shoes take it in the ear? Serves 'em right. They should mind their own business and stop the goddamn prostesting, the snotty little twits.
4. Aren't the French morons?
5.
What is your point, exactly? I mean, what conclusions do you draw?
Posted by: Glenn at March 17, 2005 10:10 PMMe again. I just read Volokh on this-- I SWEAR I wrote my earlier post before reading Volokh, and the joke sprung into my head. Volokh and I are on the same wavelength I guess, but do note his "guilty amusement". Why guilty?
Easy-- because you are laughing at someone who is earnestly trying to do what they think is good (and you don't agree) and is being punished as a result.
Posted by: Glenn at March 17, 2005 10:16 PMMy point is that the "protestors" are idiots. They think they are protesting on behalf of some group, and that group is attacking them, and the protestors can't figure out why. Your "idiots" stealing the phones don't see "everyone" as "oppressors". That's Western-think, and the protestors can't imagine that the guys they are protesting on behalf of don't share it or get it. These guys ain't Western, let's face it. And that's why the protestors are idiots -- for thinking that their "good intentions" will make a whit of difference.
The protestors are like the "human shields" before the Iraq war. All they have to do is have good intentions. You know, the stuff the road to hell is paved with.
Posted by: Peter at March 22, 2005 09:29 PM