Paris Is Burning, Again

Well, at least this time its not the Germans lighting the fires.

The riots that have run for the past week or so in Paris' Muslim neighborhoods are going to bring several issues to a head.

What the riots show is that France is a nation of bigots. Perhaps even worse then what existed in the American south during the 1950s. I say worse because they let these people come into their nation, set them up in public housing, give them just enough public assistance to survive, yet make no provision for turning them into Frenchmen. At least in the U.S. the racism was blatant, if terrible. France's racism is carefully cloaked under a veil of multiculturalism. Because God/Allah forbid the world does not have a pleasant image of France.

The French and other Euros have screamed for decades that everyone is equal, we must respect those who are different, etc. But when push comes to shove, the French took the normal European solution in dealing with people they dislike. They locked them into ghettoes. Just ask the Jews how things work on the other side of the Atlantic even before Hitler came to power. European Ghettoes have been around since medieval times.

I don't hold out any great hope that the French government will get its act together fast enough to solve the situation before it blows even further out of control. I believe this because comments from French officials still reflect France's true views on the issue.

On the multicultural front is Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. He has used the word "respect" about 140 times during the past seven days. He thinks if the Muslims are given more respect then the situation will solve itself.

On the flip side is Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. He has called for wiping the "scum" off the face of Paris.

Well guys, guess what? You both got it wrong. You can respect these people until they put a Molotov cocktail through your window or you can shoot them dead in the street, but it won't solve the problem, at least not for the long haul.

France needs to undergo what the U.S. had to suffer through 50 years ago. A massive introspective look at itself. The U.S. was lucky in that it had a Martin Luther King jr. to force change in a more or less peaceful fashion. The Watts, Detroit and Newark riots were exceptions. Unfortunately for France it does not look like their is a MLK amidst the teens torching Paris.

However, the next level of danger for France is when the terrorists groups move into these neighborhoods in full strength. If ever there was a breeding ground for homegrown suicide bombers, this is it. If the French government can't get off its collective cheese eating butt and fix the problem, the the French Army could find itselft asking the U.S. Army for tips on how to spot IEDs.

I wonder if we will help them out for a third time?