Let's talk about terrorism, Islam, and France
Well, that didn't take long. The French authorities had barely cleared the bodies of the victims from the massacre scenes in Paris before US politicians started turning tragedy into an opportunity for grandstanding. I'd act surprised, but really I'm not. Those issuing policy statements today in the aftermath of these attacks are some of the most classless politicians we've got. Specifically, Trump, Carson, Cruz and Gingrich. They were not alone, they were just some of the most egregious. Their statements varied from "see, that's why we can't help the Syrian refugees" to "this is why Muslims are so dangerous" to "if the French were allowed to carry more guns this might never have happened." I'm not going to repeat the exact statements, but these are the main messages. NBC has the details here. Take a hard look at these statements, because so many of them are simply variations on "we need more war" and "don't trust brown people."
I saw several friends post a piece by Dr. Omar Hamada, an OB/GYN from Tennessee (and special forces veteran, I'm sure he was never exposed to any propaganda...) who wants to help Christians out there be extra Jesus-y in their response to this tragedy by pointing out that "Islam is a religion of death, violence and subversion." Praise be to Him, and thanks for the 5 second, inaccurate lesson in comparative religion. Psst, you may want to look into a little thing called "The Crusades" there, Mr. Good Christian, before you go talking about violent religions.
Most Americans dislike the French. We make fun of them mercilessly. Everyone seems to know a joke about how the French military never wins any wars, how they're a snobby culture who are lazy at work or whatever. I, on the other hand, have been to France, and I can confirm that it's impossible to get anything done quickly at work there. They take August off. No shit. They're also some of the warmest, friendliest people I've ever worked with. They know how to enjoy life. We make fun of their worker's benefits because were jealous. Our employers treat us like shit, and we're used to that. They start with 6 weeks vacation, 6 months maternity leave, and this wacky thing called job security. I remember when Leo Apotheker (HP CEO) woke up one day and gave all US workers a 5% pay cut, but he had to ask the French if they wanted to volunteer for it because they have actual worker protections.
I also learned that every French town has an "Avenue des Etats Unis" (US Avenue) in much the same way every US town has an MLK drive. Why? They never forget how we helped them defeat the Nazis. It's part of their history, and they are genuinely appreciative of our efforts in WWII. How many Americans know that we absolutely would not have won the revolutionary war without the French? I guaran-damn-tee you that every Army historian knows it, because it's true. The freedoms we celebrate with flag t-shirts and fireworks would not exist without major assistance from the French, yet most Americans are completely ignorant of that.
It gets worse, actually. Let's hop in a time machine and go back to early 2003. We were on the war path, trying to rally a coalition of the ignorant to buy into our absolute bullshit intelligence that Iraq had WMD as justification for an immediate invasion. Colin Powell did a good job peddling that bullshit, and got a few allies to join us. France was not one of them. They urged restraint. They said that war was premature, that it would turn into a real shit show. This wasn't just then-President Jacques Chirac; 75% of French citizens agreed with him. Turns out they were right. It has been a shit show. We've lost a TRILLION dollars and a few thousand lives, all while creating a power vacuum across the region that allowed ISIS to form. And how did we respond to France in 2003 when they dared to oppose our lynch mob? Freedom fries.
So while the current crop of windbags leading the GOP has rushed to use this as a campaign opportunity to point out that it's not just the Mexicans we need to worry about, let's remember our history. If we'd listened to the French, and not gone to war until we had real evidence of WMD, maybe we could've saved a trillion dollars and not helped create ISIS, and maybe a handful of assholes claiming allegiance to ISIS wouldn't have massacred Paris Friday night. After 15 years of endless wars in the Middle East, maybe more war isn't the answer.
I saw several friends post a piece by Dr. Omar Hamada, an OB/GYN from Tennessee (and special forces veteran, I'm sure he was never exposed to any propaganda...) who wants to help Christians out there be extra Jesus-y in their response to this tragedy by pointing out that "Islam is a religion of death, violence and subversion." Praise be to Him, and thanks for the 5 second, inaccurate lesson in comparative religion. Psst, you may want to look into a little thing called "The Crusades" there, Mr. Good Christian, before you go talking about violent religions.
Most Americans dislike the French. We make fun of them mercilessly. Everyone seems to know a joke about how the French military never wins any wars, how they're a snobby culture who are lazy at work or whatever. I, on the other hand, have been to France, and I can confirm that it's impossible to get anything done quickly at work there. They take August off. No shit. They're also some of the warmest, friendliest people I've ever worked with. They know how to enjoy life. We make fun of their worker's benefits because were jealous. Our employers treat us like shit, and we're used to that. They start with 6 weeks vacation, 6 months maternity leave, and this wacky thing called job security. I remember when Leo Apotheker (HP CEO) woke up one day and gave all US workers a 5% pay cut, but he had to ask the French if they wanted to volunteer for it because they have actual worker protections.
I also learned that every French town has an "Avenue des Etats Unis" (US Avenue) in much the same way every US town has an MLK drive. Why? They never forget how we helped them defeat the Nazis. It's part of their history, and they are genuinely appreciative of our efforts in WWII. How many Americans know that we absolutely would not have won the revolutionary war without the French? I guaran-damn-tee you that every Army historian knows it, because it's true. The freedoms we celebrate with flag t-shirts and fireworks would not exist without major assistance from the French, yet most Americans are completely ignorant of that.
It gets worse, actually. Let's hop in a time machine and go back to early 2003. We were on the war path, trying to rally a coalition of the ignorant to buy into our absolute bullshit intelligence that Iraq had WMD as justification for an immediate invasion. Colin Powell did a good job peddling that bullshit, and got a few allies to join us. France was not one of them. They urged restraint. They said that war was premature, that it would turn into a real shit show. This wasn't just then-President Jacques Chirac; 75% of French citizens agreed with him. Turns out they were right. It has been a shit show. We've lost a TRILLION dollars and a few thousand lives, all while creating a power vacuum across the region that allowed ISIS to form. And how did we respond to France in 2003 when they dared to oppose our lynch mob? Freedom fries.
Oh yeah, remember that little episode? I do. Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH), head of the House Committee on the cafeteria menu (no shit) decided to rename French Fries to Freedom Fries, officially. He also renamed French Toast to Freedom Toast, just for good measure. "Ney, whose committee has authority over the House cafeterias, directed the change, after colleague Walter Jones, R-North Carolina, circulated a letter suggesting such a move. Jones said he was following the example of a local restaurant owner in his North Carolina district." Shortly thereafter, Jim Saxton (R-NJ) introduced a bill that would prevent French companies from getting any contracts for reconstruction of Iraq. Odd that, before we even ramped up the war, we were already thinking about how lucrative the contracts to rebuild the place would be, so much so that we were considering protectionist legislation to be sure those contracts get funneled to our campaign donors right here in the USA ...
So while the current crop of windbags leading the GOP has rushed to use this as a campaign opportunity to point out that it's not just the Mexicans we need to worry about, let's remember our history. If we'd listened to the French, and not gone to war until we had real evidence of WMD, maybe we could've saved a trillion dollars and not helped create ISIS, and maybe a handful of assholes claiming allegiance to ISIS wouldn't have massacred Paris Friday night. After 15 years of endless wars in the Middle East, maybe more war isn't the answer.
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