Some comments about France...

Ok, not everybody agrees as to what the riots are about... But there is a general understanding that it's a mix of very complicated issues. It's not because "white" people don't accept muslims people (especially that the "whites" in this case could include Asians, North African Jews, Black people and many other people that make up the french population these days who are not muslims). The police ARE brutal, but the majority of the population wants to see integration of all cultures. It's just too easy for the media to blow it out as a scandalous event! It's also too easy for americans to point the finger at another country while the same problems are happening right at home. Very convenient I must say! From what I experienced when I lived there, it wasn't the arab culture I had a hard time with, I was more than happy to see my culture evolve and melt to become international. But a great part of the arab population does not want to integrate either. When I was a kid, the only bullies who were either attacking me or at least threatening me with multiple people in front of me, myself, and I, were arab kids. If I am made to look at it that way, it's the way it was. But yet my best friend was black, we hung out with a polish jewish girl, a Moroccan, and a very red haired alsacian, while I'm of mixed blood! And we weren't the only ones who weren't disturbed by our skin color differences! I know that it might sound very calumnious to say that, but I lived it that way. It was alway the more recent emigrants from Algeria who bullied us, and when I say bully, it's very light, because let me tell you, I was very happy to now martial arts at the time!!!! Everytime there is a wave of immigration from a certain group, the ones already "on location" fear them. Look at the wave of italian immigration in the states, everybody else thought they were bastards. It was the same with the irish, and all the other big waves. In the 60's the french had a wave of jewish north africans arrive. They had been living in north Africa for many many many generations, they had no roots in France. But they were kicked out when independance came, and sent to France. When they arrived, the people in France treated them like shit! As a matter of fact, a member of my family, who arrived in France from Algeria at 11 years old, came home one day to ask his mother what a "dirty jew" was. He did not know what a jew was, he spoke french and arabic. Not hebrew, not yiddish, arabic! he did not even know he was jewish! Did that prevent the jewish community to make their world thrive in France? no! They are integrated, and very much part of our culture! They didn't wait for french people to open their arms warmly for them to get in. They didn't wait for the governement to give them unemployement, allocations of every kind or social security, they worked until they were included in the culture just as any other french person. And yes, this sucked, it was an awful thing to have to go through, and an awful thing for french people to do, but please don't give me the Look-at-those-frenchies-collaborators-they-hate-the-muslims thing! Every country experienced that! So why is it that the Arab population feels so apart from the culture? I know many people from the older wave of immigration which was primarly from Morocco, and they are just fine and very much integrated, but because of younger generations of people who emigrated in the last 15 years, they are viewed as being awful. It's a very complex problem that I think many people put too easily on the count of racism. But let's not forget that racism these days is not a matter of slapping our slaves around in the cotton field, racism these days comes both ways! And for those suburbs "youth" rioting in Paris, I would love for them to come check out how it is in the suburbs of America where there is no social coverage and where even their medication cannot be fulfilled! Where your unemployement runs out and is not replaced by anything else, and where you cannot just be on disability and pay your rent too! It would be a very interesting experience to see them survive in this situation. Where if you are burnt by a car you put on fire yourself, you cannot go to the ER without any medical coverage, or see your doctor come to your house! And for the americans telling me that we should have seen it coming with our horrible colonization, please look in the mirror, and see that most of the American "territories" were acquired after the english and french had started experiencing the aftermath of their mistakes! So don't be so sure that you won't have trouble with YOUR colonies! ok, so there, I feel better! :-) I need to buy a punching bag! seriously! Sorry! It's hard for me to listen to bullshit all day about a country that hosts my culture, and very little sets me off. If it's not rioting in Paris and racism in France that I hear about, it's how we should be happy that the americans liberated us from the Nazis, and that we would speak german by now if it wasn't for them.. And everytime I mention the fact that one forgets their history lessons which mentioned, probably briefly since forgotten so easily, the fact that if the french hadn't been there in the revolution, american people would still be part of the commonwealth and paying with bills portraying the queen of England! But of course America has its share of jackasses, just as any country does! Somebody get me a punching bag!!!!!!!