Why does this article (like so many on the recent French riots) fail to mention that the youths rioting in France are Muslim? (Tammy Bruce has made much of this omission in her post which Bruce cites below.)
I think it’s because it upsets their narrative that U.S. intervention in Iraq causes Muslim unrest. France not only refused to participate in the liberation of Iraq, but actively sought to undermine it. Certain forces, independent of U.S. policies, are stirring up unrest among Muslim communities in Europe. And we need to figure out why, not merely for our own security — and that of our allies (even our sometime allies) — but also so we can better build bridges to those Muslims who deplore such violence.
The MSM does us a great disservice — instead of reporting this story, they omit certain elements key to understanding it. Without the blogosphere (and FoxNews), we wouldn’t know what was really going on.
(GP UPDATE @ 10:30PM: AP is reporting that the unrest has reached Paris itself)
What’s interesting to me is, the MSM line on the riots is, “Poor immigrants riot in Paris suburbs.” But, when the government responds, the storyline goes “French Government Cracks Down on Muslims.”
instead of reporting this story, they omit certain elements key to understanding it. Without the blogosphere (and FoxNews), we wouldn’t know what was really going on.
Funny, all I’ve read about the riots up until Friday afternoon was from the wire reports listed on Yahoo and Reuters. Somehow I had figured out it was the Muslim immigrant population that was the source of the violence. I needed neither the blogosphere nor FoxNews to clue me in on this. Could it be that I have actually read about the immigration population makeup of France and other countries in Europe before? Could it be that the, “(a)nger was fanned days ago when a tear gas bomb exploded in a mosque in Clichy-sous-Bois” mentioned in the above article and the dozens of others written by AP and other news services shows that we are dealing with a Muslim population (I doubt Christian immigrants care two shits if a mosque is burned down or vice versa). Yes, this is obviously a conspirancy along the lines of the “looters vs. survivors” stories the left wing blogs invented during the post-Hurricane Katrina period.
Muslim immigrants are only half the story that you don’t hear much about in the MSM. The other half is the implosion of these “suburbs” which are, in reality, immense public housing projects that ring Paris. If you are familiar with Chicago, think Cabrini Green or Robert Taylor Homes. From a CNN piece in May, 2004:
“Historians may someday decide the most mportant architecture of contemporary France tells the story of a revolution that is still under way. They’re the unsightly high-rises built around major cities to house thousands of immigrants, immigrants and now their children who are changing the social and religious fabric of France.”
The combination of unfettered immigration and out of control socialism that France created should be a wake-up call to the American Left.
[Headline]
French Matinee Idol Injured Amid Violent Rioting
http://tammybruce.com/archives/2005/11/french_matinee.php
But, Mr. Moderate, the fact remains that they didn’t report this.
Every AP article I have seen describes the rioters as “youths” without mentioning the word “Islam” or “Muslim.” That’s part of the story; they should mention it.
Maybe it’s not a conspiracy, but it’s a telling omission.
I agree with #5. Mr. Moderate, the whole point is the MSM’s glaring omission that these are Muslim youths, and what the reasons for that omission might be. The point is not whether you are clever enough to figure it out on your own.
As for headlines like “Poor Immigrants Riot in Paris Suburbs” and “French Government Cracks Down on Muslims,” it reminds me of a similar headline in our local Seattle paper: “FBI Targets Small Muslim Communities.” Sounds like the FBI is shooting at them or hauling them away in handcuffs, doesn’t it? But reading the article, you find out that “Targets” actually means “Questions.” The FBI was questioning members of local mosques. If I had written the headline, it would have been “FBI is Doing its Job.”
Here’s another MSM trick. Nicolas Sarkozy referred to the rioters as the “racaille,” which means the rabble, as in mob, which is exactly what they are. Yet he was widely criticized for saying so: “No confond pas ‘jeunes’ et ‘racaille,’ ” he was chastised (“Don’t confuse youths and rabble”). But every English language story I’ve seen that mentions this controversy says that Sarkozy called the rioters “scum” when he clearly did not.
It’s hard to put a cultural relativist slant on behavior that is so obviously barbaric, you know.
In the new article you just linked I think I counted the word Muslim six times. I guess that conspiracy charge is really going up in smoke, no pun intended.
To be fair on this, it’s very difficult to say definitively that these are Muslim, North African, or whatever type of rioters. “Youth” is something you can usually tell from a distance and from behind a riot shield, but exact ethnicity or religion is not. Given that, it is good journalistic practice not to err on the side of overgeneralization when reporting.
However, what I find amusing is this: the liberal talking heads and media, this story included, have been careful not to identify the rioters as being of a certain ethnicity or religion, but have gone out of their way to justify their behavior and anger based on “discrimination against and lack of opportunity among Muslims, Arabs, and North Africans” and as striking out against the establishment that torments them.
So in short, we can’t say who they are, but they know absolutely why they’re doing it. It’s funny to watch.
What’s the French word for “Schadenfreude”?
Mr. Moderate, I just clicked on the link again to see if it was updated and with a search engine, “Find in Browser,” searched foor the word Muslilm and it reported “no matches found.”
Is it poor, disenfranchised French youth who are rioting because they are Muslim or are they French-Muslim youth rioting because they are poor and disenfranchised?
As is the case in the real world, and not the Blogosphere, it’s a little of both. They’re kids who’ve been cut out of the mainstream of their society for a variety of reasons — both imposed and self-chosen — to whom not just radical Islam, but radicalism in general has a great appeal.
Jody, you raise a very valuable point in your second paragraph. And to consider that, we need to know that the youth rioting in France are Muslim.
GP, went back to your link and found one reference at the bottom. Another link on the Yahoo site had six. The link below, at the time I’m reading it has three that read:
http://tinyurl.com/7s48q
“They arefertile terrain for crime of all sorts as well as Muslim extremists who recruit frustrated youths”
“France has some 5 million Muslims, the biggest Islamic population in western Europe.”
Coming to France has given some Muslim North African women new freedoms.
Another article:
http://tinyurl.com/a3tla
“…is forcing France to confront anger long-simmering in the neighborhoods, where many Arab and African Muslim immigrants live on society’s margins, struggling with unemployment, poor housing, racial discrimination, crime and a lack of opportunity.”
“Government officials have held a series of meetings with Muslim religious leaders, local officials and youths from poor suburbs to try to calm the violence.”
“France has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe with 5 million people.”
Incidently, if you want to do something interesting, go over to foxnews.com and do a search on “muslim france” and look at the difference between the several AP stories they have published and their own in house written ones. Neither of them are heavily laced with “Muslim extremists” “al Qaeda operatives” or anything of that sort. They often only mention the fact that the youth are predominantly Muslim at the very beginning and only once. I guess FoxNews is now part of the left wing media…
Dan, excuse me but I think you are cherry picking your data points to prove your point. A Lexis/Nexis News Search consisting of “General News” “Major Papers” “Muslim” “Youth” and “France” turns up 44 hits. Clicking on articles from the Washington Post to the The Australian to The Jerusalem Post, reveal stories and opinion that, with few exceptions, detail the Muslim element of the riots, as well as the disenfranchised status of these criminals. If you expand the parameters out a bit, I’m fairly certain the numbers will continue to hold.
If you are upset that the AP isn’t reporting the Muslim nature of the story, I might agree with you. Eye-balling the AP wire “muslim” doesn’t come up nearly as much as “Arab” and “Black African” does.
Be that as it may, the riots are not upsetting the “MSM’s Terror Narrative” — there is no such thing. Muslim involvement is being told, in papers across the world, Left, Right or Center.
The real question becomes, what do we do about the rioting, be it in France or,
fates forbid, in the United States.
#17 I’ve never noticed that much of a difference between Fox News and other news networks. Not in the News parts. The strong conservative (or anti-liberal) tone is in the commentary… and even there they *do* have liberal commentators to go back and forth to make things interesting.
When people wail about Faux News and how evil it is, it’s a pretty good chance they either haven’t watched it, or else make no distinction between the News segments and O’Reilly.
#18 I really *do* think that there is a significant difference between how the US deals with religious and ethnic minorities. Our whole outlook is geared more toward the individual while Europe tends to be geared toward the collective whole. The difference is between asking “why don’t these people just get with the program?” and “why should they?”
In *general* Americans like to keep their distinctions and don’t mind much when other people do too. We like adapting to other cultures. We like celebrating our own and see no real reason (barring criminal activity) why someone should have to give up their language or traditions or religion.
Sure, it’s entirely likely that our own “youths” might be enamoured of Islamic radicalism… but I’d like to point out that of those we know of, quite a few of them didn’t start out moslem, they were attracted to the radicalism and converted. I don’t know if this is religious so much as the same sort of attraction that, oh, survivalist groups have. Life is more exciting when everyone is out to get you or you’ve got something worth dying for.
I’m pretty sure that the Sudanese in my parent’s home town aren’t rioting.
(The religious minority there used to be Baptists.)
Synova, I do tend to agree with you. In general, we do a far better job integrating immigrants into our social fabric than most other countries do. Most US Muslims are law abiding citizens who believe in the American Dream et.al. I’m more concerned about those who slip in and pay lip service to our ideals, all the while conspiring to blow buildings up or set nukes off at rush-hour.
Still, what happens in the rest of the world, be it France or Iraq or Saudi Arabia, filters back to us. It’s in our best interests to attack, either figuratively or literally, the real problems we’re face and not create new ones by riding off to settle scores our father left undone.
The real trick is accurately identifying the “real problems.”
#10 North Dallas Thirty, you say it’s very difficult to say definitively that these are Muslim rioters? What about the chants of “Allahu Akhbar” while torching cars and buildings?
That’s news I had yet to hear, CG. Of course, that makes it more obvious that they’re likely Muslim.
Um, North Dallas Thirty, I usually admire very much your posts here for the concise and persuasive writing and your broad command of facts, to the extent that I often say you’re the kind of man I’d like to wake up next to in the morning. But “likely Muslim”? Have you ever heard of Christians, Jews, Buddhists, or Hindus who chant “Allahu Akhbar” while rioting and setting fires?
First off, CG, I definitely appreciate the compliment, especially given your history of commitment and understanding that you’ve shared with us here.
As for the rest, perhaps this blogpost will give you a bit more insight into my reluctance to do much more than that “likely Muslim” until harder evidence comes forward. I’ll admit it’s a blind spot on my part…..but it’s one born of experience.
Finally, you might want to see me first before you let my postings sweep you off your feet…..LOL.
I find it difficult to sympathize with any group of individuals, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, who attempt to take the law into their own hands. By lighting an innocent woman on fire and beating a man to death to further their cause, they lost my backing.
I believe that all persons are deserving of equal opportunities and treatment however its gotten out of hand. Its time for these deliquents to realize that they are doing more harm than good and lay down their arms. We have elected officials and law enforcement officials to deal with these issues. By taking the law into their own hands, they have completely underminded the authority by which our modern nations are governed and in turn, have created another list of issues that will need to be dealt with. Way to go?? Party on?? Good luck with your cause.
I can only say that if these extremists were in my country, I’m almost sure I would be on the other side praying for an end to the violence and hoping that common sense would eventually prevail. Where are the parents in all this?
LOL, thanks NDT. I wasn’t asking for a date — just stating that I hope my next boyfriend has political views and reasoning powers similar to yours. I especially liked your paragraph about France already being the socialist utopia that American liberals aspire to create here, which should theoretically make a country immune to social ills. Surprise, socialism doesn’t work.
(blush) Thank you!