Comments on: Europe: The Dangerous Rise Of Xenophobia & Racist Violence

By: Gilbert Mercier

Gilbert Mercier — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:10:33 +0000

Very good point Heather, the good principles, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity are no longer the guiding ones, but ended quite often as false premises to excuse grave offenses to human rights out of sight. The awful jail of Cayenne in French Guyana was a perfect example of that.

By: Heather DuBois Bourenane

Heather DuBois Bourenane — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:53:28 +0000

I see you point, Gilbert, but am not sure that “welcome” and asylum equal tolerance – and they certainly don’t guarantee equality and fraternity, a fact evidenced in the insularity of many of those migrant communities. In any case, I wasn’t trying to disparage or ignore any efforts made to accommodate outsiders/foreigners in specific instances; there are plenty of these each deserves consideration within its own national and historical context. I was just bristling at the apparent contradiction between the grand rhetorical gestures toward “tolerance” and the legacies of slavery, racism, colonialism, imperialism, etc.

By: Gilbert Mercier

Gilbert Mercier — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:49:17 +0000

We do have a tradition of tolerance, with some major lapses and even pure general psychosis during WW II. For example, after the Armenian genocide at the turn of the 20TH century, France welcomed either on the main land or in Lebanon (a French protectorate at the time) 1 million Armenians. They were given status of political refugees. In a more recent example, in the early 70s, when Pinochet took over Chile in a brutal coup (supported by the CIA), France welcomed thousands of Chileans refugees. The same solid track record of human rights tradition applies for Switzerland welcoming thousands of persecuted people from Bosnia after the bloody meltdown of Yugoslavia. In France, the tradition of tolerance follows (or at least try to) the true principles of the French Revolution which are Liberty Equality Fraternity.

By: Heather DuBois Bourenane

Heather DuBois Bourenane — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:51:56 +0000

That’s exactly what I thought when I read the final paragraph of this piece. An excellent article on an under-reported topic, but I’m not sure by what amnesia Gilbert refers to a “European tradition of tolerance” here. This violence does not come from nowhere. It is long-built and firmly rooted in European history.

By: Stephen Dufrechou

Stephen Dufrechou — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:46:55 +0000

Phenomenal article, Gilbert!

This gives the xenophobic explosions their much needed context. The analysis you offer throughout, here, should be noted and discussed–both inside and outside of European circles–until sane conclusions are reached and implemented.

This article also recalls John Grey’s position (if I recall correctly, it is Grey’s position, and not another writer’s), that Western civilization has not left the Dark Ages when it comes to issues like racism, perceptions of ethnic identity, and the persistence of jingoistic nationalism.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:43:47 +0000

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