Originally posted by: Yoda Is Your Father
Did anyone actually read Mavimao's post? What are you all talking about communism and the second world war for? This is about taking advantage of a certain group of people (be it class or race) and then when said group finally says enough is enough, not being able to handle it. I enjoy a good stab at teh French as much as the next English or American man, but you guys are, quite frankly, talking sh*t. Pretty much every country in the world is guilty of taking advantage of another country or group at some point, and it usually backfires, which is what is going on in France now. Read what Mavimao said (which, after some research of my own I can confirm is a good summary of the issue) and then make some worthwhile comments or none at all.
Did anyone actually read Mavimao's post? What are you all talking about communism and the second world war for? This is about taking advantage of a certain group of people (be it class or race) and then when said group finally says enough is enough, not being able to handle it. I enjoy a good stab at teh French as much as the next English or American man, but you guys are, quite frankly, talking sh*t. Pretty much every country in the world is guilty of taking advantage of another country or group at some point, and it usually backfires, which is what is going on in France now. Read what Mavimao said (which, after some research of my own I can confirm is a good summary of the issue) and then make some worthwhile comments or none at all.
I've always believed that people have the inalienable right to rise up against repressive governments. My family comes from Ireland, and came over during The Great Hunger, then were treated badly here until after WWII. However, poor socio-economic conditions do not excuse random violence. If these people are upset about their plight, they should organize political movements and support peaceful change, or if they really feel the need to be violent perhaps they should take on the French army (assuming they have one, which is unlikely seeing as the US has been footing the bill to defend Europe for the past 60 years), instead of attacking citizens and police.
That being said, I also believe that Chirac should stop talking and take action. This is going to be enough to get him kicked out of office. If this were me, I would have issued a statement on day 2 that said something along the lines of "This sh#t stops NOW, or the National Guard (French Equivalent) is being loosed in the streets, with live amunition for 24 hours".