. It seems that the French lower classes have been made into a scapegoat to explain all the evil that the Le Pen party stands for. Isn’t it strange that the political and media circles resent ‘populism’ so bitterly? It was not a poorly educated peasant who declared in 1983 that Renault strikers (who were mainly Algerian or Moroccan) were, in fact, “immigrant workers (…) roused by religious and political groups toward causes that had little to do with French social realities.” It was a socialist prime minister, much to the delight of his “enemies” from the right, who promoted these agendas. ... The left candidates keep declaring that they are waging a ruthless war, not so much against capitalist corruption or the tyranny of austere budgets, but against undocumented workers and juvenile repeat offenders, especially if they are black or Arab. When it comes to this, the right and the left have become impossible to distinguish. ... In truth, it is the intellectuals who have manufactured this violence against the common people, particularly aimed at the inner-city youth, which is at the core of Islamophobia. And it is the different administrations that are unable to build a civil society based on peace and justice. It is the immigrants - Arab workers and their families being first in line - that have been fed to an insecure and fearful electorate. As always, it is the idea, even if its wrong, that precedes authority and this in turn shapes public support. It is the intellectual, however deplorable, that precedes a leader who then builds a following.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 22:39:05 +0000
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