Violence in France
On Saturday, the fifth day of violent protests all over France against the police killing of an unarmed teenager,, the daily arrests dropped below 1,000 for the first time – but the violence became even more extreme.
By Gwynne Dyer, in Opinion — July 4 2023
In L’Haÿ-les-Roses, a southern suburb of Paris, protesters rammed a stolen car through the gates of the mayor’s home shortly after midnight, and then set the vehicle on fire so that the blaze would spread to the house.
The mayor, Vincent Jeanbrun, was still at his office trying to deal with the situation, but his wife, Melanie Nowak, and their two children aged five and seven were in the house.
But on the battlefield, it is fighting that counts: victory, defeat, stalemate — the outcome depends on weapons, valor, leadership, stamina, and, sometimes luck. Churches come later, unless their leaders bring tanks and drones.
There was another mass killing in Texas on Saturday in the border city of Brownsville, but it was by car, so it doesn’t count. Never mind. We still have enough to work with.
Why do we slaughter our own children? Because the Supreme Court condones it.
[NOTE: I once seriously considered retiring in Ireland. It was 2010 and, closing in on 70, I wondered if there were any peaceable options to the ongoing mess and mass shootings in the USA.