The French Resistance v The Cybermen
'Allo, 'allo!
I’m probably going to upset a lot of people here, but it’s been a long day at the Abbey, and I’ve been on double cider making duties because the rest of the Order have gone in a charabanc up to London; allegedly to see Pope Rottweiler III or whatever he’s called, but actually to spend some time in Spearmint Rhino. I’m barred from there, so I’m left behind.
Anyway, as we all know, the French have a problem with the Roma. To some they have thus committed a thought crime because that is a generalisation – just as I have by referring to “the French”. But sometimes generalisations work. Generally, it get’s light in the morning, for example. Not in Finland, obviously. Or Leeds. But generally.
But even worse the French have decided to do something about by herding said Roma into cattle trucks at bayonet point and sending them to concentration camps where they will be starved and shot. Well, by cracking down on illegally built camps and offering subsidies and incentives to go back to Romania and Bulgaria, actually.
Anyway, this has seriously ticked off some bods at the EU. The inhabitants of Planet Strasbourg, who do not themselves live next to illegal Roma encampments but in a modern Versailles of air conditioned offices and smoke glass windows, quietly and efficiently lining their pockets and consuming their champagne and hock and canapés, seem to think that there is something wrong with this.
I admit my debt to the always interesting and informative Old Holborn for drawing my attention to a short clip of “European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship” Viviane Reding (Doctorate in Human Sciences from the Sorbonne…hmmm) giving the French a real telling off and in which amongst other things (for those of you who have neither the time nor inclination to listen to the full rant) the steely haired Ms Reding describes herself and fellow commissioners as “Guardians of the Treaty”
I merely have a few musings on this little matter. I know it’s not the apogee of political analysis but here we go, in no particular order:
First, if Ms Reding wants to come to the aid of the Roma, I suggest she make a camp site available by, or even in, her lovely air conditioned office. But do please bear in mind they probably don’t pay tax (and hence your wages) but I, and even some French, do.
Next. Excuse me, but erm…who are you exactly? And who appointed you to be the “Guardian” of anything? And why is it that I find that phrase somehow rather chilling, in an Orwellian sort of way. Anyone who describes themselves as “the Guardian of the Treaty” sounds to me like they have a dangerous certainty in their own moral rectitude – the kind that gets people locked up and tortured. It’s but a short step from Commission to Inquisition in my book.
Plus, my experience of anything which describes itself as the “Something of Justice” is that “Justice” is pretty much the last thing you are likely to get. It’s like that old cliché of calling somewhere “The People’s Democratic Socialist Republic of …” You know at once that it’s not run by the people, it’s not democratic, and it’s likely to be run by a paranoid dictator with a coronet who is King in all but name. Depressingly, we have our own “Ministry of Justice” now, and the very First “Minister for Justice” was the unelected uber crony, “Charlie” Falconer. Enough said, really.
Next, whilst I may have been a bit cloistered here in the Abbey, is this woman actually scandalized and amazed that our charming Gallic cousins actually have their own idiosyncratic attitude to EU rules and regulations; i.e. they ignore them when it suits them? This is news? Wake up and smell the coffee!!
But mainly what struck me was something about her amazement and barely concealed anger that suggested to me that her real problem wasn’t with the treatment of the Roma at all. It was that someone – in this case mes amies – had had the nerve, the temerity, to give the all powerful Commission the metaphorical bird (I would say the two fingered salute but that has unfortunate connotations for our Gallic friends).
There was something else, too. Is it just me or something faintly power crazed about this woman? Something menacing in the “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” bit? And something faintly….mechanical? Then there’s all that steel gray hair. And those glasses. It seemed to remind me of something. I couldn’t put my finger on it, until it I saw this. Apologies for those who have delicate ears…
Now, where’s my cosmic screwdriver?
Gildas the Monk
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1
September 18, 2010 at 16:00 -
Did they do this at lunchtime? Not many in the audience
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2
September 18, 2010 at 17:12 -
Lefty trash ,she probably regards herself as some kind of intellectual.
Huuuuuman sciences.
I suppose they hang those degrees in the loo ,on a roll with an arrow pointing down stating please take one.
One of the symptoms of the politically correct Politiburo.
The word I believe is Harridan.
She’d probably change her mind when accosted in the street by gang of small children trying to go through her handbag ,probably trip her up first though. -
3
September 18, 2010 at 17:15 -
The ‘Guardian’ ran an editorial last week, excoriating the French, and warning of the same kinds of action taken against Roma in Holland, Sweden, Belgium and Germany.
The conclusion they drew from so many disparate countries taking this action was that – of course – it was down to the fact that we were all irredeemably racist societies.
It didn’t seem to occur to them to wonder WHY so many different societies reacted the same way. After all, the only constant was…the Roma themselves.
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4
September 18, 2010 at 23:32 -
Pikeys are the same the world over. A bit like Millwall fans really; no-one likes them, they don’t care.
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5
September 19, 2010 at 00:45 -
JuliaM,
//It didn’t seem to occur to them to wonder WHY so many different societies reacted the same way. After all, the only constant was…the Roma themselves.//
One could say the say about Jews. Are you prepared to do that?
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6
September 19, 2010 at 00:45 -
*say the same
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8
September 19, 2010 at 05:29 -
But one couldn’t say the same about the Jews. Apart from the general non-criminality aspect that EV points out, anti-semitism was not that widespread in Western cultures.
In England, it mostly seems to be confined to the upper classes and political activists.
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9
September 19, 2010 at 09:35 -
Ahh, but you did not specify any of that in your previous post, all you said was
//It didn’t seem to occur to them to wonder WHY so many different societies reacted the same way. After all, the only constant was…the Roma themselves.//
Now, given that the Jews have been persecuted in Ancient Egypt, Nazi Germany, various Muslim countries, in Spain under the Catholic Inquisition, in England in the 1200s, it is almost certainly true to say that they have been persecuted in different societies – both different geographically, temporally and culturally. Therefore they do fulfil the criteria as set down in you initial comment. You did not limit it geographically or temporally.
If you now want to add caveats to your initial comment – caveats that may be perfectly valid, then fair enough. However that still does invalidate the fact that Jews have been persecuted in a wide variety of societies, throughout time.
Perhaps EV is quite correct about the illegal activities of the Roma – in which case we have to look beyond the whole “persecuted in many societies” as evidence of their wrongdoing. For if it is ONLY a matter of being persecuted in many different societies, then we must include the Jews (unless you are going to argue that Jews actually haven’t had it that bad across the span of history, and the breadth of the world?).
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September 19, 2010 at 09:36 -
11
September 19, 2010 at 18:58 -
“Perhaps EV is quite correct about the illegal activities of the Roma…”
There’s really no ‘perhaps’ about it. Even that august progressive institution, the ‘Guardian’, couldn’t avoid it, though they did couch it in most polite and agreeable terms…
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13
September 18, 2010 at 18:35 -
When this unelected apparatchik’s remarks were first reported, my immediate reaction was that the French should tell her to f… – er – go away. To the credit of the French (a phrase you don’t see every day), they pretty much did. I don’t blame them – it’s their country, and if people enter it illegally, they’re perfectly entitled to eject them again.
We need more of this. It would be good to think that our own government would be as steadfast if the unelected apparatchiks started trying to throw their weight about here, but I’m not as confident of that as I’d like to be.
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14
September 18, 2010 at 18:35 -
Well you certainly won’t upset me Gildas. In fact ….
errr …. hmmmmm …. on second thoughts, best not. If I were to tell you how I really felt about the EU, justice and pikeys in particular, and about working with the French, in general, then I’d probably fuc……. -
16
September 18, 2010 at 20:13 -
How can I put this…erm well at least Frogs are doing something useful about the bloody problem. Silly cow should get a life and a proper job. Cleaning up after the Roma or in a victim support unit dealing with the mess they make of people’s lives: that kind of thing
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17
September 18, 2010 at 21:13 -
Well said. I am all for workers having free moment within EU. But I am against gypo’s moving on mass to claim benefits from a country they have not made any contribution towards.
Respect is earned not claimed.
The term ‘robbing gypsy’ has solid basis in reality.
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18
September 18, 2010 at 21:16 -
Further more. How far have we fallen when the French have more courage.
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20
September 18, 2010 at 21:42 -
you want scary? Read what Harriet Harman said:
“There are many views expressed all around … but I’m gratified that it [the Act] is actually ahead of where people are. It’s a lever for progress rather than waiting to see where public opinion is.”
Is she an Aristotelian after all? If only.
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21
September 18, 2010 at 22:43 -
Enough is far too much of her!
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22
September 18, 2010 at 22:55 -
A nice piece, Brother Gildas but it left me feeling slightly uncomfortable as I am the Guardian of The West Pole (unpaid) on alternate Thursdays. Having sworn an oath (fairly frequently) of secrecy I am unable to reveal the name of the Order that made their shrewd appointment.
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23
September 18, 2010 at 23:48 -
Do these Eurocrats really believe this stuff or do they just play along in order to maintain their overpaid places on the EU gravy train?
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24
September 19, 2010 at 09:27 -
I’ve had the “pleasure” of frequently meeting Viviane Reding in her capacity of European Commissioner in 2 previous positions. I never heard her say anything worthwhile reporting and was quite amazed at this particular speech, as you can imagine. I think she may already regret having spoken her mind just for once …
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25
September 19, 2010 at 10:21 -
I wouldn’t mind £2,500 for a Reasonable Business Plan. I’ve got lots of those.
Actually, on second thoughts perhaps not. They might expect me to go back to England.
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26
September 20, 2010 at 12:08 -
Excellent, inspired article. I especially liked:
“The inhabitants of Planet Strasbourg, who do not themselves live next to illegal Roma encampments but in a modern Versailles of air conditioned offices and smoke glass windows, quietly and efficiently lining their pockets and consuming their champagne and hock and canapés, seem to think that there is something wrong with this.”
May one ponder as to whether you were inspired by the Holy Father’s recent visit to these pagan climes of ours?
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