My opinion of this is pretty cynical and blunt.
1) I'm tired of reading PC Jewish bloggers complaining posthumously about this new law.

2) This law is great because it proves that below all their preening and bullshit French law, society norms and culture is not what they protest and isn't even close to the freedom, culture/societal norms and laws of America.

Societal norms and expectations are an important piece there because laws are one thing, but its how society accepts and forms norms around them. If we had 10% burgeoning population of radical Muslims adhering to strict Islam and opposed to integrating into the country it would be a challenging problem as well, though America's established separation clause and freedom of religion as well as speech is a crucial part of our Constitution while Europe has restrictions on Freedom of Speech at least.

This is the French's way of quietly saying what they won't say out loud as to not appear un PC. They'll not say a word if Jews are attacked by Muslims, or if the Muslims rot in ghettos and are descriminated against by the French while still posing how "inclusive" and superior they are certainly to those "brutal bully Israelis" and those "arrogant ignorant" Americans.

Meanwhile, one only has to look at the force the "pacifist" French use in the Ivory Coast for a small taste of how they'd react if in a similar situation as Israel or if attacked on the scale of 9/11.

Mike

My opinion of this is pretty cynical and blunt.
1) I'm tired of reading PC Jewish bloggers complaining posthumously about this new law.

2) This law is great because it proves that below all their preening and bullshit French law, society norms and culture is not what they protest and isn't even close to the freedom, culture/societal norms and laws of America.

Societal norms and expectations are an important piece there because laws are one thing, but its how society accepts and forms norms around them. If we had 10% burgeoning population of radical Muslims adhering to strict Islam and opposed to integrating into the country it would be a challenging problem as well, though America's established separation clause and freedom of religion as well as speech is a crucial part of our Constitution while Europe has restrictions on Freedom of Speech at least.

This is the French's way of quietly saying what they won't say out loud as to not appear un PC. They'll not say a word if Jews are attacked by Muslims, or if the Muslims rot in ghettos and are descriminated against by the French while still posing how "inclusive" and superior they are certainly to those "brutal bully Israelis" and those "arrogant ignorant" Americans.

Meanwhile, one only has to look at the force the "pacifist" French use in the Ivory Coast for a small taste of how they'd react if in a similar situation as Israel or if attacked on the scale of 9/11.

Mike

So are you saying it exposes the French as hypocites who don't know how to properly handle a problem they've allowed to get out of hand, so they reach for a silly and ham-handed way of handling it? If so, we probably agree.

Let me tell you what PC is. PC is giving an 80 year-old grandmother an equal chance of scoring a full-body search at the airport as the young Muslim man flying in from Egypt.

PC is not being able to actually say, "Shit, we certainly fucked up not trying to integrate these Muslim immigrants properly, so let's take steps to offend every religion equally so as not to be seen as targeting one particularly..." It's anti-religious, and we (anti-militant exponents) should not be anti-religion per se. We should be about advocating positions that are at least approximately intellectually consistent and won't turn around and bite us on the ass one day.

Targeting religious clothing like a hijab (I could see if we're talking about a full-body burqa or something) as disruptive is one of those things that will not work out in the long-run.

I wish the French luck, but this is a bad, anti-religious move - which I suppose should appeal to a significant portion of the European population, but as an agnostic American I find pretty offensive.

So are you saying it exposes the French as hypocites who don't know how to properly handle a problem they've allowed to get out of hand, so they reach for a silly and ham-handed way of handling it? If so, we probably agree.

I'm saying the French are racists to a large degree though they like others to think that they are liberal minded and its the Americans that are racist, make me laugh!

Let me tell you what PC is. PC is giving an 80 year-old grandmother an equal chance of scoring a full-body search at the airport as the young Muslim man flying in from Egypt.

Of course, that is PC bullshit, and here you are talking about the US I assume?

PC is not being able to actually say, "Shit, we certainly fucked up not trying to integrate these Muslim immigrants properly, so let's take steps to offend every religion equally so as not to be seen as targeting one particularly..."

Of course the law is really targeting Muslims but needs some bullshit PC cover. However, the fact that France is finally recognizing that there is a problem with there Muslim population is good. It exposes what bullshit hypocrites they are while having the nerve to deride how Israel treats its Arab citizens.

Targeting religious clothing like a hijab (I could see if we're talking about a full-body burqa or something) as disruptive is one of those things that will not work out in the long-run.
but as an agnostic American I find pretty offensive.

Of course targeting religious clothing is insane and demonstrates the lack of moral fabric in French society as well as legal Constitution. They need to rely on such a law as a crutch as well as laws that limit free speech, all unallowable in the US. However, America should slow down its Middle Eastern immigration though.

WHAT I FIND ANNOYING THOUGH IS HOW AMERICAN JEWS FEIGN SUCH OFFENSE/SHOCK TO THIS LAW while French authorities could give a shit that Jews are attacked in public by Muslims and even excuse it. NOW suddenly American Jews need to show how liberal minded they are focusing on this law, while ignoring the real elephant in the room!!

For all I could give a shit all the French Jews should fing leave France and take all their money and assets with them to Israel and America and leave the French to rot with their militant and poor Algerian Muslim immigrants.

SURE THE LAW IS INSANE nonsense, but I'm more interested in how the French could care less about Jews being attacked in schools, synagogues, walking to the market AND HOW THEY CAN'T WEAR YALMUKES IN PUBLIC NOT BCS OF THIS LAW BUT SO THEY CAN AVOID BEING BEATEN OR WORSE!

Let the Muslims stop attacking Jews there and the French ""Police"" do something about that and then I'll look down my list of things that concern me and notice that this French law would still by Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down the list of things that are important enough for me to really give a shit about.

Mike

OK, Mike. I think we're not far off from each other, frankly. The fact is my morality isn't reactive. It helps to know what *you* stand for first, then judge the other guy. It helps with consistency. Other than a dash of schadenfreud for balance, I see nothing to do with this law but scorn it.

Just as long as you understand that in my list of things I care about this law isn't even in the top 100. And the fact that American Jews make such a wopping big deal over this when the real problem in France is that Jews haven't been able to wear anything demonstrably jewish in public for months not bcs of this law but bcs of violent attacks by militant Muslims. This law doesn't concern me as far as I'm concerned, I don't live in France, however, the French government winking and nodding at attacks on Jews and its virulent anti-semitism resurfacting does concern me.

SO IT STILL PISSES ME OFF TO HEAR SO MANY AMERICAN JEWS FEIGN SUCH DISMAY AT THIS LAW, PUHHHHHHHLEASE ALREADY!

Mike