Prejudice in Europe Is More Than Skin Deep
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Mark Mazower, Financial Times (London), November 16, 2008
A collective sigh of relief could be heard from Europe last week after Barack Obama emerged victorious; there is no doubting the fervent European desire to relegate the Bush doctrine to history and to return to a more collegial relationship with the White House. Yet Mr Obama’s welcome has been accompanied by unhappier undercurrents.
It is not so long ago that Austria’s rightwingers used to campaign on the slogan: “Vienna must not become Chicago”. They were not the only Europeans to become more xenophobic with the end of the cold war. But they were perhaps the only ones to link their detestation of the new immigrants from the Middle East and eastern Europe to hoary images of race riots and organised crime drawn from America’s bad old days.
Now that an African-American from Chicago is set to become president in Washington, not everyone in Vienna is happy. In an extraordinary on-air outburst, Klaus Emmerich, the veteran Austrian television pundit, declared: “I would not want the western world to be directed by a black man.” When invited to retract, Mr Emmerich stood by what he had said, adding that “blacks aren’t as politically civilised” and pouring fuel on to the fire by hinting that Mr Obama’s “rhetorical brilliance” and ability in organising a movement made him comparable to infamous demagogues from the past. America’s choice, Mr Emmerich concluded, was as misplaced as a Turk becoming the next chancellor of Austria.
His comments were greeted by a storm of criticism, just as Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi’s “joke” about Mr Obama’s “sun tan” had been: two elderly men betraying their generational prejudices, one might think. Yet the underlying problem goes deeper. A comment such as Mr Emmerich’s would be political suicide in the US; in Austria it earned little more than a slap on the wrist. How is it that while both places have their fair share of racism, one finds such contrasting public and political responses?
One difference is that in Europe today truly to belong still means being white. “Do you feel yourself to be British?” BBC journalist Jeremy Paxman asked a young black London rapper after Mr Obama’s victory. Europeans find it hard adjusting to a colour-blind world. Indeed their hesitancy is growing. In Austria, the extreme right carved out big gains in September’s general elections. Pope Benedict weighed in over the summer to warn against a possible resurgence of fascist values in Italy. Europe as a whole, according to recent polls, has become significantly more xenophobic over the past few years. Fears of Islamic terrorism and anxiety about globalisation have fed this trend. So has fervent anti-European Union sentiment, strongly correlated to populist anti-immigrant rhetoric. By contrast, Mr Obama’s story is that of the immigrant dream, a tale of upwardly-mobile success that cut decisively across race lines. Immigrant voters played a decisive electoral role in Mr Obama’s win, yet immigration—for all the prior public debate—figured little as a campaign issue.
Culturally, globalisation is pushing many Europeans—whether pro- or anti-Europe—into a kind of conservatism. As the continent struggles with the task of turning itself into a political force capable of acting on the world stage alongside former colonies such as the US and India, or rising powers such as China, its elites fall back on memories of a time when Europe taught the world its values. “Blacks aren’t as politically civilised,” claimed Mr Emmerich. Not long ago, such frank racism was unremarkable—on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, it is much rarer. Yet too many Europeans still talk and act as though their task is to shore up western civilisation against the barbarians whether by defending some vision of the Enlightenment against religious fanatics, or by defending Christendom against its historical enemies. An immigrant of Turkish descent as leader of Austria? Why, that would signify that Vienna’s long struggle against the Ottomans had all been in vain.
History can be cruel. Generations of Europeans grew up with the goal of ethnic homogeneity as one nation after another across the continent tried to purify itself. The huge population transfers, expulsions and killings of the 1940s reflected the fact that both the Nazis and their opponents believed that minorities were a source of political instability. By 1950, they had all but disappeared across much of central and eastern Europe. Yet almost at once, postwar growth brought new minorities in—first into western Europe and now further east. The result is a kind of cognitive dissonance. Europeans inhabit increasingly globalised multi-ethnic societies; yet their attitudes remain shaped by a 19th-century mindset. Vienna is not yet Chicago. But it cannot get there a moment too soon.
(Posted on November 17, 2008)
Comments
” “Vienna must not become Chicago”.”
I’m sure singer Jennifer Hudson would agree.
Posted by at 6:15 PM on November 17
yes , but austria and northern italy (and Germany if not for what everybody is reminded of continuously since wwII) are the most racially conscious countries of EU.
here in spain for example we have already the leftists beaming us continuously the threat of being labeled racists , pointing out immediatly how being racist is being a supporter of the general franco regime and bringing about the ghost of civil war,etc..
thanks to the tv channels all of which are sympathetic to the leftist cause we are made to think what they want us to think ,
i.e. being white is bad , being arab or black is good .
leftists here go even against their own principles of being atheists promoting the building of mosques , what they are pursuing of course is bringing in so much thirdworld poor voters to keep them in power till kingdom come.
Posted by jose ruiz at 6:37 PM on November 17
Europeans are beginning to believe that old adage that if you lie down with dogs, you’ll get fleas. When will we wake up to that fact ?
Posted by gee vee at 6:39 PM on November 17
The following is a true copy of an e-mail I sent to the Financial Times.
Editor, The Financial Times,
Regarding your above-referenced article published on your website today, Nov. 16th, whatever else Barack Hussein Obama may be, an African-American he ain’t. By common usage the term: African-American is applied to citizens of the United States of African descent whose ancestors were brought to this country in chains, who were stripped of their names, their language, their traditions, their culture, and their heritage.
None of these things apply to President-Elect Obama who knows exactly who he is and who his fore bearers, none of whom were ever slaves, were.
Barack Obama, Sr., who came to the United States of his own free will, was born in Kenya, and was of Luo ethnicity. President-Elect Obama’s mother was the late Ann Dunham Obama of Irish (?) ancestry.
When Barack Obama, Sr., “married” Ann Dunham he already had a wife back in Kenya. Perfectly legal in Kenya as under Sharia Law a Muslim is allowed up to four wives and as many concubines as he can afford to purchase, but under U.S. law, and that marriage did take place in Hawaii, a man is allowed only one wife at one time. In other words that “marriage” was, under U.S. Law, bigamous.
Finally, it is also an undeniable fact that Barack Hussein Obama was born into the Islamic faith and was considered by one and all, a Muslim. If he is now a practicing Christian, he is one by conversion and if so, there should be a baptismal certificate on file somewhere.
E. David Litvak
Posted by E. David Litvak at 7:01 PM on November 17
Yes….being white means truly belonging to Europe just as being Chinese means belonging to China or being black means belonging to Africa. What’s your point? Oh! I’m sorry, I forgot. This is just the usual ritual anti-white, multiculturalist double standards. Carry on, comrades.
Posted by at 7:43 PM on November 17
“Vienna is not yet Chicago. But it cannot get there a moment too soon.”
Is the writer of this article insane???? Does he believe it would be good for Vienna to become a big crime ridden city?????
Posted by at 7:45 PM on November 17
Vienna is not yet Chicago. But it cannot get there a moment too soon.
And when it does become “Chicago,” self-righteous fools like the author of this sanctimonious article will not waste a second in fleeing it, for some less “diverse” locale where they can still smugly cluck their fat tongues at the “racists” around them, without fear of assault by vicious and violent minorities who can’t be bothered to make a distinction between “good” and “bad” white people.
Posted by Zorba_the_Geek at 8:05 PM on November 17
I guess they wish do undo the sacrifices of Charles Martel, and others who fought valiantly to save this civilization. Remember, the words racism don’t appear in the Bible, but the word traitor does.
Posted by at 8:24 PM on November 17
Let’s send Wuss Mazower to Chicago. Perhaps a little experience will help him “understand.”
Posted by GetBackJack at 8:47 PM on November 17
The writer of this article is, of course, totally free of any prejudice in favor of his own race or culture or way of life. If it weren’t so terrible it would be funny to watch these emasculated bloodless ones make their tortured way back to a defense of the white christian west - if they ever do that - before the muslim chops off their heads.
Posted by ricpic at 9:57 PM on November 17
“Vienna is not yet Chicago. But it cannot get there a moment too soon”.
How about we switch? Sister cities, only taking it further. Vienna for Chicago. A massive citizen exchange program. Who could be against that but a truly narrow minded individual?
Always willing to help out…
Posted by Mr. Pibb at 11:42 PM on November 17
It’s so nice to know that there are still many Europeans who haven’t been brainwashed by all of this multi-cult nonsense.
Posted by at 11:47 PM on November 17
Are these people nuts? Europe was always known as that part of the main continent that contains nations that belong to White People. Duhh. The forced changing of that reality is the point that should be discussed and isn’t.
Posted by Bobby at 12:15 AM on November 18
Why is Klaus Emmerich excoriated for speaking the truth, when he said that blacks aren’t politically civilized. Has Mark Mazower ever heard of Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Congo, “Democratic Republic” Congo, Jamaica, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, the new South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Liberia, Sudan, Tanzania, Chad, Somalia, and virtually other sub-Saharan African state? Has he not heard of Camden, NJ, Compton, CA, East St. Louis, IL, Gary, IN, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Newark, NJ just to name a few cities in the USA? Surely, he can’t be THAT stupid? Or can he?
One man’s truth is another man’s racism. I will take truth over a phony charge of racism any and every day.
Posted by Soprano Fan at 12:42 AM on November 18
“here in spain for example we have already the leftists beaming us continuously the threat of being labeled racists , pointing out immediatly how being racist is being a supporter of the general franco regime and bringing about the ghost of civil war,etc.. thanks to the tv channels all of which are sympathetic to the leftist cause we are made to think what they want us to think ,i.e. being white is bad , being arab or black is good…” Posted by jose ruiz at 6:37 PM on November 17
Dear Sr.Ruiz,
I ;ived in Spain for some years in the 1960’s. I love Spain and its people and wish I could go back. However, I think the Spain I knew is gone, just like here in the U.S. With the advent of the internet I started reading the Madrid newpapers to keep up my Spanish skills. I usually read El Pais and sometimes the ABC. They’re as corrupt as the U.S. press. It seems they no longer teach history in Spain, just like they don’t teach history here anymore. We Whites are in big trouble!
Posted by Varina at 1:00 AM on November 18
This year, more people have died violently in Chicago than in Bagdad, Iraq. Further more Alquda has yet to tear up an airport at midnight. Keep Vienna as it is. You will be happier.
Posted by flyingtiger at 1:04 AM on November 18
So many whites like this author sound brainwashed. Maybe its time to go after the source of anti-white racist propaganda that infects whole generations: the universities and public schools of America and Europe. Of course whites are much, much, much better off in ethnically homogeneous communities. A few of us actually remember the peace and tranquility of tree lined streets, where neighbors did their own home maintenance and yard work, and didn’t have to worry about stray bullets killing toddlers, crack houses on the corner infested with homies, and drunk Mexican day laborers careening over highway dividers, taking out whole families in head on collisions. Diversity is for the birds, and even birds self-segregate.
Posted by at 1:46 AM on November 18
Cognitive dissonance is rather glibly brought into play by this writer, imagining that those who object to immigration are also in favour of some sort of unification of all the world’s peoples. But the second idea is one foisted on the populace through the education and media instrumentalities they control, supported by anti-vilification laws and repressive judiciaries. The first idea is what is intuitively understood as the best means of preserving sacred traditions.
The writer blunderously approves European purity, when he says, “History can be cruel. Generations of Europeans grew up with the goal of ethnic homogeneity as one nation after another across the continent tried to purify itself.” He smugly avers that this goal was undermined, that despite what the people want, Vienna will become another Chicago. But Vienna is proud of its resistance to the Turkish menace which last tried in 1692 to take the city. The Austrians, like other Europeans, will not allow the dirigisme that has resulted in a black President in the United States. Their resistance to central EU government is corroborative proof of this stance, as is the rise of anti-immigration parties throughout.
Mark Mazower may blithely claim that Europe gave a “collective sigh of relief” when Obama was elected. But these sighers were likely only the more stertorous. The more subdued sighers were quieter, if only because the microphones of the politically correct social engineers refused to be attuned to them.
Perhaps too, the same social engineers were too carefully attuned to the approved use of franchise in the US Presidential election. There may never be an inquiry into the extent to which intimidation and wrongful voter registration was used in that election, not until there is a genuine free press.
Posted by at 3:31 AM on November 18
Finally, it is also an undeniable fact that Barack Hussein Obama was born into the Islamic faith and was considered by one and all, a Muslim. If he is now a practicing Christian, he is one by conversion and if so, there should be a baptismal certificate on file somewhere.
I believe this fact of him converting AWAY from the muslim faith also makes it right, legal and the duty of any muslim to kill him. But here, I believe, would be an example of the end justifies the means, which would be a muslim takeover of the western world. Is it true that in his book he said “I will stand with the muslims”?
Posted by Skip at 3:38 AM on November 18
Europe is the white mans homeland.
To be European you have to be white. Nothing else passes the test.
Africa is for Africans, Arabia for Arabs.
Before long the rise of the Right WIng parties, long supported by the majority depite the gerrymandering of the voting system by the Left, will see mass expulsions across Europe and return to the path of civilistaion.
Posted by Geoff M at 4:58 AM on November 18
I am a US citizen living in Berlin, Germany.
We have double digit unemployment, a huge working class, enormous numbers of Turks and Arabs, etc. all kinds of structural problems, vast debt.
But the homicide rate is 2 per 100,000. The German average is even lower, that of rural US states like Vermont (the US average is FOUR time Germany’s!).
For Chicago, its ca 25+ per 100,000.
Austria has some of the lowest crime rates worldwide, social harmony, and a superb health and social system.
Imagine living in a country where every single homicide is a big national event!!!!
Chicago should be trying to become Vienna, not the other way around!!!!!!!
Posted by elitist at 5:10 AM on November 18
Actually, Chicago’s pretty nice these days.
Posted by at 5:58 AM on November 18
And China, Ethiopia, Iran, Japan, Thailand, etc. etc. aren’t the same way about their races? Europe is the WHITE ANCESTRAL HOMELAND, end of subject!
Posted by Gay Conservative at 9:09 AM on November 18
Actually, Chicago’s pretty nice these days.
You wouldn’t dare set foot into ANY of the problem areas in Chicago. For example, hang out for an afternoon in Harvey. If you make it home alive, you might change your mind about how “nice” Chicago is.
Posted by at 10:03 AM on November 18
“History can be cruel. Generations of Europeans grew up with the goal of ethnic homogeneity as one nation after another across the continent tried to purify itself. The huge population transfers, expulsions and killings of the 1940s reflected the fact that both the Nazis and their opponents believed that minorities were a source of political instability.
The result is a kind of cognitive dissonance. Europeans inhabit increasingly globalised multi-ethnic societies; yet their attitudes remain shaped by a 19th-century mindset. Vienna is not yet Chicago.
But it cannot get there a moment too soon.”
While the 1st paragraph above is quite true, the second is a mixture of truth and falsehood. The last sentence, however, reveals the true source of the entire article, The Times of London, one more mouthpiece of multicultural England (one rightly hesitates to call it “Britain” any longer).
It is true that the 20th century was, among many other things, a period in which race and ethnicity played leading roles in the conflicts of the period. As they were, quite properly, considered to form the core elements in both individual identity and the state conceived as a community of extended family members who shared a common ancestry and history. The language of even such an antiquated piece of utopian rubbish as Wilson’s famous Fourteen points, in which they form the basis of the proposed post-war (WWI) doctrine of “national self-determination” demonstrate this conclusively, although many more examples could easily be provided.
The great logical flaw which served and still serves that function in the current orthodox, multicultural ideal of society was the mistaken, logical error or non sequitur, that 1) because the many wars of the 20th century were associated with such racial and cultural clashes, 2) therefore, racial and cultural homogeneity and the desire to establish and/or maintain them were the cause of these conflicts and are, therefore, themselves absolute forms of secularized “evil”.
While there may well be more popular acceptance of the notion of European identity essentially defined by its white racial character, it would be a mistake to suggest that the norms of the current cult of multiculturalism play no role in modern Western European societies or their laws. David Irving would likely disagree with any such view of modern Europe, after having spent several years in an Austrian prison cell for the “crime” of having briefly mentioned the historical, but inconvenient, truth in one of his speeches many years before his trial in Austria on charges of having violated their draconian “hate speech laws”.
If there is “cognitive dissonance” in Western Europe today, it is between the (uniquely white) historical values of the European Enlightenment and the ruling European and American cultural and political orthodoxy of Multiculturalism (held by the ruling elites and most of the MSM) in Western Europe today. The so-called “right wing parties” which are all that remains of the traditional Europe today, are universally minority parties in governments ruled by elites who, doubtlessly celebrated the election of Obama and the demise of traditional America (considered as a European derived nation). It would be a mistake of the first order to ignore this fact.
Post-modern Western Europe, with the aid of the United States government (both in terms of its past role as occupying power in post war (WWII) conquered states such as Germany and in terms of its current role as the symbol of the ideal multicultural state of the future), is thoroughly permeated with anti-white racism in the form of now orthodox theories of multiracialism and multiculturalism. Such theories all deny the legitimacy of racial identity on the part of the historically white populations of the West, and only on the part of those populations.
They serve and have served as the basis for a complex system of laws which treat any speech, with no regard to action or intention, which dares to violate the cannons of political correct thought and expression as the equivalent of a class I or II felony in our federal and state criminal codes, offences which carry severe penalties, including a felony conviction and potentially very lengthy terms of prison time (which is the most harsh sentence which can be imposed by European courts, courts which have long since totally excluded the death penalty as a form of punishment for any conceivable crime).
Once placed in an accurate historical framework, this article can be seen to be what it in fact is, viz., a mixture of exaggeration, disinformation and partial-truths, a mixture which is both entirely predictable and something to be expected from The Times of London.
Posted by at 10:38 AM on November 18
“Actually, Chicago’s pretty nice these days.”
For a start, our SALES TAX is 10.25%; we even have a special tax on soda pop!
Posted by at 1:09 PM on November 18
I was in a debate not about diversity, but pornography, someone said that allowing unlimited access would lead to an increase in sex crimes.
It was an interesting hypothesis and I went to the mother load of porn, Japan, which produces about 20 porno movies for every American one.
Japan had originally supported this theory and kept the lid on porn until they commissioned studies to look into the fact whereupon they threw away every restriction. I do not care for porn, would never in my life dream of paying a penny for something my fertile mind can supply in much better quality at no cost at all. By the same token, I am an extreme liberal and would would in no way condone any restrictions on something that is none of my business. By liberal I mean the sort of liberal that was that before the left-wing socialists hijacked the word. A liberal does not re-distribute the wealth, he feels it is yours and yours to do with as you like. A liberal does not believe believe in quotas or preferences, he would let the most qualified, be they black, white, male, female, Christian or atheist do the job. As a liberal I have my faith and it is nobody’s business but mine, just don’t ask me change an iota of my life because your faith demands it. Sorry for the rant, but extremists have for too long hijacked respectable words to disguise their real intentions. When I was young I was at the time known as a gay blade about town, no, I was not queer, gay used to be merry and cheerful and sounds so much better than queer.
Back to Japan, I love the place and respect the people. Is is one of the most homogeneous countries in the world, 98.5% of the population are ethnic Japanese and they want to keep it that way. Earlier this year there was a push by their ministry of tourism to abolish the custom of the smaller countryside inns to put away the signs :No foreigners. The response was a loud no, they have different customs and tastes and we do not care to accommodate them. The UN keeps screaming : diversify. Japan keeps saying no, loud and clear. The financial turmoil since the 80’s has had the expected response of a responsible people. They stopped having their families larger than than their pocket book. The birthrate dropped like a stone. That coupled with a superb health system will have a devastating effect on the population, life expectancy for women is 89, for men 83. They have in part responded by ensuring one of the lowest child mortality rates in the world. 2.8%, less than half of that in the US. They have also responded by trying to lure back ethnic Japanese that emigrated in the past, 230,000 have returned from Brazil. One little fly in that ointment, the returnee must provide proof that they have no criminal record.
Japan is one of the most crowded nations in the world, a little smaller than California and a population of 127 million. There is only one way to live in such crowded conditions, it has evolved over generations and that is respect. You always see the Japanese bowing and smiling, they may hate your guts, but it is not proper to show it. When you have one society without influx, without diversity, you have to learn respect.
The original sex crime statistics that blew me out of my socks was for the period 1972-1995. Read them and weep.
72 4677 rapes 85% conviction rate 33% of offenders were under 19
95 1500 rapes 95% conviction rate 9.6% of offenders were under 19
Having fewer rapes, more police resources and better technology pushed the incredible conviction rate, compared to the current 6% of UK
right into orbit. I have been unable to find US figures, they are likely similar to the UK. Compare the decline in rape to Norway and Sweden
where, with the introduction of 3rd world immigrants the rate has quadrupled in the last 25 years.
After that bombshell dropped, I went digging up statistics on the difference between the racist xenophobic homogeneous Japan and that vibrant hub of ethnic, racial and cultural diversity, the late, great USA. Put on your seatbelts.
Most statistics are on a per capita basis or in sheer numbers. In order to present a fairer picture, I have increased the Japanese numbers by 2.36, to even out the population difference, in the figure for car thefts I have reduced the US theft number by 29% to account for the difference
in the proliferation of cars. Then I took the US numbers and reduced them all to 100 e.g. for every 100 assaults in the US there are 6 in Japan.
Here goes:
Assault 6
Burglary 32
Murder 9
Youth murder 4
Jailed criminals 8
Rapes 6
Robberies 4
Car theft 16
Police 58
One often hears of the tremendous pressure school children in Japan have and the high suicide rate. I looked that one up, it is for the 15-24 age group 8.6 per 100,000. In the US very few kids hang themselves when they flunk their exams. They do it for drugs or love or depression or because their friends did it, the US rate is 13.7. Education in Japan is the envy of the world, The US says that the US literacy rate is 99%, same as Japan, yet every paper I open complains about the incredible drop-out rate, inability of most drop-out to read, I would like to know if the government or the papers are lying. The literacy rate figure comes from the CIA, I know they would never lie. Japan spends 3.5% of its GDP on education versus the US 5.7% . In actual $ amounts, it is $43 for every $100 the US spends.
Throughout the world, the more a community is like everybody else, there is less crime and more respect. When there is less crime there is more prosperity. Not that these communities are perfect, I have just heard a horrifying figure from Japan that would have been unheard of 20 years ago. There are actually, at the last count over 70,000 unmarried mother in the country. A decent Police force that is not influenced by any hiring quotas where promotion is only by merit and a justice and jail system that is tough goes a long way in reducing crime. The State department has advisories for visiting most countries, it advises Americans going to Japan if they get caught for drugs they are out of luck, it is solitary, rough, no visitors but consul and lawyer and no time off for good behaviour. It also advises them that if they overstay, Police check ID frequently, not to try that old I lost my passport trick because they have a perfect computer system that keeps track of every visitor entering the country.. If only the State Department can go to Japan for some lessons.
Posted by ciccio at 1:44 PM on November 18
I never read such drivel in all my life. What a smug, self-righteous fool this writer is.
Posted by at 7:28 PM on November 18
Europe is the future of Western Civilization. It was dominant on the world stage for nearly 500 years until it became dormant after World War II. Europe is rising again. The financial seat of the world shifted a few years back from New York to London and the Euro is poised to become the world’s reserve currency. After the dust settles from the ongoing financial crisis the US will find itself a notch or two down on the economic ladder of nations.
Posted by at 7:47 PM on November 18
As an immigrant from Portugal who came to the US when I was 10, I just want to say that after what happened in the election, I am ashamed to call myself American anymore.
Posted by at 9:26 PM on November 18
5:10 AM: The reason the crime stats are lower in Europe is because Europe isn’t overrun with blacks and hispanics. The muslims in Europe will continue to act semi-civilized only until they believe they have a numeric advantage. Once that happens they will line up Europeans for mass beheadings and the spineless Europeans will not even fight back…
Posted by at 7:54 AM on November 19
“Europe is the future of Western Civilization. It was dominant on the world stage for nearly 500 years until it became dormant after World War II. Europe is rising again.”
I wouldn’t say that. While the USA has its’ problems, Europe is fast becoming Eurabia and is going to have a huge problem with its’ muslims. Frankly, ALL of western civilization is in trouble.
Posted by at 9:16 AM on November 19
When will common sense once again prevail over fantasy?
Why should we want a ‘color-blind society’? Is not color a beautiful part of the faculty of sight?
I can’t tell you how much I’d love to live and work in a country that considers whiteness an essential part of being European.
Right now in America, I’m living in an Alice in Wonderland world.
Posted by Thrasymachus at 6:26 PM on November 19