Monday, August 14, 2006
Europe's Continued Moral Confusion
-By Warner Todd Huston
Post modernism has a such a death grip on Europe that it has opened the door for Islamofascism to take root in its ancient soils, to grow becoming one of Europe's most immanent internal threats raising the level of fear in the lives of Europe's most vulnerable minority; Jews.
For far too many in Europe, an everything-is-relative Chamberlainism has resurfaced as a virtue, moral turpitude acceptable, and any certitude of a moral code is to be shunned as somehow unseemly. Making a judgment is not PC enough … of course that depends on what that judgment is lodged against.
The recent plot to bomb airplanes in flight busted open by the British prompted William Kole, a writer for the AP, to say that this plot "points up a chilling trend across Europe: the rise of radical Islam, and with it, a willingness among a small but dangerous minority of young people to answer the call to jihad." And Kole isn't the only one to notice an increasing lack of a moral compass rising in Europe.
Mind you, one of Europe’s chief societal failings is the inability of immigrants to ever be considered citizens in good standing by the indigenous populations. Much of Europe’s current unrest can be explained by this alienation of immigrant populations. In Denmark, for instance, immigrants are sometimes still considered immigrants after even the third generation is born there. This emulation of a "separate but equal" mind set so discredited by the American experience further alienates young immigrants who never feel any connection to the land in which they were born, though they somehow feel an affiliation with lands of their ancestors, lands they themselves never knew. Hence the unrest in Paris as gangs of Muslim youth paraded through the streets in a lawless bacchanalia earlier this year, certainly.
As a result of all this, anti-Jewish sentiment is at a high point and quickly elevating still higher all across Europe and Britain and Islamist extremism is everywhere. But, this Islamofascist threat isn't the only example of Europe's inability to "get it" where it concerns a moral fight against violence, law breaking, and hatred as a recent example in Barcelona, Spain reveals.
In the 1940's, a Chicago street gang was born. It became called the "Latin Kings" and it terrorized various part of the City's Hispanic neighborhoods for decades. Several years ago, the gang spread to Spain, taken there by young South American immigrants with experience in the US who came to feel that they were excluded from becoming full citizens -- as discussed above -- in Spain, despite a common base language.
The Latin Kings and Queens are responsible for a rising tide of crime and gang violence across Spain. But Spain's 2nd biggest metropolis, Barcelona, imagines that they have solved the problem with the lawless Latin Kings by making them a legal community group and giving them support of the government.
Isn't that startling?
Legitimizing a street gang is their answer to crime?
Talk about a busted moral compass. Barcelona's is pointing to the hell at the end of that road paved with good intentions, for sure.
The city has even given them an exalted new official name. The gang will forthwith be called "Asociación Cultural de Reyes y Reinas Latinos de Cataluña" (Cultural Association of Latin Kings and Queens of Catalonia).
Very official sounding, eh?
Now, in case you are thinking that I am misreading the situation, I'll let the deputy mayor of Barcelona speak for himself. He said that the street gang would receive "the same treatment as other associations", would be eligible for local government grants, but who's final acceptance would depend "on the repercussion of their activities".
The acting mayor, Jordi Portabella, hailed the decision to legitimize a violent street gang was one that had "few precedents in Europe and the world".
Yeah, no doubt there, Jordi!
Portabella also revealed that they are looking into similarly legitimizing the Kings' main rival, the "Netas" (Newborns).
So, the good hearted citizens of Barcelona are positive that all them kids need is some lovin' and they will stop all that darn crime, violence, and anti-social behavior stuff.
It makes your heart go all aflutter and fill with warm and gushy thoughts, doesn’t it?
As the Jets, the street gang in the musical West Side Story, sang to their antagonist, Sgt. Krupke, -- "Gee, Officer Krupke, we're very upset; We never had the love that ev'ry child oughta get. We ain't no delinquents, We're misunderstood. Deep down inside us there is good!"
Looks like the city Fathers of Barcelona, Spain, have watched that segment of a Hollywood musical from 1961 a bit too often. Either that or their moral relativity has advanced beyond common sense if they imagine that a street gang can really be "good" deep down inside making them an honored part of the community.
It must be true, after all. Luis Barrios, a busybody Catholic priest from the Bronx in New York who has been "helping" Barcelona with this program said of the gang, "They decided they wanted to be more acceptable, more respected."
… and I'm sure they'll beat up whom ever refuses to comply with their "request".
In any case, the thugs in the Latin Kings come up the clear winners. Not only will they get legitimacy, but it is sure they won't feel any need to curb their practices. After all … they are PROTECTED by the cops, now.
Post modernism has a such a death grip on Europe that it has opened the door for Islamofascism to take root in its ancient soils, to grow becoming one of Europe's most immanent internal threats raising the level of fear in the lives of Europe's most vulnerable minority; Jews.
For far too many in Europe, an everything-is-relative Chamberlainism has resurfaced as a virtue, moral turpitude acceptable, and any certitude of a moral code is to be shunned as somehow unseemly. Making a judgment is not PC enough … of course that depends on what that judgment is lodged against.
The recent plot to bomb airplanes in flight busted open by the British prompted William Kole, a writer for the AP, to say that this plot "points up a chilling trend across Europe: the rise of radical Islam, and with it, a willingness among a small but dangerous minority of young people to answer the call to jihad." And Kole isn't the only one to notice an increasing lack of a moral compass rising in Europe.
Mind you, one of Europe’s chief societal failings is the inability of immigrants to ever be considered citizens in good standing by the indigenous populations. Much of Europe’s current unrest can be explained by this alienation of immigrant populations. In Denmark, for instance, immigrants are sometimes still considered immigrants after even the third generation is born there. This emulation of a "separate but equal" mind set so discredited by the American experience further alienates young immigrants who never feel any connection to the land in which they were born, though they somehow feel an affiliation with lands of their ancestors, lands they themselves never knew. Hence the unrest in Paris as gangs of Muslim youth paraded through the streets in a lawless bacchanalia earlier this year, certainly.
As a result of all this, anti-Jewish sentiment is at a high point and quickly elevating still higher all across Europe and Britain and Islamist extremism is everywhere. But, this Islamofascist threat isn't the only example of Europe's inability to "get it" where it concerns a moral fight against violence, law breaking, and hatred as a recent example in Barcelona, Spain reveals.
In the 1940's, a Chicago street gang was born. It became called the "Latin Kings" and it terrorized various part of the City's Hispanic neighborhoods for decades. Several years ago, the gang spread to Spain, taken there by young South American immigrants with experience in the US who came to feel that they were excluded from becoming full citizens -- as discussed above -- in Spain, despite a common base language.
The Latin Kings and Queens are responsible for a rising tide of crime and gang violence across Spain. But Spain's 2nd biggest metropolis, Barcelona, imagines that they have solved the problem with the lawless Latin Kings by making them a legal community group and giving them support of the government.
Isn't that startling?
Legitimizing a street gang is their answer to crime?
Talk about a busted moral compass. Barcelona's is pointing to the hell at the end of that road paved with good intentions, for sure.
The city has even given them an exalted new official name. The gang will forthwith be called "Asociación Cultural de Reyes y Reinas Latinos de Cataluña" (Cultural Association of Latin Kings and Queens of Catalonia).
Very official sounding, eh?
Now, in case you are thinking that I am misreading the situation, I'll let the deputy mayor of Barcelona speak for himself. He said that the street gang would receive "the same treatment as other associations", would be eligible for local government grants, but who's final acceptance would depend "on the repercussion of their activities".
The acting mayor, Jordi Portabella, hailed the decision to legitimize a violent street gang was one that had "few precedents in Europe and the world".
Yeah, no doubt there, Jordi!
Portabella also revealed that they are looking into similarly legitimizing the Kings' main rival, the "Netas" (Newborns).
So, the good hearted citizens of Barcelona are positive that all them kids need is some lovin' and they will stop all that darn crime, violence, and anti-social behavior stuff.
It makes your heart go all aflutter and fill with warm and gushy thoughts, doesn’t it?
As the Jets, the street gang in the musical West Side Story, sang to their antagonist, Sgt. Krupke, -- "Gee, Officer Krupke, we're very upset; We never had the love that ev'ry child oughta get. We ain't no delinquents, We're misunderstood. Deep down inside us there is good!"
Looks like the city Fathers of Barcelona, Spain, have watched that segment of a Hollywood musical from 1961 a bit too often. Either that or their moral relativity has advanced beyond common sense if they imagine that a street gang can really be "good" deep down inside making them an honored part of the community.
It must be true, after all. Luis Barrios, a busybody Catholic priest from the Bronx in New York who has been "helping" Barcelona with this program said of the gang, "They decided they wanted to be more acceptable, more respected."
… and I'm sure they'll beat up whom ever refuses to comply with their "request".
In any case, the thugs in the Latin Kings come up the clear winners. Not only will they get legitimacy, but it is sure they won't feel any need to curb their practices. After all … they are PROTECTED by the cops, now.
# posted by Publius @ 8/14/2006 12:52:00 AM 
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