One of the vicious animals who inspired the Friday acts of terror in Paris told the terrorists to kill all Americans and Europeans they can, and “especially the filthy French.” [Note the word “filthy.”] The ISIS press release on the attack insistently linked France with prostitution.
When we all started asking ourselves why France keeps being hit by terrorists, the answers that came to mind reflected our own way of understanding the world: they hit France because it was bombing ISIS in Syria, they hit France because there are many grandchildren of Algerian immigrants from the 1960s, they hit France because there are Syrian refugees there, etc.
The mentality of the terrorists is very different, though. They talk of the “especially filthy French” and target France because of the 18th-19th-century stereotype of France as a place of sexual libertinage. This is not the first time that ISIS betrays a very late 18th – early 19th-century mentality*. There is a lot to study here, but our understanding is often clouded by the need to imagine everybody in the world as mirror images of ourselves.
*People say ISIS represents medieval Islam but I’m not seeing that at all. The Caliphate of Córdoba they are trying to recreate was the polar opposite of what they are actually doing.
Clarissa's Blog 
This sheds new light on the problem. Thanks a lot, Clarissa! I’ve never thought about it that way, and your post gives me a lot to ponder over.
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This is just a small beginning of a real analysis. There will be a lot more to say with time.
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I look forward to reading and discussing this with you!
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\ When we all started asking ourselves why France keeps being hit by terrorists, the answers that came to mind reflected our own way of understanding the world
John Kerry’s words reflect the same position:
“There’s something different about what happened from Charlie Hebdo, and I think everybody would feel that. There was a sort of particularized focus and perhaps even a legitimacy in terms of—not a legitimacy, but a rationale that you could attach yourself to somehow and say, okay, they’re really angry because of this and that. This Friday was absolutely indiscriminate. It wasn’t to aggrieve one particular sense of wrong. It was to terrorize people.”
http://qz.com/553165/unlike-the-latest-paris-attacks-john-kerry-could-see-the-rationale-of-the-charlie-hebdo-shootings/
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This is a very crucial point. Whenever people begin psychoanalyzing the terrorists, ascribing all kinds of emotional trauma to them and pitying them, that’s all part of the magical thinking I’ve been talking about.
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I think a better question is “Why do the terrorists hate Paris?”
They talk of the “especially filthy French” and target France because of the 18th-19th-century stereotype of France as a place of sexual libertinage.
Where does that stereotype come from: Anglos? Besides to a bunch of Islamic fundie apocalyptics, any major city in Europe is full of sexual libertines. It’s like they skipped over Amsterdam and the red light district. Paris has a lot of Muslims and is one of the largest cities in Europe and has one of the largest metropolitan areas.
No, they hit Paris because people from all over the world come to see many treasures of Western civilization and it’s very closely associated with the Enlightenment, and is a major center of fashion and luxury goods, which people from all over the world eagerly consume. Paris was home to many representational artists. Art, fashion, luxury goods, and the Enlightenment are all horrible signs of decadent corruption to members of ISIS. They hit a football stadium, a concert and restaurants and bars and a major tourist attraction, all places where people gather to enjoy themselves.
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Breaking news whom the terrorists hate most of all (and not because of prostitution as you’ll see):
Jewish teacher stabbed in Marseilles by Islamic State supporters
Three people allegedly attack ultra-Orthodox Jew, severely wounding him.
…
Three people on two scooters, one of them wearing an Islamic State T-shirt, approached the teacher in the street, Marseilles prosecutor Brice Robin told Reuters.
Another showed a picture on his cell phone of Mohamed Merah, a homegrown Islamist terrorist who killed seven people in a series of attacks in southern France in 2012.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4727860,00.html
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Horrible! I’ve heard from people who have been there that Marseilles is an absolute cesspit of criminality. People say that the city is dirty, dangerous, and nearly unlivable.
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Don’t worry folks, Clinton is on the case. Podesta is the chair for Hillary for America, so this was most likely vetted by the campaign.
Honestly, have you come across a stupider ‘strategy’?
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Does anybody have a better one? Other than “embrace Putin and hope he’ll do the work for you while you reap the benefits”, I haven’t seen much by way of a strategy.
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I was referring to the idea that ‘Defeat ISIS’ can not be a strategy to defeat ISIS. It’s begging the question. Unsurprisingly, people are making fun of this in social media.
Hillary’s strategy to win the election:
✓ Get the most votes
✓ Declare victory
✓ Make speech
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Dressing up like Olivia Pope and giving a long speech has impressed at least some people. “Shakti, you should turn on the tv! Hillary Clinton has clinched becoming president! She is so thorough! Everyone else looks like a bunch of screaming idiots in comparison!”-my mother.
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Your mother is right. Next to Trump and Carson, Hillary looks like an adult surrounded by whiny little brats.
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Hillary believes (correctly) that she’s got the Democratic nomination sewn up, so after running hard left to woo Sanders supporters, she’s now heading back toward the center.
Besides her “tough” stance on ISIS, she’s now coming out criticizing Sanders’ “single-provider” health care proposal, another idea beloved by the left.
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The funniest part about American presidential elections is watch candidates go as far left or right as they can during the primaries and then try to explain that away during the general election. Hillary will have a lot to explain to the general public come election time.
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Diehards turn out for primaries, all of the other voters turn up for the general election.
Which Republican candidate is going to run screaming back to the “center” in the general do you think?
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I can only hope it’s Carson but we will never be this lucky.
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Whoever gets the nomination — at this point, I still think it’s going to be Rubio or Bush.
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Rubio is possible but Bush seems done for. What a limp biscuit that fellow is.
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Re: Hillary. You shouldn’t piss off a woman. The Argentinian Fascist junta thought that a weak woman couldn’t defend the Falkland Islands. Margaret Thatcher didn’t quite agree, and when liberating the Falklands she happened to overthrow the Argentinian military dictatorship ‘en passant’. Neither Golda Meir nor Indira Gandhi were any frail flowers. Harassing a bear cub you find in the woods is not a good idea.
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Whoever gets the nomination — at this point, I still think it’s going to be Rubio or Bush.
If it’s Trilogy, charisma means absolutely nothing. Practically every other candidate has more and the dude is so weak. What are the odds Shrub will make a speech at the nominating convention?
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Hillary (I won’t call her names) has charisma????
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She has no natural charisma but she’s obviously working with very serious psychologists who have taught her to squeeze out a lot from what nature has given her. And now she actually comes off as charming. I value hard work a lot more than natural gifts, so I admire her for that.
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Acting coaches have Ph.D’s nowadays?
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For serious results, people go to serious specialists. This is a very high-stakes game. And Hillary knows that back in 2008 Obama defeated her purely on likeability. I was for her and against him in that primary but I had to recognize that she looked wooden, fake and seriously off-putting.
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I was merely commenting on his charisma compared to the rest of the Republican field. He’s just not as charismatic as Trump, his personal story doesn’t grab people. I never liked Shrub but I could see why people might find some part of his persona attractive. His family life when people learn about it inspires pity. When is the last time you voted for someone because you felt sorry for them? Pity is great for bake sales but terrible for leaders.
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I always vote IDEOLOGY, period — the only questions I ask are whether a given candidate is electable, and is likely to support the issues I agree with and oppose those that I don’t. Who gives a damn if they’re likable, or what their family history is?
But that’s not the way the vast majority of Americans cast their vote, and candidates smart enough to get nominated know that.
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I’m all for ideology, but this is the kind of job that requires being able to convince people, talk them into things, cajole, manipulate, ingratiate oneself, etc. A “low-energy candidate” might just fall asleep on the job.
Churchill, for instance, confessed being subdued into compliance by Stalin’s sheer physical presence whenever Stalin would come into the room.
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On a national level, it works like this: I’d rather have politicians in office who fail to pass legislation that I favor than have politicians in office who succeed at passing legislation that I vigorously oppose.
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The president is executive branch, not legislative.
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I know that. But except for foreign policy, where the President has a pretty free hand, U.S. Presidents affect domestic policy through the legislative programs that they propose (Obamacare, welfare reform, higher or lower taxes, Bush’s attempt to partially privatize Social Security, etc.).
When I refer to politicians “on the national Level,” I’m referring to everyone my vote potentially sends to Washington: the President, my two Senators, and my district Congressman.
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How anybody in the Bush family could ever seem likeable to people was always a mystery to me but I know great people, passionate liberals, who did find Dubya charming. I thought he always came off as mean and resentful.
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