12.13.2005
Countdown to apocalypse?
Goddam. First France, now Australia.
The news from Sydney:
A week ago two lifeguards at Cronulla beach were assaulted by a group of young men, reportedly of Middle Eastern descent.
On Sunday "thousands of young white men attacked people of Arabic and Mediterranean background" on the same beach (BBC). Thousands?! I'm amazed no one has been killed. It sounds like the property damage began that night.
On Monday night there was a ton of property damage. By that point, some of the attacks were retalliatory. The police were out in sufficient numbers to turn back the thugs who showed up to dismantle the mosque in Maroubra. Oh, and lots and lots of iron bars have been confiscated. Iron bars. Just think of what an iron bar can do to a human cranium.
The polititians are wringing their hands and saying that this sort of thing just doesn't happen in Australia -- it's a pluralist society, after all. Oops, look, it did happen in Australia. Tellingly, the young white guys giving quotes to the press are describing people as either Aussie or "Lebs" (Lebanese) so, er, plurality doesn't seem to be working at ground level in suburban Sydney. As likely as not, the folks being described as "Lebs" are native-born Australians.
The news from Sydney:
A week ago two lifeguards at Cronulla beach were assaulted by a group of young men, reportedly of Middle Eastern descent.
On Sunday "thousands of young white men attacked people of Arabic and Mediterranean background" on the same beach (BBC). Thousands?! I'm amazed no one has been killed. It sounds like the property damage began that night.
On Monday night there was a ton of property damage. By that point, some of the attacks were retalliatory. The police were out in sufficient numbers to turn back the thugs who showed up to dismantle the mosque in Maroubra. Oh, and lots and lots of iron bars have been confiscated. Iron bars. Just think of what an iron bar can do to a human cranium.
The polititians are wringing their hands and saying that this sort of thing just doesn't happen in Australia -- it's a pluralist society, after all. Oops, look, it did happen in Australia. Tellingly, the young white guys giving quotes to the press are describing people as either Aussie or "Lebs" (Lebanese) so, er, plurality doesn't seem to be working at ground level in suburban Sydney. As likely as not, the folks being described as "Lebs" are native-born Australians.
