Tuesday, May 08, 2007

On Electoral Culture and Violence

An interesting comparison.

In enlightened, cosmopolitan, European and so multilateral France, after an election of a right-leaning (for the French anyway) President, we get
days of Rioting including burning cars, assaults on police etc.
Hundreds of cars have been torched in the riots.

Meanwhile in uncultured, cowboy, unenlightened, unilateral America, we've had a 2006
election of a right-leaning (for France, for American conservatives not so much)President without rioting or torching of cars, and only a few unfulfilled threats to move to France. In 2008, we had a congressional election that installed a Democrat, left-leaning (possibly centrist for France) Congress and Senate and there was no riots, no burning of cars and no assaults on police.

For some reason the unenlightened American culture seems to handle changes in government with far more aplomb than the chic and oh so culturally sophisticated French.

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