You know who shares much of the blame for those French citizens who were brutally butchered in a church?
Those French citizens.
Leave it to the Associated Press to say the difficult things out loud, to speak truth to power and to blame the victims.
I have to admit, they make some pretty good arguments for placing the responsibility on France beginning with...
"Its brutal colonial past."
France was a major colonial power and seized territory over portions of the Middle East after the fall of the Ottoman Empire including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Syria and Lebanon.
Sure, the British had Egypt, Iraq, and "Mandatory Palestine," and whose own brutal colonial past and serial betrayals is blamed by some for creating today's ongoing crisis in the Middle East but that doesn't work with the narrative so let's not mention that.
Speaking of colonial pasts, France is only third on the all-time leaderboard, behind Spain, which was modestly larger, and Great Britain, whose empire was three times the size of France's.
Speaking of Britain, its brutal colonial past went far beyond the Middle East and included holdings in Canada, the thirteen colonies of America, India, Australia, and large portions of Africa.
Kind of weird you don't hear a lot about Canadians beheading Londoners, American terrorists running down pedestrians in trucks in Trafalgar Square, or Indians slaughtering passersby in Piccadilly Circus.
I wonder why that would be. What could possibly explain the difference?
Moving on, French citizens are also responsible for being beheaded due to their...
"…staunch secular policies."
According to polls, "France is among the least-religious countries in the world," and the banning of things like Muslim headscarves and face veils has made many Muslims feel "stigmatized."
If there's one thing that can explain depraved indifference to human life and the slaying of innocents, it's dress codes.
And finally there is France's...
"...tough-talking president who is seen as insensitive toward the Muslim faith."
How has French President Emmanuel Macron been "tough-talking?"
"That's in part because of a law Macron plans to introduce to crack down on Islamist fundamentalists he contends are turning some communities against the state and threatening pillars of French society, including schools."
"…his government expelled Muslims accused of preaching intolerance and shut down groups seen as undermining French laws or norms."
"The words the president uses have provoked outrage as well. He said the planned law was aimed at Islamist 'separatism,' which raised fears of the further alienation of French Muslims."
The violence will continue until Macron agrees to stop trying to address those espousing violence. OK.
"At a memorial for a teacher beheaded for showing the prophet caricatures to his class, Macron gave a speech extolling tolerance, knowledge and religious freedom. But he drew ire, including from Turkey's president, for saying, 'We won't renounce the caricatures' and that France should diminish Islamists.'"
France has to abandon its centuries-long commitment to free speech, a cornerstone of freedom and liberty throughout the Western world, if they want to stop the violence.
Is that really too much to ask?
