Friday, April 14, 2006

A word to the French/Swedish protesters...

So i haven't ranted in a bit, right? I'm sitting here on Spring break, listening to some DJ Shadow (man, where have i been this whole time?), with a bunch of history homework and English homework to do, and i realized "man, i haven't ranted in a long time!". well, this is why you, you non-existent person reading this is here, right? to hear me rant about life from my purely juvenile standpoint?

WELL OK THEN!

So 2 days ago I'm out skateboarding at the bowls in medborgarplatsan (somewhere in Stockholm, don't worry...) and I'm just doing random tricks out on the flat with a kid there, game of SKATE like, when all of a sudden a huge rally goes by. People with bullhorns and loudspeakers just ranting and raving about whathavethey. As the long line of people went by, i got curious. I went up to some of them and asked :"what you guys protesting about?" Well, they didn't speak English, so i asked some more. Finally, a dude with the weirdest beard ever comes over and explains that "you know, that law in France, the thing for youth... well, they want to do something like that in Sweden, so, yeah". So i thank him for his time and hope he has a fun time demonstrating.

Yes, the CPE, that dreaded law in France that was aimed at destroying young peoples lives, yeah. For those of you unacquainted with it, it was a law that would allow business owners and bosses to be able to fire any new recruit within a two year period for arbitrary reasons, really.
Well, in typical french fashion, all anyone saw was what could be taken away from them, not what the point of the law was. Everyone freaked at being fired for no reason, and hence: protests, what France does best, and the only thing that a citizen actually considers part of their civic duty anymore (vote? bah, ill just abstain and be pissed at however is elected. Protest and strike? me LIKES!).

As some of you know, i have an older sister who is studying in France, in Lyon. She's a big nerd, but we love her anyways. Anywho, she didn't get to go to school for a really long time because of all of these demonstrations. Why you ask? well, the young people in the universities decided to, for the sake of democracy, shut down the schools and form Assemblées Générales to "fight the power", if you will.
Nevermind that this was completely anti democratic, since my sister and many others never voted for these people. Yes, 600 people deciding the fate of most college students completely arbitrarily. "But wait! weren't arbitrary decisions bad? isn't that why you guys are mad?" "SILENCE! no one needs reason now!" "OK, i see"...
After a while, some students even occupied the Sorbonne, a very renowned school in Paris where my parents went for language studies to be missionaries in France (as you can see, french people do need help :P). Anyways, the Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarko if you will, got them to be kicked out. OMGEEEEEE he's abusing power! Wrong tard, he's getting you from where you shouldn't be!

Riots went on and on, as they always have an always will in France. But lo! The government actually backed down COMPLETELY. That is right, the protesters managed to get the law completely revoked, hence the demonstrating in Sweden. Yay for democracy! The people are still in control! what a glorious day for France!

NO! you MORONS!

OK, listen up frenchies. Do you, or do you not care about the high unemployment rates in France, especially in the youth category? Oh, you do? OK then. Well, lemme hit you with some knowledge: you know what one of the reasons is for you sorry souls not being able to get jobs is? Employers are AFRAID to hire anyone! Why? Because if you get a job in France, you're pretty much sure to have it your whole life! And most employers don't want to risk having fat sacks of worthlessness sipping lattés on the job that they can't fire.

That is right: the reason this law was passed was to promote something that is all but forgotten in French culture: capitalist competition.

In school in France, and trust me i know, you are constantly afraid of failing because of your teacher putting so much pressure on you. If you aren't a hard working student, then you will still work as hard as those who are because you don't want null get punished. Not the best system, but it motivates some. However, when you get out of school, and become, say, a teacher, that ends. Dead in its tracks. Once you are a teacher, you will never be afraid of losing your job. You know how much money you will have for retirement when you're over an done with, and lest you kill a child, nothing can happen.
But why can't the same that is true in French schools be true when it comes to french jobs? If you are hard working, then you WON'T LOSE YOUR JOB!!!!! Here comes the clue train, last stop you! If you do what you need to do and do it well, your employer won't fire you, makes sense, right? And if you lack the self drive to be a hard worker, maybe a law that says your boss can fire you when he wants will motivate you.

Competition in the workplace, what a weird concept. Isn't that what capitalism is founded on? France wants to be socialist, fine so be it. But don't whine like you do when you realize the world is moving on without you. I'm pretty sure your revolutionary ancestors would be ashamed of you. Instead of going for the front of the societal wave, you choose to stay behind, behind the swell, wanting that big wave to come to make everything right. But when it comes, you will wuss out on it again, to let it pass so that you aren't challenged in the least.

That is the problem with French mentality. They want change, but without sacrifice of what they already have. Therefore, nothing changes. One little law that would have been the step towards progress and all you would have had to do is work hard, and yet everyone says no. does this reflect well on France? no.

One of the reasons i like Sarko is that he DOES stuff. In France, it's talk talk talk, and little done. He actually acts. They may have been bad actions, but hell, don't knock the fact he is trying where everyone else would rather sit back and stick their noses int he air, loving how historical France is. Well, news flash: our last constitutional review was in 1958, about when all french politicians in power today were hitting old age. COME ON GUYS! DO SOMETHING! if you know what to do to help France, do it! People will get butt-hurt they don't have the same security as always, but so be it! you want to compete with the USA? or anyone for that matter? get the French off their lazy butts and get them working.

And to the younger folks: stop. you're pathetic. Work hard = keep job. Not work + mooch = fired. Is that hard to understand? I know it's math for you self proclaimed liberal arts majors, but hear me out. What you did was appalling. You've doomed your country to another decade of no progress, as if your leaders couldn't do that for you. Gratz!






ah, that was quite fulfilling, no? i need to do these more often!

1 Comments:

Blogger Clairikine said...

a) I am not a big nerd. Wait...no. Oh yeah. Maybe I am.

b) Scenario: France gets occupied by troops from neighboring European countries and the French are forced to watch videos of Nazi Germany, the gulag prisons and military marches in North Korea until they beg for forgiveness.

c) I got slammed on a message board I use with friends from school. They called me an extremist. Then I went to see The Last Days of Sophie Scholl and laughed at them.

d) I am dying to spray paint somewhere that the French want all the comfort earned by work without actually working. Or chalk the walls of Lyon 2 with "thou art lazy bums" slogans. Come to think of it, I might buy some chalk.

11:28 PM  

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