Quote:
Originally posted by Nizzle
The people that died were vastly senior citizens that were left home alone.
Blaming it on the government of France is insane. There are deaths here in America when there are massive, prolonged heat waves.
Blaming it on socialism is beyond insane.
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I disagree. In America, we were quick to blame deaths from heat waves on our government. Take, for example, the Chicago heat waves in 1995 and 1999. While the government doesn't necessarily deserve all of the blame, some of its actions could have and should have prevented more deaths. In 1995, 885 people died; in 1999, after instituting new guidelines and provisions, only 110 people died. It's still not enough, but it's a start. (Eric Klinenberg, "Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago")
Tangentially, blaming it on the government partly blames socialism. Directly, I'm not sure socialism has anything to do with it. If anything, socialism should have been more accomodating. The problem with heat-related deaths is that in a first world, Western country, it's is entirely preventable. 10,000 in a country as advanced and wealthy as France, with all its geographic advantages, is truly unforgiveable.
The other half of the blame is societal. Chirac recently released a statement saying something to the effect that it was shameful that so many French families, after learning of the death of a relative, did not cut short their beloved vacation to resolve things back in France. It's indicative of a greater problem both in America as well as in France: the idea that we pawn off our elderly to live alone or in understaffed retirement homes, so we can play at vacation and ignore our familial responsibility.
However, were it me, I would have probably not issued that statement while on holiday in Toronto.
Johnny Depp is a great actor, and as an American he's just exercising his right to free speech. Nothing wrong with that. It's the same right I'm going to exercise in a few minutes, when I'm going to completely ignore whatever wisdom he imparted. However, in his adopted home in France, allow me to give him a piece of advice: hold your tongue. In America, if you call Bush a worm, nothing happens. In France, calling Chirac a worm will cost you 30,000 pounds. Just ask the British newspaper The Sun. Be glad America vigorously defends its citizens' right to free speech. Remember that next time you call Bush or Dean "Hitler" or bemoan a slide into a "fascist" or "communist" nation.
-- Alvin