rant

So I have hit rather a road block in writing my memoire… it is very hard, actually harder than I thought it would be, but I don’t know why I was expecting it to be anything less. But ok, since I am not being productive in that realm I thought I would write a quick rant of a blog post that I have been thinking of writing for the past few days since I have a really long weekend this weekend, thanks to the holiday of Ascension. You know, when Jesus got sucked back up into heaven forty short days after he was resurrected on Easter.

First I am not complaining about having a long weekend. I really need the time to work on my paper and to just focus (although I am moving in and out of focus rather sporadically and I think I am driving Matt crazy. Sorry Matt). It is raining and cold, a perfect weekend to spend inside writing papers. Right? Something like that.
But back to my rant at hand.

So France. This lovely country where I have spent the last several months of my life… the country that wrote the first declaration of rights of man (wait where were the women? Oh yeah not getting the right to vote until 1945 after WWII, but I am just getting side tracked here.) This country that purports to have all of the qualities of a democratic republic, and the welfare state, offering universal health care and all that good jazz that the USA is about 50 years behind on getting. All that stuff. This country who has its very own word to describe the secular state which keeps religion and state separate. That word being “Laïcité.” A word Mac and Anne and Matt and I spent several hours discussing… what it means and if it can really be achieved.

Since then, that weekend in Bretagne, after spending almost a total of 12 weeks at the Institut du Monde Arabe, I have learned a lot about what it means to be a practicing Muslim in France today (several of the other young female interns there are Muslim, and none of them wear the veil integral, or even cover their hair) mostly they are just careful to check at restaurants for a certificate of Halal (the Muslim equivalent of keeping Kosher and not eating certain meat products) and trying to be good people. That is about it.

But as the debate in this country rages on about the Burka, and why there should be a law in this country banning it, and banning head scarves too in public places, it is already banned in public schools (based on the concept of Laïcité), I can’t help but notice, and get mad about what a crock of crap this argument is. France is a secular country? Really? Because last time I checked they have about five national holidays… Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Christmas, and the day that celebrates the end of WWI. Yeah, those are definitely state holidays… having nothing to do with the Christian and Catholic roots of this country. Nothing at all, my ass. You better not cover your hair because it is in keeping with your religion, but the only days you get off work (besides your 8 weeks paid vacation) will be those that celebrate the comings and goings of our lord and savior Jesus Christ. Got it? It makes me sick.

It is fine for a country to be a Catholic country in my opinion, especially a catholic country that passes out condoms to all high schools for free… those are my kind of Catholics. But don’t try to cover up your racist, discriminatory, flagrant anti-islam, anti-arab politics by using the word “Laïtcité.” Because it is a lie. You can be catholic, and celebrate every catholic holiday ever, that is fine, but don’t pretend not to be. And don’t use your meaningless words to try to cover up you hatred of the immigrants and citizens and families who have been living in your country for generations because you told them they were French citizens like everyone else during colonialism. It is just bull shit. And everyone knows Sarkozy is using this debate over the burka to distract citizens from what he is really doing in government, which is taking the country back a couple decades… but don’t get me started on a Sarkozy rant…

Point of this post—thanks France for the long weekend. But don’t pretend to be something you aren’t. It just proves that you are not the secular country you purport to be. You are actually a hypocrite. So just admit it. Or admit you are still a catholic country. Or change your holidays. Which would you prefer? Personally, I would just change the holidays. But that is just me, and it seems like France prefers hateful racist hypocrite…

If this post makes no sense just ignore it. I am going nutso over here and just being kinda wacko.