riots in paris and berlin – where does it all go?

Tuesday, November 08, 2005, 12:52

only yesterday i thought that the french riots would spread into germany in no time, the amount of desperate youth uncared for by government and hopelessly jobless being about the same – and what happens tonight? berlin, bremen and chemnitz follow suit. i am somewhat proud on the rioters, as i would have been on the barricaders of 1848 in berlin and dresden. i do not know whether the protests will change anything, but at least some political will, be it riotous or not, seems to be alive still. i thought – and both government and society, too – that people would put up with anything. well obviously they do not, thank god.

it is surely debatable, whether violence breeds violence, but on the other hand i deem that france is getting the bill for her behaviour during colonial rule. and i believe germany could get a bill for the handling of reunification and the utter negligence of greater parts of society. wait and see.