Bonjour!
As I should have mentioned earlier, I welcome any and all questions and comments!
I'm in my third week of living in Paris and I have so much to write about, but bare with me because I'm going to write just a little more about "Je Suis Charlie" since I attended the solidarity march last Sunday.
(Over 3.7 million people marched in France that day.)
The march is something I'll never forget. That day the metro was free so everyone and their cousin was on board. Cars were packed so tightly that people's faces were smushed against the windows. I talked with a young Parisian woman on the train who thanked the group of us for coming to show support as students from the U.S. Naturally, the absence of U.S. leadership at the march did not go unnoticed and was in fact a little embarrassing.
(Many girls and women wore pencils in their hair. The sign in the third picture reads "I am Charlie I am Police I am Muslim I am Jewish. Not even afraid.")
For this trip I have been trying not to compare France to the U.S. and just see this country for what it is as a unique, independent culture. As I mentioned before, I see this as the "crucible" moment for this country, and I can't help but think about how different response would be in U.S. given the same situation. For one, I think that it would the attack would be instantly politicized with blame shooting across both sides and especially at the president who somehow "let this happen." Second, I believe that rather than looking at the larger picture and planning a global march for peace, U.S. leaders would think more insular and react by amping up security and the DoD budget.
So didn't plan on writing so much about this, so I'll try to wrap it up with what I felt the sentiment of the march was about, what I really liked about it, and what worries me about it. The general feeling I got from the crowd and from listening to the news and the people, is that this was clearly not just a French march for justice for the Charlie Hebdo attack. This was a global march for peace and for a future where these terrorist attacks do not happen. This is one area (of several) in which I think the marches in Ferguson fell short. They were too polarizing between supporting the victim and supporting the police. So I appreciated that this march had a message that nearly everyone could stand behind, as evident by the wide array of world leaders in attendance. That being said, and as with Ferguson, unfortunately there was no clear "bumper-sticker" message or title for this event that could help carry it on into a movement. What worries me about the march is that this will likely fall into the same pit as the NYC Climate March. It was of such a massive scale with great potential and the best intensions, yet I fear this may pass as the climatic point for an anti-terrorism movement rather than become a great step up the ladder to peace. This is where leadership is key. It's leadership that takes a huge moment, idea, or event and turns it into a true movement or revolution. We need leadership that can simplify, shape, label, organize, and mobilize people in oder to turn this march into a movement.
À bientôt,
Kara
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting post to read. What do you think is the greatest cultural insight that we as Westerners can learn from the peaceful marches in France. It seems as to if the general climate is calm and respectful. Do you think that would be able to occur in American culture?
Best Always!!
Hello again!
ReplyDeleteWhat I want Americans to take away from the marches in Paris, and the response to the attacks as a whole, is the overwhelming sense of solidarity. It's a completely different feeling of nationalism than the "'Merica!!" pride we have in the U.S. This all comes from cultural differences between the French culture that values the collective, and individualist culture in the U.S. In France, the order and security of the Republic comes before the needs of the individual. The last time I think Americans united behind for a cause bigger than themselves like this is WWII. But as Lewis correctly notes, American are individualistic in nature and I would add increasingly so. So unfortunately, I doubt that I will ever experience that immense feeling of solidarity, like that I'm connected with millions of people striving for a common goal, any time soon in the U.S.
Bit of a downer at the end there, but I hope that answered your question!