Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, [12]
Although everyone watching has been convinced that Europe’s disastrous economy and related debt crisis would be the spark to unravel the European Union project, it appears history has its own plans.
While EU technocrats have demonstrated an uncanny ability to scheme, threaten, kick the can and lie their way around the debt crisis, the migrant crisis will prove to be a much graver threat to the project. Strikingly, all it took was a few weeks of unrelenting migrants crossing into EU borders to put an end what is essentially the only achievement of the European Union — the Schengen system of borderless travel.
Without that, what is the EU really? A collection of nation-states forced by bureaucrats to pretend they are part of an artificial fantasy superstate called Europe? An amalgamation of debt serfs and technocratic overlords? See what I’m getting at?
– From the post: Does the Migrant Crisis Represent the End of the European Union? [13]
Before I get into the heart of this post, I want to make something perfectly clear. I am not cheering on any of what I see coming to the European continent. It will most likely be ugly, divisive, reactionary and potentially violent.
I am no more happy about what may become of Europe as I am happy about the destruction of the middle class in America. Or the decimation of civil liberties in the post-9/11 surveillance state. I could have echoed happy thoughts of solidarity and hope for the past five years of Central Bank, Wall Street and government theft as opposed to exposing oligarch crimes, but that wouldn’t have saved the American middle class either. Likewise, happy thoughts and positive thinking will not help Europe.
Actions have consequences, and people can only be pushed so far before they snap. I believe the Paris terror attacks will be a major catalyst that will ultimately usher in nationalist type governments in many parts of Europe, culminating in an end of the EU as we know it and a return to true nation-states. Although I think a return to regional government and democracy is what Europeans need and deserve, the way in which it will come about, and the types of governments we could see emerge, are unlikely to be particularly enlightened or democratic after the dust has settled.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims of these horrific events, but the Paris attacks didn’t happen in a vacuum. The people of Europe have already become increasingly resentful against the EU, something which is not debatable at this point. This accurate perception of an undemocratic, technocratic Brussels-led EU dictatorship was further solidified earlier this year after the Greek people went to the polls and voted for one thing, only to be instructed that their vote doesn’t actually matter. Here’s what I wrote in the post: Greeks Flock to Grassroots Alternative Currencies in Affront to Euro Debt Slavery [14]:
Hundreds of millions of people throughout the Western world are being forced to admit an obvious, yet uncomfortable reality. Democracy is dead. Your vote and your voice doesn’t matter. Not at all.
No group of people understand this as intimately as the Greeks. They voted for one thing, got something else, and in the process were unceremoniously reminded of their political irrelevance.
The key point I’m trying to get across here is that an increasing amount of people across Europe feel voiceless and alienated from their governments. Governments have in turn done absolutely nothing to address these concerns. Indeed, similar to in the U.S., the ruling EU power structure cares about only one thing; a further consolidation of money and power within the ranks of the entrenched status quo. People get this, and are becoming increasingly angry about it.
So what does growing anti-EU sentiment have to do with terrorist attacks? A lot, particularly with the current refugee crisis still underway. For example, the refugee crisis has only exacerbated this feeling of hopelessness, despair and chaos on the part of an increasing number of Europeans. They feel like they have already lost control of their democracies, and now they are losing control of their towns and villages. This feeling of helplessness will manifest in a desire to restore order to a world they no longer understand. It will manifest in a push to elect a “strongman” or “strongwoman” who can flip the bird to EU bureaucrats and give a voice to their anger. So while nationalist movements have been gaining momentum across Europe, they have up until now been contained by the status quo. I believe that the Paris attacks will be the catalyst to further fuel many of these nationalist movements, and ultimately bring some of them to power across the continent in the years ahead.
Of course, none of the above is inevitable. If status quo politicians in Europe make some big changes, such as restore democracy and come up with a sane refugee policy that the people can accept, the trend toward anger-feueled nationalism can be avoided. As someone accurately noted to me on Twitter last evening:
@LibertyBlitz [15] Only because in Europe we are not allowed a true Centre-Right space. It will force people further Right.
— Vikram Parekh (@vikpar1) November 13, 2015 [16]
Bingo. This is so important it must be said again and again. It is also why hate speech laws lead to more hate. The way you really fight hate and ignorance at the root level is by allowing hateful ignoramuses to say whatever they want. This allows rational, thoughtful people to debate them publicly and expose their views for the nonsense that they are. Banning hate speech breeds more hate because you don’t provide an outlet. You stifle speech, make hateful people even more hateful, and prevent decent people from having the chance to publicly debate them into oblivion.
You can’t legislate morality and you can’t legislate positive thinking. Similarly, if EU bureaucrats are constantly doing everything they can to stifle democracy and alternative views, then the ultimate explosion against the status quo will be that much more vicious, hateful and ugly. This is precisely what I see coming to Europe unless status quo politicians change course.
So what would a change of course entail? As I mentioned earlier, it would entail a restoration of actual democracy and a sane refugee policy. Will this happen? I doubt it. In fact, I expect more of the same. I expect the same tired rhetoric and further moves to deprive innocent citizens of their civil liberties as the pointless and ineffective solution. So in other words, not only will they will not placate the seething anger, they will further enrage the populations of Europe. This will create that political vacuum that must be, and will be, filled.
The key variable here, whether people want to admit it or not, is the refugee crisis. People are already pissed off about it, and today I saw the following headline from the Guardian: Syrian Passport Found on Paris Attacker’s Body Belonged to Refugee Who Passed Through Greece [17]. Here’s the story:
The holder of a Syrian passport found near the body of one of the gunmen who died in Friday night’s attacks in Paris passed though Greece in October, a Greek minister told Reuters.
“The holder of the passport passed through the island of Leros on 3 October 2015, where he was identified according to EU rules,” said Nikos Toscas, Greece’s deputy minister in charge of policing.
While this heavily implies that one of the gunman came into Europe along with refugees, Syrian passports are known to be valuable currency amongst those trying to enter Europe, and it is not yet confirmed whether the holder of the passport is indeed the perpetrator.
So the real question is, how will the status quo react? Will it hear the concerns of the people and change course, or will it stubbornly proceed with a failed strategy? Personally, I think the following tweet represents how the status quo will respond.
Now I am not saying that people should link the attack to the migrant crisis, I am saying that they will. Because they will, there needs to be a political response. If no political response is forthcoming, the people will demand new leadership. The longer their concerns are left unmet, the more radical this leadership will be. Poland’s new government provides a perfect example of what I expect to eventually see throughout the continent.
From Bloomberg [18]:
Poland’s new government won’t accept migrant quotas imposed by the European Union, as the terror attacks in France have exposed the weakness in the bloc, the nation’s future minister for European affairs said.
“In the wake of the tragic events in Paris, Poland doesn’t see the political possibilities to implement a decision on the relocation of refugees,” Konrad Szymanski was quoted as saying on Wpolityce.pl website on Saturday. “The attacks mean there’s a need for an even deeper revision of the European policy regarding the migrant crisis.”
Szymanski’s rejection of the EU quotas hours after Paris was rocked by terrorist attacks underscore the divide among governments [19] in the bloc over the influx of Middle Eastern migrants. His Law & Justice party will take power in Poland this week after winning last month’s general election on a campaign [20] that tapped into concerns among the country’s conservative Catholic base that too many Muslims are arriving in Europe.
I want to emphasize that it is still early days, and I hope the report about one of the attackers being a refugee turns out to be false. Because if not, the backlash against Muslims generally, and refugees specifically, is likely to be sustained and unjustifiably harsh. Which is truly a shame, because it is the EU politicians and Brussels technocrats who are mostly to blame for everything happening. While they are likely to be ejected from power in a coming nationalist wave, this wave will unfortunately likely be fueled by stereotyping Muslims and extreme hatred.
I really hope I am wrong about everything I wrote. I hope those advocating for positive statements and solidarity will win the day. I hope EU politicians change course before it’s too late. I hope all of those things, but hope is not going to save Europe.
