A Jewish group has petitioned to change the name of La-mort-aux-Juifs.Oh, those wacky Jews, thinking that writing a letter would get the town to take them seriously.
A Jewish organization is petitioning French officials that a small hamlet outside of Paris change its name from what translates in English as “Death to Jews.”
“[The fact that the name] was unnoticed during seventy years since the liberation of France from the Nazis and Vichy is most shocking,” Shimon Samuels, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s international relations, wrote to France’s Interior Minister.
But the deputy mayor of Courtemaux, the village of 289 people that oversees the contested hamlet, is resistant to a name change, arguing that the tradition should be respected.
“It’s ridiculous. This name has always existed,” Marie-Elizabeth Secretand told AFP. “No one has anything against the Jews, of course. It doesn’t surprise me that this is coming up again. Why change a name that goes back to the Middle Ages or even further? We should respect these old names.”
Secretand also noted that the municipal council was petitioned to change the name of the town, which consists of two houses and a farm, 20 years ago, but that request was denied.
I mean, it would be hard to find a bigger insult than a call to genocide. Jews are insulted. And being insulted is a perfectly valid reason for acts of violence in today's world.
If only Jews would just take their cue from those who know how to get things done. They would riot, ransack French embassies worldwide, to send letter bombs to the leaders of the town. They would boycott everything remotely French, and to threaten anyone who disagrees.
I mean, that is the proper reaction to insults, isn't it? Not only are reactions like that expected, but they also get results. The fear that is placed in people's hearts at the prospect of being on the receiving end of a bullet or a bomb causes many of them to decide that their lives are more important than their principles - and to change their principles to align with the new reality. And that is fine, as long as they do what we want.
If nations are against your reign of terror, the response is obvious: target them. They'll come into line.
If other nations try to say you are violating international law, threaten them too. In a decade or two international law will magically change towards your viewpoint as long as you keep the pressure up.
It helps if you have a billion people who support you, but it is not a necessary condition to get results. The major components of success are terror, threats and targets who value their lives.
Face it. Terrorism and incitement work. Diplomacy and polite letters don't. Airplane terrorism combined with energy extortion was enough to turn modern Europeans into supporters of the terrorists and extortionists.
Jews are so 21st century. They really need to learn that the only way to get results is to go back to the 7th century way of doing things.
Playing by the 21st century rules is clearly a game for suckers.
(If anyone reading this thinks my advice is serious, please go away. Modern societies need to recognize the real threat and to stick to their principles, not run away from them. The goal is to punish terror in a way that turns it counterproductive, not to cave in.)