The Conspiracy of Silence on Islamic Riots

Am I the only one who reads stories from Europe and scratch my head over the conspiracy of silence?

Consider this little news item about riots in the French city of Genoble . It seems the BBC, Reuters, and others can’t bring themselves to mention that the fleeing suspect shot by the police was a Muslim, as were the rioters.

The contrast with other sorts of stories is remarkable. Last summer Henry Louis Gates acted boorishly and a policeman thumped his chest. End result: countless stories about racial profiling and race relations. Not a single article failed to mention that Mr. Gates is black and the officer white.

Or more tragically, recall Rodney King and rioting in Los Angeles. Again, journalists were all over the racial angle.

But in Europe?

I’m of the opinion that the American press and the liberal elite to which it ministers over-plays the race card. But on the whole, over the last half century, our society has benefited from direct confrontation of the social sickness of racism.

I’m far to remote from French reality to offer advice, but I can’t imagine how the conspiracy of silence in Europe won’t end up making things worse. The euphemism “African-born” is comical were it not so tragically evasive.