I love it when he starts talking about 'sous-culture'. I agree with him on a lot of things. Sadly his views are so out of line with those held by the majority of the French establishment (or perhaps Frenchmen in general) that nobody seems to take him seriously. Perhaps they only invite him to talkshows to have a good laugh. Then again, at least they still invite him and allow him to finish his discourse. (Well, sometimes.) Which generally cannot be said of political reactionaries in a certain unnamed country.

There may be the same kind of "intellectual" nonsense in the US for all I know, but I would not dream of comparing America to France as far as freedom of speech is concerned. We have got no First Amendment of our own, nor shows roughly equivalent to that of, say, Michael Savage. If somebody was to suggest firm action on the part of authorities when dealing with uprisings in our suburbs, the poor devil would swiftly be put behind bars. The show that has been advertised in the present article is, I fear, typical of the current French mindset. People are accustomed (even encouraged) to complaining, wallowing over themselves, asking for the government to help. Most French are also unable to grasp the reality, they refuse to acknowledge what even official statistics demonstrate, viz. a tremendous rise of violence in France. "Intellectuals" are randomly picked up in order to come up with their fuzzy stories in order for tempers to cool down. And you will find no alternative on French TV. At least, America still has some outspoken people who speak on the radio like Mr Savage, Fox News claims a handful of more enlightened personalities as well. There is no such thing in France (although we have been endowed a couple of more vocal intellectuals, like Eric Zemmour--a firm opponent of multi-cult--, but even those frequently overindulge in capitalism-bashing, which is also very common in France). I have been saying the same thing over and over, as I am well aware, but France's mentality is that of losers, a trodden-down people. When faced with unpalatable events, the French intelligentsia will simply deny the facts, and entrench into rickety explanations, and be allowed to be blindhooded not to meet with reality, so they do not have to question their judgments. And were you to dare debate those absolute geniuses, they would throw a wobbly and call you names to the distinct pleasure of a carefully-selected audience.    

@ Atheling

Please, explain.

Mr. Lee must have forgotten his sarc tag.  I believe he is a college professor, so he cannot be unaware of how easily the same idiocy can occur in an American university.

@ Capodistrias

No, one should NOT assume that Mr Lee was being facetious, for he is obviously a 'native' (no pun intended) American.  The degree of sarcasm that you, Capo, are implying is more typical for Belgians (and, to a lesser extent, other West Europeans) than it is for Americans.  

Furthermore, one can easily observe a strong strain of anti-Europeanism in Mr Lee's infrequent commentary on this blog.  This is not a 'charge', but rather a factual observation, for his feelings are understandable and he often provides good justification or reasons for them.

So, I do not think that he was being facetious, but rather that he briefly forgot the lamentable condition of America in the 'age of Obama'.  Of course, only he can confirm which one of us is right on his thinking.

@Marcfrans

I assumed Frank Lee was being facetious, since you are right this 'thinking' is not at all hard to stumble upon in campus coffe shops / American elite salons across the US.

@ Frank Lee

You cannot be serious.  Have you ever listened to 'discussions' run by Bill Moyers (with 'intellectuals') on PBS, almost every week?   You must be aware of statements made by a panoply of Obama associates  (currently Czars/advisers).  I suspect that this is the sort of discussion that is going on right now in the White House, especially as it pertains to domestic matters and, God forbid, perhaps concerning foreign policy as well.  

I am delighted to note that it's impossible to imagine this kind of nonsense in the United States.

They have all imbibed the Derridean idea that "textual" violence is worse than the real thing because the former entails an invidious ideology by which a greater power mythologizes itself as normal, while the latter may well be, when coming from the hands of a "marked" or oppressed person, a revelatory act.

Make no mistake, such clowns will positively apologize or support all kinds of violence in the name of supporting the counter-narrative of the oppressed.

I was considering declaring myself to be an intellectual. After all, it requires no qualifications to do so and public recognition seems to follow from such declarations. But after watching the video, I have changed my mind.

Meanwhile, in some parallel universe...

Sixth speaker (historian Anne-Claude Ambroise Rendu): ... Minor crimes are a sign of a healthy ...

(At which point a  "depressed" 13-year-old Algerian runs on stage and plunges a knife into Ms Rendu's left hooter)

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh ... Meeeeerde !!!! She cries.

Seventh speaker (writer Antoine Bello): Er, yes, anyway, as I was about to say, we're lucky in Europe. There is not a lot of vi...

Aaaaaaaahhhhh! Bugger! ...

[Cut to Halal French tv commercial]

This exchange reminds me of Citizen X, the HBO production based upon Robert Cullen's The Killer Department, in turn based upon the pursuit of Soviet serial murderer Andrei Chikatilo.  It poignantly depicts the struggle of a lone detective against bureaucracy and ideology, as the Soviet authorities refused to admit either the existence of serial murderers in the Soviet state (being as they were, a "decadent Western phenomenon") or that Rostov-on-Don required assistance from Moscow, which it did.  Factuality aside, viewers are left as frustrated as the detective when the mayor, CPSU chair and KGB general blame homosexuals and "gangs" as bodies of children and women pile up.  Even when the detective apprehends the killer, he is released due to botched DNA testing and due to his CPSU membership.

The French intelligentsia still believe that they are fighting "the establishment", when in fact they have occupied its place. 

@ Tiberge: the word you confused for 'confession' actually is 'contrition', otherwise, the translation is spotless!

I was literally sickened by the video, the whole show revolves around a handful of so-called intellectuals who are more keen on masturbating than really mull over the issue of violence. I have seldom listened to more amazing a display of crap; intellectuals condoning violence, probably owing to the fact our prisons are packed with Muslim offenders and criminals (accounting for 75% of inmates), and seeing as it is taboo to criticise, let alone expose, immigration in France... This is one of the numerous reasons why I, for one, reckon France is beyond salvation. The fact such a show exists is best explained by a demand from the French public which is met by subsequent shows. It made me retch, as a Frenchman, to hearken to such an incomparable display of inane, far-fetched untruths, and see these 'intellectuals' disguise their stupidity with 'psychological' or 'sociological' theories. These people obviously live in some gated community to be so oblivious to the sufferings of entire working classes who are made a minority in their own country, not least on the outskirts of our big cities, are routinely assaulted by "youths" and then denied any existence as victims (the 'intellectuals' even posit the idea that aggressors are victims because they cannot stifle their impulses). If my living for 19 years in France has taught me anything, it is that most Frenchmen are hopeless.

"The only violence I see is in our dear President ...
It's completely disproportionate to focus on one person..."

Well, as I believe I once almost said on numerous occasions there are only two kinds of people in this world and they are the sane, the insane, and the innumerate.