Reflection: Les Identites

The visit to the French embassy was very different than what I had expected. The identity issues that were raised and that the diplomat elaborated upon were very intriguing, particularly the major non-historically-cultural differences between France and the U.S. For example, the French do not categorize their citizens into minority groups. This seems either simple or rather odd on the surface, but when you dig deeper to try to understand what exactly that would entail, a great many other questions come up. We in America are so used to racial and ethnic groups figuring in much of our discussion that we don’t even realize that not all cultures would feel it has to be there.

This is a new concept for me that I cannot quite wrap my had around. In nearly every class I am taking, race comes up, even if it isn’t an issue, and it has always been the case all through school. For example, during Macroeconomics, we were being lectured about unemployment and the labor force, and employment statistics about white versus black workers were shown several times. I never stopped to think that it wasn’t actually necessary for these statistics to be shown. In America, we consider it very important, but perhaps in France, discussing black vs. white employment statistics would be a very odd thing to do unless someone was being accused of discrimination. However, I don’t know if it is actually like that in France, because I have not been exposed to French culture, and if these things truly are a part of French identity, it would be hard for the French to discuss it, as they would take it for granted, just as Americans take so much race-related discussion for granted.

Another thing that interested me about the diplomat’s presentation was what he said about the burqa ban. I do not know if he was speaking his opinions, or simply had to be unbiased and neutral and simply report the government’s position, but his arguments seemed to be both rational and odd. He says that banning the burqa is not an infringement on religious rights because it helps Muslim French women integrate into French culture better. This is a very strange idea for me, as in America, we (or at least, the more enlightened and progressive part of “we”) protect minorities in a highly group-based way; and tend to consider religious freedom part of being an American, and, therefore, much more important than integration. However, by French standards, where the idea of a minority group does not have the same connotations as it has here, this may not be instinctively considered an infringement on rights by most French people. That being said, I feel that even considering the differences in French and American identity, it seems evident that the “Liberte” in “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” seems to be getting passed over in favor of "Fraternite" at this time.

P.S. Scott beat me to the good title.