Please excuse my English. The best summary of ideas presented today is that of Sylvain who is 100% correct that xenophobia and paranoia cannot be tolerated in Europe today if we do not want a repeat of 1933.

Now an idea about your use of the word « race ». Almost all peoples reject the arrival of new races into their midst historically. It has usually been accomplished by invasion and force( think of Ireland and the Vikings). Think of the Ottoman invasion of Spain and Portugal.

So while I can undersatnd people who are « race conscious », who ’feel’ different from another group, I would reserve the term « racist » for those who actually take the next step : hatred of another race.

Most individuals are ’race conscious’. A few are ’racist", and these, like the teen ager who committed the murders in Belgium, must be reached early in their development...in the family..in the schools...and, finally, in the laws of the land.

Here in America where the legacy of slavery is heavy, and stains our history, it took laws to effect change. Affirmative Action, begun by President Johnson, guaranteed to minority races a percentage of jobs, and a percentage of government contracts. It also threw open the doors to higher education and social mobility. Except for the riots a few decades ago, we achieved a social revolution without warfare and bleeding.

Europe can do the same, not by preaching charity but by lifting those of color out of poverty through education and jobs.

Endless lectures and hand-wringing do not change anything.

As for the young man who killed the woman and child : no doubt he is a failure.

Examine his life and no doubt you will find someone bitter from failed attempts to ’belong’. This type of individual in almost predestined to find a scapegoat,- to project the blame for his failures on a minority group.

It is an old and recurring theme : racism is the final refuge of the coward.

Let us hope that today in Flanders every parent speaks to their child about this tragedy. And let us see them march in the streets this Sunday in solidarity with the immigrants.