A year ago, I wrote some off-hand stuff about the French intrusion in the Ivory Coast. I hate it when I’m so right.

EU Politicians: These are the world’s worst hypocrites. They concern themselves so much with american politics that they have no idea what’s going on at home. The blackouts in the USA and Canada were huge news over here, but the even-bigger blackouts in Italy and France were hardly even covered. As were the 13,000+ deaths in France during that horrible 85-degree heat wave over the summer. Sure, it was in the news. You could find it on page 2, right after the story called “USA: Buried in a Hot Sandy Hell”.

It’s kind of sad really. People here rely on the US for entertainment, escape, and self-worth. They absolutely can’t stand it when the US does something that’s beyond their control, e.g. Iraq. In a way, they revel in bashing Americans the same way that failed writers revel in being snarky book critics. It’s so much easier to feel better about yourself by harping on other people than it is to actually make yourself better.

There’s also a drama factor, of course. Iraq was a big, dramatic, momentous event, as was 9/11. Small, ugly things like France’s vicious crackdown in the Ivory Coast, which has been running since last year and there’s no end in sight, are not good news for Europeans. They don’t want to see it. They want to read about the latest follies of those magna nova americans.

Schadenfreude ist die beste Freude, as the saying goes. Euros need to get their heads out of their asses and take a look at their own problems. The Ivory Coast is spiralling out of control, and will be a wasteland before long. There are hundreds of thousands of refugees, a looming famine, and rising Islamist radicalism.

Just don’t come crying to us for help: We just might give it, and make you look like the post-Imperialist weaklings you really are.