What Really Caused The Notre Dame Cathedral Fire?
I've avoided raising this question, but now I think that's ridiculous. I doubt that the cause is actually known at this point. The grounds for ruling out arson seem, well, aspirational. Apparently vandalism and fires at churches in France have become alarmingly common. There was a failed bomb attack against Notre Dame in '16. And, as the first link notes, the renovating outfits that work on sites like Notre Dame are extremely professional and knowledgeable. Furthermore, the confident assertions that the fire was accidental seemed unsupported as soon as they were made--which is to say: even while the fire was still raging.
None of this is a veiled way of suggesting that we know that the fire was set intentionally. Rather, it's just to note that we don't know the cause. And: there's reason to keep an open mind about it. I expect that the frantic insistence that it was accidental was politically-motivated. Which, of course, doesn't mean that it won't turn out to be true. Politically correct bullshitting by the media has become so common that I think we have to figure it in to just about everything they report. At least in the States...though perhaps France is different.
I don't think adults should have to bullshit themselves in order to remain objective about such matters.
None of this is a veiled way of suggesting that we know that the fire was set intentionally. Rather, it's just to note that we don't know the cause. And: there's reason to keep an open mind about it. I expect that the frantic insistence that it was accidental was politically-motivated. Which, of course, doesn't mean that it won't turn out to be true. Politically correct bullshitting by the media has become so common that I think we have to figure it in to just about everything they report. At least in the States...though perhaps France is different.
I don't think adults should have to bullshit themselves in order to remain objective about such matters.
posted by Winston Smith at
8:34 AM
3 Comments:
Electrical fault in temporary elevators is the current conclusion. There is a lot more evidence for that than for speculation in advance of the evidence.
How is that not also speculation in advance of the evidence?
My understanding even today a week later, is that there is still no evidence one way or the other, and that investigators are just beginning to be allowed into the structure. I hope it is not arson, but church fires are a regular thing in France and people have tried to blow Notre Dame up and set it on fire in the last couple of years.
I am perfectly willing to believe that the government would be willing to let the restoration workers take the blame, especially if it can be at a remove - like electrical fault in the temporary elevators - than blame a restive minority population. After Charlie Hebdo, Nice, and the Christmas Strasbourg attack (not to mention all the others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_France#21st_century), this might be the straw that broke the camel's back, especially wit the yellow jersey's still fomenting unrest.
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