Terrorism? Or mere incompetence?

I don’t blog much these days. Hardly at all. But occasionally (like right now) I just plain feel as if I must use this platform in accordance with the reasons I started it. (That whole “Classical Values” thing — an idea I had nearly two decades ago, the explanation of which would require repeating long-repeated explanations which I will spare both myself and you all…)

I am incredibly pissed off about the near destruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

So pissed off and so aghast that I feel powerless beyond words. If that isn’t enough reason for a blog post, then nothing is. What has happened is unprecedented in terms of sheer destruction of Western culture.

I know the chattering political people are upset about “unfair” 9/11 comparisons, but please. In human terms, there’s no comparison, and no rational person would make that analogy. The 9/11  attacks killed thousands, and no one died in the Notre Dame fire.

But if we look at this in purely cultural terms, what happened today is worse than 9/11. The Twin Towers was a modern building, and modern buildings come and go. Unlike people, they can be replaced, just as the World Trade Center itself. The Notre Dame Cathedral is so deeply ingrained in Western history and culture, and has been for so many centuries, that what has happened is — at least in the cultural sense — even worse than 9/11.

At this point, the usual finger pointing has barely begun. Who knows whether it will turn out to be terrorism or mere incompetence? What has me upset to the point of doing something I almost never do (writing a blog post) is that either possibility is totally inexcusable. I don’t care whether they built that stupid scaffolding in a modern exercise of “remodeling” or “strengthening” or whatever reason. For this to have happened as a result of repair work, something beyond negligence, beyond terrible negligence — some sort of irresponsibility to the point of criminal irresponsibility — has to have occurred.

And if it turns out to have happened as a result of incompetence and not terrorism, that does not bode well. For that would mean, simply, that government is responsible for this unspeakable act of destruction.

I would find terrorism more comforting. At least if it was terrorism, we could call what happened an act of unspeakable evil.

UPDATE: Again, too early to tell, but it looks like incredible incompetence:

A cathedral spokesman has said the entire wooden interior of the celebrated masterpiece of French Gothic architecture and important Catholic place of worship is likely to be destroyed.

While authorities are still investigating the cause of the blaze, a ‘stray flame’ linked to £5million renovation work is thought to have sparked the inferno in the loft at around 5.30pm.

“It appears that it all began as a relatively small fire linked to a stray flame in the roof,” said an emergency services source.
The Notre Dame is one of Paris’ most recognisable landmarks

“The fire was so high up that it was difficult to get to, meaning it soon spread across the roof, causing a terrible blaze.”

A “stray flame” linked to £5 million renovation work?

“difficult to get to, meaning it soon spread across the roof, causing a terrible blaze”?

Come on!

In law, there’s a doctrine called res ipsa loquitur, meaning the thing speaks for itself. It is one thing for a contractor’s employee to negligently throw a cigarette butt on the floor of your house, and that is why we ordinary folks have homeowner’s insurance. But no mere insurance can compensate for this sort of cultural destruction.

What happened was absolutely inexcusable and unforgivable. But if the government was responsible, such words are irrelevant in the extreme. With government there is a complete lack of accountability because everybody pays.

Watch them blamelessly blame some contractor they hired for the blameless negligence of an equally blameless employee. Everything is someone else’s fault.

Part of me thinks such a lack of accountability should have dire consequences, but because those consequences would be inevitably be political, another part of me fears what those possible consequences might be.