Danser Encore — the European anti-lockdown hymn
On Sunday, I wrote about a flash mob in Paris, singing and dancing to a song called "Danser Encore" that touts liberty. My point was that it was a wonderful example showing how we can have a joyous rebellion against the neo-Puritanism of the mask and lockdown crowd. I've since learned that flash mob versions of the song, which began in France, have swept through Western Europe.
My research has been a bit primitive because I know only English, but, with help from Google translate and Le Huffington Post, I think I've figured out what's going on — and it's high time that we copy the Europeans and break the totalitarians here in America by dancing in the streets.
First, here is the original HK & Les Saltimbanks video that started it all. It came out in December but blew up as a phenomenon, first in France, and then in Western Europe, beginning in March:
To appreciate why this song is resonating with the Europeans, you need to understand the lyrics, the essence of which is that life and liberty require dancing and joy, no matter what "the king" says. Here's are the key passages:
We come to break the silence
And when in the evening on TV
The good king has spoken
Come to announce the sentence
We show irreverence
But always with elegance
[snip]
Every measure of authority
Every whiff of security
Sees our confidence vanish
They show so much insistence
To confine our conscience
-Chorus-
Let's not be impressed
By all these unreasonable people
Sellers of fear in abundance
Harrowing to the point of indecency
Let's keep them at bay
For our mental health
Our social and environmental well-being
Our smiles, our intelligence
Let's not be without resistance
The instruments of their insanity.
The phenomenon caught the attention of France's Le Huffington Post, which created a video about the song's popularity:
Using Google translate, I learned that the video explains how, beginning in March, flash mobs across France began gathering to celebrate a new hymn against the lockdowns. The lead singer of HK & Les Saltimbanks talks about how exciting it was when the song exploded, words that apply to America, too:
Our decision-makers were sorely mistaken to have underestimated that to have focused on something obviously essential to physical health, obviously we all agree. But to have neglected so much mental health, psychological health and that connection, the importance of the connection between people. You have to come to the gatherings to see the people, how happy they are. Even those eyes that shine these moments of brotherhood. It's extraordinary, really, I think they couldn't go wrong in responding with repression. They have it all wrong.
Just last week, another French outlet, l'Humanité, put together a video montage of all the different people and groups in France and elsewhere that have been getting together to sing and dance in the streets, celebrating their right to be free. You don't need to understand French to understand this video:
(At the bottom of this post, you'll see that I've gathered a representative selection of videos showing flash mobs across Europe, along with a few comments that Google Translate made.)
The difference between Europe and America is stark. While Europe's response to the virus was governed by fear, it wasn't governed by politics. In America, the Democrats went full totalitarian, not just to slow the virus, but to win the election and gain permanent control over Americans. To achieve their goals, they promised Americans that they would do better than Trump, only to double down afterward on panic porn. It was all for show: Biden hasn't been to a single COVID briefing, and Harris has attended only one.
Tucker Carlson: "Masks are purely a sign of political obedience, like Kim Il-sung pins in Pyongyang. We wear them because we have to ... It's our job to restore the society we were born in."
— Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) April 27, 2021
Children forced to wear masks outside "is a form of child abuse." ЁЯФеЁЯФеЁЯФеЁЯФе pic.twitter.com/Er2KffcXRF
What this means is that half of America, because of politics, has embraced and completely accepted totalitarianism to stay "safe." And the other half is often trapped with these paranoid dictators. We need to break free, and, as I've said before, joy is the way to do it.
For goodness's sake! We cannot let the Europeans be more attuned to freedom than we are. If that's the case, we may have lost our way forever.
What follows are some videos and comments to those videos, if you're interested. This first one is from Marseille:
Who would have thought that one day, in the 21st century, it would have taken us to take to the streets to claim a freedom as fundamental as the freedom to breathe !!! It's truly incredible and outrageous ЁЯШаЁЯШбЁЯдмЁЯдоЁЯдоЁЯдоЁЯШа! Thank you and congratulations to all those who do it in such a beautiful and peaceful way!
From Berlin:
From Holland:
Didn't anyone notice that no one wears a face mask? I think it's very strong that this is from this year.
This video and comment came from a Russian observer:
A popular flash mob is currently underway in France. People are "on strike" in their own way, against quarantine measures and absurd decisions. The song is about the same. That we want to continue to dance and live as before. See how our thoughts dance our bodies. Compared to other Frenchmen with blue panties on their face [face diapers], these "naughty" should win, I think.
Barcelona:
What have we come to!! Singing in the street, dancing has become a crime! What collective delirium have we fallen into in a year? We have fallen into a new imaginary mental continent where fear reigns supreme. We will have to wake up from this nightmare that we feed every day! Thank you to all the awakens! Kisses.
Italy:
La Rochelle:
Image: Danser Encore crowd. YouTube screen grab.
To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.