Multiculturalism under attack

There's nothing more I love than an intelligent blow being struck against the God of Multiculturalism, and it's even better when that blow if part of a long, intelligent analysis about Muslim responses to the cartoons, media responses (both home and abroad), and political responses (both home and abroad). After detailing massive cowardice, interspersed with some rare acts of courage, Cinnamon Stilwell has this to say about the multiculturalism that stifles rational thought and continuously allows non-White men to behave like beasts:

Today's apologists condemn the Danish cartoons, while ignoring real offenses from the Muslim world. Somehow Muslims inciting hatred toward other religions on a regular basis has become acceptable, while honest analysis of Islam has not. The daily eruptions of anti-Semitic and anti-American sentiment from the Muslim world are hardly pleasant for those on the receiving end. But instead of stifling speech, opponents challenge such expression on the intellectual and political battlefields. Yet some would have us turn a blind eye instead. How did this double standard arise? The answer is multiculturalism. Not the multiculturalism of different cultures living side by side, but the ideology that renders all cultures equal and therefore none worthy of condemnation. Such moral equivalence allows for the most backward traditions to flourish, even when they are destructive to the society as a whole. When democratic societies find themselves dominated by intolerant cultures to which they have given sanctuary, everyone's freedom is put at risk. Multiculturalism also has the effect of erasing any unifying culture or nationality in favor of a collection of balkanized groups with nothing in common. In such an environment, integration is forsaken and culture clashes are sure to follow. The Muslim riots in France last year were a prime example. Many a reporter chalked it up to the lack of integration in French society, but few followed that line of thought to its logical conclusion and named multiculturalism as the root cause. Political correctness is another of multiculturalism's destructive offshoots, and there are certainly those in the West who would shield Muslim populations from legitimate criticism. But they are actually doing more harm than good. Much-needed reform will never be possible until Muslims learn to withstand examination like everyone else. Islam should be subjected to all the scholarly interpretation, self-reflection, humor and even insult that Western religions experience. Beyond economic need, one of the reasons many Muslims immigrated to Western countries in the first place was to enjoy the sort of freedom denied to them in their native lands. Turning the West into Afghanistan under the Taliban will help no one. While Islam may enjoy equality with other religions, supremacy is another matter. If we are to truly integrate Muslims into our societies, it must be on an equal footing. One of the most important and hard-won rights in the West is free speech. When free speech is chipped away in the name of avoiding offense, all else is soon forfeit. Western countries will have to decide where to draw the line -- or find themselves overtaken by tyranny.

As regular readers know, the multiculturalism doctrine irritates me beyond belief, both because it is a self-loathing doctrine in the hands of the West, and because it is a carte blanche to any non-Westerner who wants to engage in the worst type of behavior. It's this horrid multiculturalism that has the apologists on the Left wiggling and squirming to ignore or excuse honor killings ("Don't you understand? It's a unique extension of their patriarchal culture and a response to the pressure tiny Israel places on Muslims worldwide?"); vile anti-Semitism ("Don't you understand that anti-Semitism is an inherent part of that culture? Just read the Koran?"), Burkhas ("Don't you understand that forcing women into Burkhas is a long-standing part of traditional Arab culture, so it should be applied to all Muslims, worldwide?"); riots in the street ("Don't you understand that Western oppression of Muslims worldwide makes these young men incapable of any activity other than screaming, violent riots"?); beheadings ("Don't you understand that this is part of their warrior culture and the Koran tells them to do it?"); etc. Does the Left not see that, by making constant excuses for what is, to all sane inhabitants of the modern world, grossly bad behavior, the Left is acting in an infinitely more racist way than the Right, which refuses to play the multiculture game? The Right insists that Arabs/Muslims are humans and can conform to civilized norms. The Left perceives Arabs and other non-White cultures as subhumans, basically incapable of conforming to civilized norms -- and dresses up this grossly racist disrespect in the trappings of a respectful multiculturalism. To which I say, Pfeh! Talking to Technorati: Cartoon riots, Media, Multiculturalism