Mark Steyn:

Melanie Phillips makes a point that applies to Britain, Canada and beyond: "With few exceptions, politicians, Whitehall officials, senior police and intelligence officers and academic experts have failed to grasp that the problem to be confronted is not just the assembly of bombs and poison factories but what is going on inside people's heads that drives them to such acts." These are not Pushtun yak herders straight off the boat blowing up trains and buses. They're young men, most of whom were born and all of whom were bred in London, Toronto and other Western cities. And offered the nullity of a contemporary multicultural identity they looked elsewhere -- and found the jihad. If we try to fight it as isolated outbreaks -- a suicide attack here, a beheading there -- we will never win. You have to take on the ideology and the networks that sustain it and throttle them. Does [Toronto mayor] David Miller sound like a man who's up to that challenge? A reader in Quebec, John Gross, emailed me to distill the mayor's approach as: "Don't get mad, get even . . . wimpier."

Despite the delusions of many Canadians, being "nice" will not save Canada.

The irony is that the whole "root causes" crowd might have been on-target, had this been the focus of their arguments. In reality, of course, the problem for this crowd was that we were not multiculti enough.

But then, if you believe that you can't fight an ideology, or that all ideologies are equally valid, Phillips' proposal would make as much sense as speaking in Esperanto to that yak herder.

we will never win. You have to take on the ideology and the networks that sustain it and throttle them.

Might I suggest we start with Rupert Murdoch?

Oops. No cookie on this machine.

And offered the nullity of a contemporary multicultural identity they looked elsewhere -- and found the jihad.

The vacuous nature of modern Western life has many elements other than multi-culturalism. A shallow consumerism for example.

That said, the idea that the West offers many young people too little to believe in and strive for may well be spot on.

Multi-culturalism is bad?

I thought Anglo-sphere exceptionalism arose from its ability to assimilate and integrate multiple cultures. "Pure" Anglo-culture like the "pure" English language is an oxymoron.

French on the other hand is a "pure" language that fears outside influences.

I thought Anglo-sphere exceptionalism arose from its ability to assimilate and integrate multiple cultures.

True, it was sort of a pact, We accept their receipes, they embrace our pluralistic culture. I'll gladly eat their humus if the Mohammedians will accept our religious freedom and individual liberty.

Tob

Odd thing is not only are the multicultralists wrong in thinking that our not being multiculturalist enough was the problem, they were also wrong in projecting weakness which encouraged our enemies that we would fill fall quickly and other than Jihad the only real strict moral code belongs to some of the strains of Christianity that are endlessly bashed by multiculturalists.

I wonder if some day one or two of these folks will wake up and realize that it is actually the Blue states and all they represent that the Jihadists hate and the red states are still willing to go to war to defend them anyway.

I thought Anglo-sphere exceptionalism arose from its ability to assimilate and integrate multiple cultures.

True, it was sort of a pact, We accept their receipes, they embrace our pluralistic culture. I'll gladly eat their humus if the Mohammedians will accept our religious freedom and individual liberty.

= = =

With a few notable exceptions haven't the vast majority of immigrants to the United States accepted this deal?

I do not know what the employment situation is in England or Canada for the disaffected. I suspect that most of them are unemployed.

When the Weathermen and other revolutionary organizations were active in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s, they had a hard time recruiting members from the people working at Ford, Chrysler, and GM here in the Detroit area.

To illustrate: One prospective member was alleged to have said, "Sorry I can't come to your meeting. My brother-in-law and I are going fishing in my new boat."

With a few notable exceptions haven't the vast majority of immigrants to the United States accepted this deal?

Yes. But that's not multi-culturalism. That's assimilation.

The two are mutually exclusive.

Yes. But that's not multi-culturalism. That's assimilation.

The two are mutually exclusive.

Well, American and Australian multiculturalism are pretty much 'bring your food, customs and religion with you, leave your laws at the door'. Assimilation generally comes over the first few months once the newcomer notices the strange lack of racial or religious persecution in the country.

And we're even kinda nice about that laws thing too atleast im my country. If you're not a muslim extremist (scream death to infidels infront of a jury) and haven't committed a violent crime you pretty much get one get out of jail free card.

"With few exceptions" officials frequently fail to know anything that's going on in their jurisdiction. It's the ivory tower syndrome, eh?

Well, American and Australian multiculturalism are pretty much 'bring your food, customs and religion with you, leave your laws at the door'.

This is merely an example of "jargon creep." A word that means one thing is given a far more benign meaning in order to sell it to people who would never buy into it if they knew what the originators of the concept were really all about.

This is how nations die? What if, say, Flemming Rose's right and identity in the US is political (the Constitution being social-engineering avant-la-lettre) and it's historically cultural in Europe? Why, nations might already be dead.

This is merely an example of "jargon creep." A word that means one thing is given a far more benign meaning in order to sell it to people who would never buy into it if they knew what the originators of the concept were really all about.

It's certainly not jargon creep in my country, well except in certain snooty upperclass suburbs like Mosman. See 'The Chasers War on Everything' on bittorrent for vox pops showing the exceptions.

Pity about yours though, from what media we get here and my visit in 1999, I thought you were doing better.