It only took 20 years - and, of course, the poor man who had his life ruined for daring to speak his mind....well, he'll never get those 20 years back:
His crime was to publish an article in The Salisbury Review in 1984 doubting whether the children in his school were best served by the connivance of the educational authorities in such practices as the withdrawal of children from school for months at a time in order to go ''home" to Pakistan, on the grounds that such practices were appropriate to the children's native culture. In language that was sometimes maladroit, he drew attention, at a time when it was still impermissible to do so, to the dangers of ghettoes developing in British cities.
Mr Honeyford thought that schools such as his own, the Drummond Middle School, where 95 per cent of the children were of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin, were a disaster both for their pupils and for society as a whole. He was a passionate believer in the redemptive power of education, and its ability to integrate people of different backgrounds and weld them into a common society. He then became notorious for, among other things, his insistence that Muslim girls should be educated to the same standard as everyone else.
Last week, 22 years on, he was finally vindicated. The same liberal establishment that had professed outrage at his views quietly accepted that he was, after all, right. Ruth Kelly, the Communities Secretary, made a speech, publicly questioning the multiculturalist orthodoxies that, for so long, have acted almost as a test of virtue among "right-thinking" people. As Miss Kelly told an audience: "There are white Britons who do not feel comfortable with change. They see the shops and restaurants in their town centres changing. They see their neighbourhoods becoming more diverse.
Detached from the benefits of those changes, they begin to believe the stories about ethnic minorities getting special treatment, and to develop a resentment, a sense of grievance. We have moved from a period of uniform consensus on the value of multiculturalism, to one where we can encourage that debate by questioning whether it is encouraging separateness.
Multi-culturalism is a fraud - it is destructive, hateful and merely designed by leftwing intellectuals as a means of undermining western civilization from within. What we get with multi-culturalism is - in practice - the teaching that all cultures are equally valuable, but that western culture is inherently evil. This is wrong on both counts - everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but this doesn't make every opinion worthwhile. Some cultures have learned better than others how to get things done - and western culture has done the best job of bringing diverse peoples voluntarily together and creating a unified society out of the disparate collection.
All that multi-culturalism did - and continues to do - is encourage separatism, racism, envy and hatred...things ready-made for leftists to use as tools to power, but nothing of any use to actual society. The sooner it is placed in the ash-heap of history, the better.
Posted by Mark Noonan at August 28, 2006 02:00 PM
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Hmm.. I'm not sure I go as far as you do, but I will say this. If folks didn't constantly bring up our differences and how others have "wronged" them in the past then we'll never go forward.
Quit focusing on the differences and harping about how good all the differences are and just move along.
Posted by:
Gozer at August 28, 2006 04:45 PM
Mark:
I have to agree with your premise on multi-culturalism. It is one thing to know and understand a different culture, but quite another to force it upon another one. If in fact you do that (force multi-culturalism upon a particular culture), you would most likely be quite disappointed with what you ended up with.
For instance, I hardly believe that a culture I visit in West Africa would be accepted here in the States. There, women and children are second class citizens and in fact, as a middle age male, I would have "arrived" and take pride in the fact that I do absolutely nothing all day, yet the women and children do all of the work. Our country (and culture for that matter) has too much respect for our women and children for such a style of living to ever exist here. But, that is their culture and while I don't agree with it, I respect it while I am there as any good visitor to someone else's house should be.
Culture by sheer definition implies differences and that they exist. There is nothing wrong with that because what works in some places, doesn't work in others. I don't believe we should be so wrapped up in multi-culturalism that we ultimately dillute one to strengthen another.
Posted by: voiceofreason at August 28, 2006 05:16 PM
An example of scary multi-culturalism from Mark Steyn's recent article Achilles’ Heel:
...But Centanni and Wiig’s brief interlude as practicing Muslims is revealing in a larger sense. Ever since 9/11, the western multicultural mindset has been desperately trying to swaddle Islam within the fluffy quilt of diversity. It’s “just” another religion, like the Congregationalists and Episcopalians. To be sure, it’s got a few hotheads, but haven’t we all? Sticking with this line requires an awful lot of brushing under the carpet and there’s so much under there by now it looks like a broadloomed Himalayas. For a start, you can’t help noticing the traffic is mostly one-way: In Dr Mahathir’s country, where a long English Common Law tradition is under sustained pressure from sharia, a lady called Lina Joy is currently enduring death threats and a long legal battle because she committed the “crime” of converting from Islam to Catholicism.
Well, that’s Malaysia for you. But how about Michigan? Nazra Quraishi, a kindergarten teacher at a local Muslim school, wrote to The Lansing State Journal last month as follows:
“Islam is a guide for humanity, for all times, until the day of judgment. It is forbidden in Islam to convert to any other religion. The penalty is death. There is no disagreement about it. Islam is being embraced by people of other faiths all the time. They should know they can embrace Islam, but cannot get out. This rule is not made by Muslims; it is the supreme law of God.”
That seems clear enough, doesn’t it?
Posted by: Freedom1 at August 28, 2006 05:36 PM
Freedom, Centanni and Wiig must be in deep caca then, because I understand they denounced their "conversion" as soon as they got safely across the Israeli border. Maybe Salmon Rushdi could give them a few tips on how to avoid being assassinated.
Posted by: Retired Spook at August 28, 2006 05:50 PM
Agreed, Retired Spook. If they go back to work and travel to any Muslim country to report on some story, Centanni and Wiig could be "legally" killed for the "crime" of apostasy according to Islamic law.
Centanni and Wiig should stay out of Michigan, too.
Posted by: Freedom1 at August 28, 2006 06:15 PM
Centanni and Wiig should stay out of Michigan, too.
Dearborn would not be safe for these guys, or points north--Canada!!!
Posted by: keefer at August 28, 2006 07:46 PM
Canuckguy here from Canuckstan. In this case I have a neanderthal view (aka right wing) on this topic. We certainly have multi-culturalism. We use to have just bi-culturalism(French and English) and I did not even like that.
We have our Muslim ghettos and in them, they perserve their primitive fundamentalist way of life. Toronto is turning into a cesspool of this kind of bullshit. Toronto also has the distinction of having the largest Tamil population outside of their home country, 300,000 strong, the majority I suspect, support the Tamil Tigers. In a few more years, whites in Toronto will be a minority.
The times, they are a changing.
Posted by: Canuckguy at August 28, 2006 09:43 PM
That's what happens when threats are ignored. We have Dearborn--and God knows where else--and you have Toronto...and God knows where else...
Posted by: keefer at August 28, 2006 09:48 PM
"They should know they can embrace Islam, but cannot get out."
So Islam is like the mafia...or a roach motel.
Posted by: phnxbmed at August 28, 2006 11:05 PM
Canuckguy, welcome to the Dark Side.
:P
ROFL, Phnxbmed!
:)
Keefer, what I'd like to know is how do we de-Islamify cities like Dearbornistan, Michigan or Toronto, Canada or Londonistan, UK? Pro-Hizballah rallies and burkhas are becoming all too commonplace in America.
Posted by: Freedom1 at August 29, 2006 12:15 AM
Speaking for the Canadian model of "multiculturalism", I find myself concuring in part with Canuckguy's comments.
While the idea of a multi-cultural society is a noble ideal, in practice, at least thus far it has been a failure in obtaining the desired result.
No doubt the architects envisioned a society where europeans, africans, south americans, first nations, East Indians all lived in harmony and benefitted from the experiences of others. However, what ended up happening is immigrants came here and instead of assimilating themselves in part into the western culture, rather stood true to what they knew, which is why we have segments in major cities dominated by one particular culture, and a few blocks down the road, a repeat from another culture. Immigrants coming here often see no need to even learn the English language as everything they need they can get locally in their own community.
Thus is also true when it comes to enforcement of laws within their community. People within are often are slow to act when confronted with escalating violence such as Indo-Canadian violence which is widespread in Vancouver and Toronto. The same can be said of middle eastern communities which are equally slow to act to the threat of radicalism.
There must be a greater encouragement on integrating themselves with western culture, learning the language and governing members of their community.
If a westerner were to immigrate to Japan, for example, chances are pretty good that they would have to learn the language and culture very quickly, out of necessity, rather than choice. Here however, that which should be little different is instead rather lackidasical.
Posted by: axis at August 29, 2006 04:28 AM
Wow, Axis. That was an intelligent, well-reasoned post. Good job.
:)
Posted by: Freedom1 at August 29, 2006 09:22 PM
Mark,
Doesn’t this contradict some of your statements in the discussion on “Science”? When it comes to origin of life and evolution, you want all ideas taught and discussed regardless of their validity or evidence but in this case you are opposed to teaching about other cultures and their ideas.
Posted by: Brian at August 30, 2006 12:19 AM
In saying all this, in the big cities,I enjoy ethnic sections such as Chinatowns, the Greek , Italian,Indian, etc neighbourhoods for the flavour, food and neat things to buy. Tourists love that kind of diversity which is a welcome change from white-bread neighbourhoods. Variety is the spice of life. It's like taking a cheap overseas vacation.
But I can do without the hate and hostility taking hold in some of these places.
Posted by: Canuckguy at August 30, 2006 10:09 AM
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Hmm.. I'm not sure I go as far as you do, but I will say this. If folks didn't constantly bring up our differences and how others have "wronged" them in the past then we'll never go forward.
Quit focusing on the differences and harping about how good all the differences are and just move along.
Mark:
I have to agree with your premise on multi-culturalism. It is one thing to know and understand a different culture, but quite another to force it upon another one. If in fact you do that (force multi-culturalism upon a particular culture), you would most likely be quite disappointed with what you ended up with.
For instance, I hardly believe that a culture I visit in West Africa would be accepted here in the States. There, women and children are second class citizens and in fact, as a middle age male, I would have "arrived" and take pride in the fact that I do absolutely nothing all day, yet the women and children do all of the work. Our country (and culture for that matter) has too much respect for our women and children for such a style of living to ever exist here. But, that is their culture and while I don't agree with it, I respect it while I am there as any good visitor to someone else's house should be.
Culture by sheer definition implies differences and that they exist. There is nothing wrong with that because what works in some places, doesn't work in others. I don't believe we should be so wrapped up in multi-culturalism that we ultimately dillute one to strengthen another.
An example of scary multi-culturalism from Mark Steyn's recent article Achilles’ Heel:
...But Centanni and Wiig’s brief interlude as practicing Muslims is revealing in a larger sense. Ever since 9/11, the western multicultural mindset has been desperately trying to swaddle Islam within the fluffy quilt of diversity. It’s “just” another religion, like the Congregationalists and Episcopalians. To be sure, it’s got a few hotheads, but haven’t we all? Sticking with this line requires an awful lot of brushing under the carpet and there’s so much under there by now it looks like a broadloomed Himalayas. For a start, you can’t help noticing the traffic is mostly one-way: In Dr Mahathir’s country, where a long English Common Law tradition is under sustained pressure from sharia, a lady called Lina Joy is currently enduring death threats and a long legal battle because she committed the “crime” of converting from Islam to Catholicism.
Well, that’s Malaysia for you. But how about Michigan? Nazra Quraishi, a kindergarten teacher at a local Muslim school, wrote to The Lansing State Journal last month as follows:
That seems clear enough, doesn’t it?
Freedom, Centanni and Wiig must be in deep caca then, because I understand they denounced their "conversion" as soon as they got safely across the Israeli border. Maybe Salmon Rushdi could give them a few tips on how to avoid being assassinated.
Agreed, Retired Spook. If they go back to work and travel to any Muslim country to report on some story, Centanni and Wiig could be "legally" killed for the "crime" of apostasy according to Islamic law.
Centanni and Wiig should stay out of Michigan, too.
Centanni and Wiig should stay out of Michigan, too.
Dearborn would not be safe for these guys, or points north--Canada!!!
Canuckguy here from Canuckstan. In this case I have a neanderthal view (aka right wing) on this topic. We certainly have multi-culturalism. We use to have just bi-culturalism(French and English) and I did not even like that.
We have our Muslim ghettos and in them, they perserve their primitive fundamentalist way of life. Toronto is turning into a cesspool of this kind of bullshit. Toronto also has the distinction of having the largest Tamil population outside of their home country, 300,000 strong, the majority I suspect, support the Tamil Tigers. In a few more years, whites in Toronto will be a minority.
The times, they are a changing.
That's what happens when threats are ignored. We have Dearborn--and God knows where else--and you have Toronto...and God knows where else...
"They should know they can embrace Islam, but cannot get out."
So Islam is like the mafia...or a roach motel.
Canuckguy, welcome to the Dark Side.
:P
ROFL, Phnxbmed!
:)
Keefer, what I'd like to know is how do we de-Islamify cities like Dearbornistan, Michigan or Toronto, Canada or Londonistan, UK? Pro-Hizballah rallies and burkhas are becoming all too commonplace in America.
Speaking for the Canadian model of "multiculturalism", I find myself concuring in part with Canuckguy's comments.
While the idea of a multi-cultural society is a noble ideal, in practice, at least thus far it has been a failure in obtaining the desired result.
No doubt the architects envisioned a society where europeans, africans, south americans, first nations, East Indians all lived in harmony and benefitted from the experiences of others. However, what ended up happening is immigrants came here and instead of assimilating themselves in part into the western culture, rather stood true to what they knew, which is why we have segments in major cities dominated by one particular culture, and a few blocks down the road, a repeat from another culture. Immigrants coming here often see no need to even learn the English language as everything they need they can get locally in their own community.
Thus is also true when it comes to enforcement of laws within their community. People within are often are slow to act when confronted with escalating violence such as Indo-Canadian violence which is widespread in Vancouver and Toronto. The same can be said of middle eastern communities which are equally slow to act to the threat of radicalism.
There must be a greater encouragement on integrating themselves with western culture, learning the language and governing members of their community.
If a westerner were to immigrate to Japan, for example, chances are pretty good that they would have to learn the language and culture very quickly, out of necessity, rather than choice. Here however, that which should be little different is instead rather lackidasical.
Wow, Axis. That was an intelligent, well-reasoned post. Good job.
:)
Mark,
Doesn’t this contradict some of your statements in the discussion on “Science”? When it comes to origin of life and evolution, you want all ideas taught and discussed regardless of their validity or evidence but in this case you are opposed to teaching about other cultures and their ideas.
In saying all this, in the big cities,I enjoy ethnic sections such as Chinatowns, the Greek , Italian,Indian, etc neighbourhoods for the flavour, food and neat things to buy. Tourists love that kind of diversity which is a welcome change from white-bread neighbourhoods. Variety is the spice of life. It's like taking a cheap overseas vacation.
But I can do without the hate and hostility taking hold in some of these places.