An immigrant's view of Australia's life, liberty and pursuit of happiness
Monday, August 15, 2005
Roy Hattersley on multiculti
Roy Hattersley shares his 'thoughts' with us on multiculturalism. There are more holes in this piece than in a Tetley tea-bag. The man is an utter baffoon.
Define where it goes all Tetley? Where exactly do you strike the balance - legally - between respecting and celebrating people's differences (in language, culture, custom and religion) and ensuring that Britain remains (or becomes?) a functioning, coherent entity? What's the alternative goal if multi-culturalism is so disastrous? And isn't the "British culture" (in its ideal form) all about its acceptance of difference? Hattersley might be a buffoon - but he's a buffoon with an argument. And an airy dismissal won't convert him.
Hattersley is a very confused thinker and this article is a mess. Specifically,
i) "to demand that Muslims abandon their way of life is to make a frontal assault upon their faith"
Noone is suggesting they do this, Roy
ii) "People who go to church on Christmas Eve and think that makes them Christians may not realise that devout Muslims believe that the Qur'an should inform their whole lives."
Are you suggesting that Muslims are more devout than Christians, Roy? Since when did you become an expert Koran (sorry, Qur'an) interpreter?
iii) "Britain has to decide if the freedom that we so value is consistent with attempts to suppress the religious practices of the country's fastest-growing faith"
Again, noone is saying this Roy. Where are you getting this stuff from?
iv) "Muslims should - as most of them do - reject the violence of suicide bombers"
Congratulations on winning the statement of the bleeding obvious, Roy. However, how big is "most"? Does that not worry you?
v) "..demand that they abandon a whole culture"
Again, for the slower members of the class, NOONE IS SAYING THIS.
vi) "Catholic and Quaker schools being acceptable when Islamic schools are not"
No faith schools are particularly appealing in a secular society
vii) Social disadvantage (high levels of unemployment and poor housing) ... make them feel rejected.
Ah! And here we arrive at Roy's true reason for supporting the Muslim multiculti. "Social disadvantage". Not their fault, mind. Unlike the Hindhus, Jews and Sikhs of this country who have built successful lives through hard work, the Muslims have clearly been the victms of white racism.
It's a view older than Lenin himself. Isnt the Labour party slogan look forward not back, Roy?
viii) "At the beginning of the row over Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, I told worshippers at the Birmingham central mosque that they should be as calm about their faith as most Christians are about theirs. A man called Saed Moghul told me: "You may not care about your religion, but that is no reason why we should not care about ours." His logic was irrefutable."
Is that the same logic as resulted in a death threat hanging over Salman Rushdie for writing a book, Roy?
ix) "Gerald Howarth - some sort of Tory frontbench spokesman"
He is the shadow Defence Secretary. Even my 5 year old son shows more maturity, Roy
x) "Howarth..seems to think that British citizens who are not Christian, free-market democrats should forswear their beliefs or leave the country."
Thats just NOT what he said, Roy.
xi) "They were taught at school that free men and women are entitled to live as they choose as long as their habits do not imperil the tranquillity of the nation."
And this is the whole point, Roy. If the Muslim schools in Britain or the madrassas in Pakistan were actually teaching this, then there would be no problem. But they are not. They are teaching hatred of the non-believer. And THAT is the problem with multiculturalism.
Define where it goes all Tetley? Where exactly do you strike the balance - legally - between respecting and celebrating people's differences (in language, culture, custom and religion) and ensuring that Britain remains (or becomes?) a functioning, coherent entity? What's the alternative goal if multi-culturalism is so disastrous? And isn't the "British culture" (in its ideal form) all about its acceptance of difference? Hattersley might be a buffoon - but he's a buffoon with an argument. And an airy dismissal won't convert him.
ReplyDeleteBlogbuster
ReplyDeleteHattersley is a very confused thinker and this article is a mess. Specifically,
i) "to demand that Muslims abandon their way of life is to make a frontal assault upon their faith"
Noone is suggesting they do this, Roy
ii) "People who go to church on Christmas Eve and think that makes them Christians may not realise that devout Muslims believe that the Qur'an should inform their whole lives."
Are you suggesting that Muslims are more devout than Christians, Roy? Since when did you become an expert Koran (sorry, Qur'an) interpreter?
iii) "Britain has to decide if the freedom that we so value is consistent with attempts to suppress the religious practices of the country's fastest-growing faith"
Again, noone is saying this Roy. Where are you getting this stuff from?
iv) "Muslims should - as most of them do - reject the violence of suicide bombers"
Congratulations on winning the statement of the bleeding obvious, Roy. However, how big is "most"? Does that not worry you?
v) "..demand that they abandon a whole culture"
Again, for the slower members of the class, NOONE IS SAYING THIS.
vi) "Catholic and Quaker schools being acceptable when Islamic schools are not"
No faith schools are particularly appealing in a secular society
vii) Social disadvantage (high levels of unemployment and poor housing) ... make them feel rejected.
Ah! And here we arrive at Roy's true reason for supporting the Muslim multiculti. "Social disadvantage". Not their fault, mind. Unlike the Hindhus, Jews and Sikhs of this country who have built successful lives through hard work, the Muslims have clearly been the victms of white racism.
It's a view older than Lenin himself. Isnt the Labour party slogan look forward not back, Roy?
viii) "At the beginning of the row over Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, I told worshippers at the Birmingham central mosque that they should be as calm about their faith as most Christians are about theirs. A man called Saed Moghul told me: "You may not care about your religion, but that is no reason why we should not care about ours." His logic was irrefutable."
Is that the same logic as resulted in a death threat hanging over Salman Rushdie for writing a book, Roy?
ix) "Gerald Howarth - some sort of Tory frontbench spokesman"
He is the shadow Defence Secretary. Even my 5 year old son shows more maturity, Roy
x) "Howarth..seems to think that British citizens who are not Christian, free-market democrats should forswear their beliefs or leave the country."
Thats just NOT what he said, Roy.
xi) "They were taught at school that free men and women are entitled to live as they choose as long as their habits do not imperil the tranquillity of the nation."
And this is the whole point, Roy. If the Muslim schools in Britain or the madrassas in Pakistan were actually teaching this, then there would be no problem. But they are not. They are teaching hatred of the non-believer. And THAT is the problem with multiculturalism.