‘**NOTE**– I noticed I became ”Reader of the day” on Mark Steyn’s website for making him reminisce his Hollinger days when despite his lack of formal education as a journalist Hollinger group launched his career because he had the foxy element that is usually good for ratings.
Anyhow, it is not about personal attacks and I want to stick to his work, in this case his book. I want to make a special mention that the ideas brought up in his book are not even original in the least. How easy it must have been to write this book… Just collect recent articles from conservative or right wing publications, read speeches, pamphlets of pathetic little right wing political parties all around Europe… and off you go stunning the world. At the back of the book Michelle Malkin (Another neurotic, xenophobic story, but we won’t go there and leave this Islamophobic Philipino-American alone…) writes, ”America Alone will open your eyes. You can’t afford to look away.” She also writes, ”Steyn strips away intellectual rust and PC rot to uncover the writing on the wall.” I think she would hit Bull’s eye if she had written, ”…to uncover the urine on the wall. And it’s his own urine.”
First of all, this mawkish rave about this book is ONLY FOUND in the so called Conservative media (or writers) who also seem to be the only ones who took care to review this book positively. The mainstream media- New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, The Guardian etc..- just ignored this book as trash (or at least I could not find any reviews by them)Mark Steyn website also mentions that Mr. Joe Lieberman is clutching this book to his chest as dearly as the holy Bible (The Old Testament only) and giving it away to all other American Senators. Funny. I guess he also has gold inscription on his copy saying, ”An idiot’s guide to become even a bigger idiot.” This all rave made me laugh so hard and it continues to do so (guess what I am doing now). As I said, these ideas have been bandied about by each and everyone for such a long time.
One of my favorite authors and THE master essayist Gore Vidal talked about this dying out and other demographics of the White race DECADES ago as passing remarks in his essays. Please read it again, DECADES AGO. But Vidal never wrote a full essay or a book on the subject because he knew that there are about a million more real alarming threats to human race, peace, prosperity and freedom that we face every day.
I wanted to write a review on this little red book (red for Republican or Red Maple Leaf ?…) on Amazon.com but they would let you write a review only if you have bought books from them. Hmmm.. So well, I am writing this review on my blog. This book is a hot best seller now and many people have gotten carried away by it. Out of 5 stars I give it 2 stars for motley of interesting facts and some humor (P.J. O’ Rourke has been doing the humorous conservative writing for Decades), the rest is fluffy cheap journalism. You may say it is FOX NEWS IN PRINT.
Many mainstream liberals have refused to discuss the book because it is simply too childishly crass. And I can see why. Mark Steyn presumes that just because he can hurl racist, sexist and cultural insults, he gets to be pro-American. Not only this book reeks of xenophobia but also notice cheap comments about ”European slatternly women” on pages 67,68. What Steyn seems to be saying is that all White women who have anything to do with Islam or Muslims are SLUTS. Also, he mentions Luxemborg as a country slightly bigger than a rec room. How would he feel if he is ridiculed with jokes about his Canadian roots (Often delightful favorite American national pastime) and also about his pseudo Frenchie connections through Quebec (he even confesses his love for French food and naked French women who are angelic as opposed to the Slatternly ones?) Bad taste. Cheap.
The Demographics of Europe and Muslims– Well, this seems to be the founding (read foundering) pillar of this book and Steyn has used it as an interesting scare-mongering tactic. In short, he opines, the Whites of Europe are not making enough babies whereas Muslims all over the world and in Europe are breeding like nightmarish green bunnies (i.e. green for Islam) So, he says, naturally in due time, Europe will become ”Eurabia” where Muslims will call the shots. It is such an infantile and pathetic logic. He makes Muslim birth rates sound like some kind of Mars Attacks Hollywood flick, where all these little green evil souls will take over the world like millions of Locusts devour everything in their way. Not so.
To begin with, I have long wondered about Europe’s falling birth rates and that is a concern, especially for Eastern Europe. But it is not some kind of demographic suicide. I believe in Western Europe it simply exists because of individual selfishness, where people want all their time, money and resources for themselves whereas in Eastern cultures people always want to make plenty of babies and also want to see their kids, grandchildren grow. Not to mention the contraceptives are not only in little supply in many poor conservative countries ( ANYWAY, NOT ALL OF THEM ARE MUSLIM COUNTRIES) but are shunned for social, religious and personal reasons. But I don’t think Europeans will just die out. As The Economist once mentioned, this greying of Europe is not a bad thing if people can have healthier older age, can delay their retirement age, stay more productive, creative and have better standard of living than those who starve in the Eastern countries and watch their tons of children starve as well (forget about proper upbringing, education etc.)
On the other hand I am sure, in Western Europe birth rates among Whites will pick up sometime, when they realize things are going real bad. At the moment, the Eastern Europe is a real concern but it is not that they’re indifferent to making babies but they are just very aware of the pain they would end up causing every baby that they bring into a nightmarish world they are living in now: corruption, crushing poverty, crippling violence, crime, civil wars, unemployment (all this does not encourage wise men and women to have babies). I believe- as Steyn himself notes regarding the close relationship between high birth rates and robust market economies- that when economies in these countries become better (a good possibility with EU enlargement) their birth rates will pick up.
Steyn sees the world population growth from a stupidly bipolar vision: Muslim and non Muslim. He totally, disregards huge populations of non Muslims in Africa, Latin and Central America, East and South East Asia and that huge country called India whose population is about 82% Hindu. Steyn also makes a stupid blanket statement in the book saying Delhi’s (India’s capital city) population itself is declining. Someone should go to Delhi and any of India’s big (or even small) cities and see for themself the truth of people inhabiting a landscape like termites do timber!!!
In any case, it is the OVER- POPULATION that kills and cripples people and turns them into insects without education, resources, skills to survive… Something, I believe West European kids will Never face. How lucky a West European kid is not to have 5 other siblings who will only make life hell for everyone. If Europe has a population growth rate of some of the tribal nations Steyn fearfully mentions, it will turn into Eurabia much sooner than low birth rates will ever cause it to, if ever. So, shut up Steyn, You’re just the Hollinger media group’s foxy bitch.
No special, unusual and shocking threats from Muslim immigrants–
Steyn makes a big deal about Muslim immigrants raising hell in pretty European cities and Europeans cowering in fear. Total Bull-shit.***Added on 24th November, Check this out: CLICK TO Read this Blog post, ”NOT SO DIFFERENT” from a British blogger about Muslims in London***. As for European cowering before Muslims, what about French government’s militaristic stubbornness outlawing the wearing of Muslim head-scarves in schools even when many Muslim girls themselves wish to wear them? Interestingly schoolchildren can still wear small crosses/crucifixes. No multiculturalism or Western freedom of choice there.
Of course, Muslim immigrants (like any other immigrants) may have resentment because of bad integration, racism, discrimination, NO JOBS. And yes, when things like Paris riots happen, it is sad. But is it not the same kind of thing that goes on in USA vis-a-vis its former slave populations, today known as the Black or Afro Americans? My point is that, such anti- social, destructive or criminal behavior occurs only when there are inhuman disparities and schisms in the economic and social fields. Other than that, Muslim Immigrants may not be worse than any other immigrants from non Muslim countries that refuse to integrate with their new home country even when they’re given the opportunities.
I think Muslim immigrants have done a marvelous job integrating within the American society. Many of them actually, came to American shores as refugees: Iraqis, Iranians, Kurds, Palestinians etc. They themselves were the victims of horrendous persecution at the hands of neurotically violent and persecutory Islamist forces in their home countries.
As for religious fundamentalism, it is bad news in any part of the world. People make fun of Muslims being opposed to any modernity and they got Amish folks at home, people make fun of Muslims for having heaps of wives and children and they forget the Mormons at home, people talk about Muslim suicide bombers and they forget about Timothy McVeigh. Besides they forget to condemn NATO bombers dropping bombs over Wedding parties in Afghanistan mistaking them for terrorists, killing innocent children, women and old men.
They forget, they forget, they forget. They also forget and refuse to remember that both Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden were American (CIA etc.) tag team partners during The Cold War. If Cold war had lasted a bit longer than it did, you could bet your American dollar that Osama Bin Laden would get honorary American citizenship by now. But they forget and this is why Mr. Gore Vidal aptly called the USA as the ”United States of Amnesia”.
Please don’t get me wrong after reading this review. Though I am not American, I am pro-American. I do believe that America is the only country in the world who will carry the torch of human freedom in the world and it should. I just hate diatribe built around misinformation like Mark Steyn’s book. People like that are the ones who actually, do a great deal of harm by destroying American goodwill in the world. They also forget that all societies are not like Vietnam. You can’t bomb them and then suppose they will never seek revenge. If killing of innocent American civilians in mad terrorist attacks can enrage Americans. Why should it be assumed that American bombs that end up killing civilians anywhere in the world will stay unaccounted for?
Does an Afghani or Iraqi mother love her children any less than an American mother? Think again.
I believe the most important thing we need is tolerance (respecting as well as leaving each other alone), spread of prosperity, education, employment, trade in the Muslims countries and societies. As Steyn himself notes, Malaysia is one Muslim country that can be considered prosperous. Though in his blind- ”all Muslims are shit”- faith he gives all credit for Malaysia’s prosperity to its Chinese population. He forgets to mention that Malaysian Muslims don’t go around the world exploding bombs. So at least there are Muslim nations that do not breed terrorists. I believe it is because they’re not threatened by any foreign military or controlled by some blood sucking multi- national corporations. Their sovereignty, sense of honor and self- determination is not hurt. That I think is something that Mark Steyn should read up on. But maybe he already knows that. Maybe Western- Muslim animosity (real and imagined) is not only something he just reports on but it’s something he passionately promotes. It’s his business. It’s all about the ratings… Sad.
