Saturday, June 25, 2011

Reply to Zenster

Zenster,



The answer to your question is the doctrine of Anti-Racism, which has become a dominant concern in the West.

This answer by itself, however, can easily be misunderstood, and requires an articulation of related factors.

1) One of those factors is the growth in Western culture of the twin virtues of

a) self-criticism (intended to be constructive, of course)

b) respect for the Other.

2) Another factor is the problem of "painting with a broad brush" -- i.e., of condemning vast numbers of a People with a brush that is deemed to apply only to a small minority among that People. This too is a Western virtue: the earnest attempt to avoid "painting with a broad brush", and it is a good virtue too, as the others are.

Since Muslim number over one billion, are spread out all over the world in a vast diaspora, and appear to be "diverse" (often in a pleasingly and colorfully multicultural sort of way), any criticism (much less condemnation) of specific bad Muslims (however numerously they seem to be pullulating and however widespread around the world that pullulation seems to be), as well as any any criticism (much less condemnation) of the belief system that guides them and enculturates them (however "diverse" that enculturation may be alleged to be) unremarkably runs the risk of committing that thought crime of "painting with a broad brush" all Muslims (and many PC MCs are so sensitive that even a minority of Muslims is not allowed to be criticized, much less condemned -- oftentimes even by mere implication).

There are other factors that figure in the equation (such as the "Islam as a Religion" factor, though that is less important, because were Islam composed of white Westerners, we would not be seeing the broad extent of defense of their beliefs and practices as we in fact see of Muslims who are deemed to be Ethnic and non-Western. I.e., it's not because Islam is a Religion qua Religion that explains PC MC irrationality here; it's the perception by PC MCs that Islam is an Ethnic Religion that makes the crucial difference).

The above two factors I listed, however, in my estimation are the most important to explain what I have called "The Problem of the Problem" (the initial Problem being, of course, Islam; the secondary Problem of it being the West's massive inability to recognize it and then take rational measures to deal with it).

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