Kevin Myers celebrates diversity

It is the 24th of May and Kevin Myers goes off on another rant. Stumbling through a few well honed prejudices and eventually finding his way to the conclusion that Muslims are preparing a silent revolution in order to take over Europe, and they will not rest until the Vatican itself, is theirs. The spark for this brainstorm? The 'innocent' ramblings of a politician, Mary Hanafin.

Mrs. Hanafin has announced that "diversity [in Primary Schools] is respected and that we celebrate it and appreciate it." Making the fatal mistake of saying that we, the Irish people, will not teach our children racial or religious prejudice. A truely horrible idea, but it's said now and she'll have to accept Kevin Myer's consequences.

In his prosecution of immigration, Mr.Myers cites Fiji and the Americas. Both subject to years of imperial oppression, imigration under military occupation, followed by systematic genocide. In these cases it was the immigrants with the greater fire power that claimed self defense. Not exactly an equivalent to the immigration we are experiencing now. It seems Mr.Myers is in need of a history lesson.

As of this minute, this past century and the foreseeable future "good white christians" are killing, maiming and torturing Muslims across the world. When we're not killing them, we are actively supporting military dictatorships which enforce those severe punishments and inequalities that Mr. Myers, and myself, find so offensive. The Saudi leadership, which Mr. Myers uses to demonstrate the evil nature of Islam, is not a reflection of Islam, it is a reflection of the kind of regime we in the west support.

There are approximately one billion muslims in the world and a minute number of them are extemists. Reading Mr. Myers work, one would be led to believe they are all barbarous human beings. This is quite typical of someone that comes to a judgment on a subject/person before learning where the preponderance of the evidence actually lies. Openly evidenced in his articles concerning single mothers. This piece reads like a monologue, serving simply to reinforce prejudices, unfortunately his are not the only ones to be served.

Racial and religious prejudice is nothing new, this however doesn't change the validity of its condemnation. Sikhs, hindus, muslims, jews, protestants, catholics, mormons are all bullied, beaten, descriminated against and in some cases killed in nearly every country. This kind of behaviour is often attributed to fear and ignorance. Mr .Myers article is that fear and ignorance embodied in print.

In an appeal to authority Mr. Myers interprets Pope John Paul's disdain for contraception as a means to increase Europe's population in order to combat the influx of foreign peoples. A clever perversion, which makes his case all the more weighted, if you believe him.

Is there any sane reason why we shouldn't "[respect] diversity and celebrate it and appreciate it"?

Allow Mr. Myers temples to throb, because if The Irish Times didn't, atleast in word, respect diversity, where would this confused right wing scribe find refuge.

Indeed, with Mr. Steyn and Mr. Myers on board you can commend yourself, for a publication without historical context or insight.

The islamic tide may have turned towards Europe, but in waging war on their homelands, did we offer them an alternative?



In todays Times, Mr. Myers attacks the Greens for their 'apparent' opposition to the 'democratic' government in Iraq. This seems quite harsh given that there is no democratic government in Iraq.

Perhaps a similar interpretation of authority is in order to rebuff Mr. Myers support for the Iraq war. Walter Jones, the Republican congressman for North Carolina and inventor of "freedom fries" has now made it clear that the US/UK went to war "with no justification." My interpretation of this is that the US/UK went to war with no justification.


An Irishman's Diary

With temples throbbing with disbelief, I read of the new guidelines for our primary schools, "Intercultural Education in the Primary School", with dear, sweet Mary Hanafin declaring that "diversity is respected and that we celebrate it and appreciate it". Naturally, she cited Auschwitz, saying that it must never happen again, writes Kevin Myers.

coninued... The Irish Times


An Irishman's Diary

That old leftie Daniel Cohn-Bendit apparently doesn't think much of the Irish Greens. He'd think even less if he knew that their leader, Trevor Sargent, recently appeared on the platform of an "anti-war" rally which backed the "resistance" to the new democratic government in Iraq, writes Kevin Myers.

continued... The Irish Times