In this video clip, Johann Hari, a columnist for Britain's The Independent, talks with gay and human rights activist Peter Tatchell. Hari discusses why multiculturalism is divisive, patronizing, oppressive and often leads to a shameful betrayal of women's and gay rights.
Multiculturalism Subverts Human Rights
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12 Comments for “Multiculturalism Subverts Human Rights”
posted by Richard J. Rosendall on
Hari gets it exactly right. I have immense respect for the brave and outspoken Peter Tatchell, who conducts this interview; but it is interesting to see him struggling to rescue “the good bits” of multiculturalism within a broader framework of respect for universal human rights. Hari is right that the multiculti philosophy is antithetical to that universality. What the highminded liberal doctrine of multiculturalism devolves into on the ground is a series of mutually isolated unicultural enclaves, whose intersections then are at greater risk of exploding into social strife.
When as civil court in a European country, as in the German example cited by Hari, cites a Qur’anic passage to justify denying a woman a divorce from her abusive husband because it is what “her culture” should have led her to expect, is mind-blowingly monstrous. Either she has inalienable rights as an individual human being, or the West is committing cultural suicide. This is the logical conclusion of the multiculti program: the eventual erasure of the very culture whose concept of tolerance gave rise to multiculturalism in the first place.
posted by Lori Heine on
The GLBT members of my church congregation are coming to that realization right now.
Our pastor, a good-hearted liberal, has revealed that some rather fuzzy thinking goes along with her good heart. She recently told us gays — in her gay-welcoming congregation — to “tone it down” because those in the Latino congregation might not like us.
I, along with another of the lesbians on the church council, told her only last night — under no uncertain terms — that we found this offensive and entirely unacceptable. We refused to relay such a narrow-minded message to our gay fellow-congregants, and, what’s more, called the pastor on the racist nature of her assumptions. We questioned whether the Latinos would like being told they were too backward and incapable of open-mindedness to accept us.
This is especially ridiculous, considering the fact that the pastor of the Latino congregation is himself openly gay, his partner assists him in worship, and several other members of the congregation are gay or lesbian as well.
This multicultural business is turning otherwise well-intentioned liberals’ brains to mush. They get outraged when you tell them that, but they must hear it nonetheless.
posted by Roy on
As with any ideology, unfettered and unprincipled multiculturalism is a recipe for disaster, but so is unfettered and unprincipled monoculturalism.
posted by Brian Miller on
Lori’s comment also underscores the hypocrisy of multiculturalism and its bald-faced lie of stating “all cultures are equal.”
Can you imagine the Right Rev. Fuzz E. Headed-Liberal telling Latinos to “tone down all that Latin stuff” because the lesbians might find it offensive?
Me neither.
posted by Regan DuCasse on
Misogyny and homophobia are two of the same coin. In the most powerful religious communities, there were very strict and articifially maintained structures of government and religious power along GENDER related lines.
As a result, women and homosexuals in the most religious cultures in the world, have literally the status of a child.
Women and homosexuals, by nature would defy those artificial gender characteristics, so therefore are considered to defy God given or God ordained behaviors.
It’s a set up from the beginning. Even if these cultures would agree that the intangible God, doesn’t HAVE a gender either.
The machismo driven Latino culture, the patriarchal power in Asia or the religious monarchy of Catholicism, all reflect malecentrism, and a denial of individual character.
Women and homosexuals are the enemy of that authority, not that of God.
So it stands to reason, that if multiculturalism that respects the most misogynist or homophobic cultures there are, that the human rights of gays and women would be denied too.
And it’s a tradition that ONLY these two groups endure the world over.
That is not liberal thinking, but an observance of what it has meant to be gay or female in the world.
Basically held as an inferior, to double, if not impossible standards.
I’d say this is definitely at the root of the worst aspects of multiculturalism and universally as well as historically evident.
posted by Xeno on
My comments on this thread pretty much sums up my opinion of the issue of multiculturalism. The UK has made a bigger mess of it than France has. Germany has been making rapid progress with its new qualifications for citizenship.
posted by Craig2 on
France has *not* done so, Xeno. France insists that its civic republicanism prevails over every ‘rival’ communal identity,
which tends to have had adverse consequences for HIV/AIDS prevention. Men who have sex with men have weaker gay communal identitification, and communities are hard to maintain and construct.
For that matter, there’s also the prominence of the French National Front on one side, and the threat of defensive
French radical Islamist identity
politics on the other.
By contrast, Britain’s radical Islamist problems can be traced back to Thatcher’s pandering to
anti-immigrant racism in the seventies and eighties, and the
adoption of defensive radical
Islamist identity politics as a
result. Even so, Britain also has a lively complement of equally vocal liberal Muslims who
voice their opposition to the
Muslim Right and social conservatives, and even some LGBT Muslim organisations. So does Canada. In New Zealand, our Labour Party’s Muslim MP voted for civil unions and relationship equality.
Multiculturalism works, especially if you reach out to liberal elements within ethnic minority communities, because social conservatives do so in Britain, Canada and elsewhere.
Multicultural, pluralist ethnic
coalitions work. They also help to abort multicultural social conservative ethnic coalitions.
Craig2
Wellington, New Zealand
posted by Brian Miller on
Britain also has a lively complement of equally vocal liberal Muslims who voice their opposition to the Muslim Right and social conservatives
Oh really?
That’s not my experience. In fact, during the four years I lived in the UK, those of liberal tendencies had such a hard time finding liberal Muslim voices from within the UK that they had to import foreign Muslims like Irshad Manji to take on the hard-liners in the UK.
Most British “liberal” or “moderate” Muslim luminaries would reflexively defend hard-line ideology and would describe criticism of it as “Islamophobic” rather than confront it.
Perhaps you’re thinking of someone who has emerged into the public spotlight in the last six months or so?
posted by toujoursdan on
Most British “liberal” or “moderate” Muslim luminaries would reflexively defend hard-line ideology and would describe criticism of it as “Islamophobic” rather than confront it.
We have very loud and forceful liberal Muslim voices here in Canada that are publicly critical of aspects of their faith and are actively adapting it to Canadian values. The Muslim Canadian Congress were forceful in the advocacy for same sex marriage and women’s equality (see: their issues page. The CBC TV show “Little Mosque on the Prairie” which is written by liberal Muslim – Zarqa Nawaz – has confronted things that would make Muslims uncomfortable like whether a woman has to cover herself in front of a gay man. That show was a hit and NBC in the US is going to adapt it there. She (Zarqa Nawaz) had a more serious expos
posted by Brian Miller on
The Muslim Canadian Congress were forceful in the advocacy for same sex marriage and women’s equality
I know of this group only because it was denounced by the local British Muslim groups when I lived in the UK as a “false front for non-Muslim values.”
I think multiculturalism has been good for the country overall and think we’d be impoverished without it.
Ah, but what Canada’s been doing as of late isn’t “multicultural” at all — it’s assimilation in the American mold.
For instance, Dalton McGuinty didn’t allow sharia family law in Ontario (and got slammed by multiculturalists for being “intolerant and bigoted” as a result). Now if Canada would just get rid of its speech laws and reinforce freedom of speech and association, it would be in an even stronger position!
posted by toujoursdan on
I know of this group only because it was denounced by the local British Muslim groups when I lived in the UK as a “false front for non-Muslim values.”
Of course… and Jerry Falwell denounced the Presbyterians and Episcopalians for the same reasons. Fundamentalists are always going to say about about moderate and liberal groups because they see them as a threat.
Ah, but what Canada’s been doing as of late isn’t “multicultural” at all — it’s assimilation in the American mold.
For instance, Dalton McGuinty didn’t allow sharia family law in Ontario (and got slammed by multiculturalists for being “intolerant and bigoted” as a result).
No. That’s not what happened at all. McGuinty responded to an outcry from primarily within the Muslim Community against it. Muslim women’s groups were afraid they would be used against women unfairly. That came out of an internal debate within the Ontario Muslim community which reflects exactly what I wrote previously. (See: Ontario report criticized by Shariah opponents
Now if Canada would just get rid of its speech laws and reinforce freedom of speech and association, it would be in an even stronger position!
Not sure what you are referring to here. There is no “speech” law. There is a Hate Propaganda law which operates like the Obscenity laws do in the United States in that you cannot use TV, radio, newspapers, to call genocide against people based on race, sexual orientation or other identifiable group.
It only applies to the public airwaves and media, just like you can’t use the “f” word or have a wardrobe malfunction on US TV. But you can do both in private.
posted by ETJB on
Once again it would seem that the IGF Forum is committed to racsim.
Multicultural is about defending human rights.