December 15, 2006

• This is why multiculturalism is daft. Some cultures are inherently superior to others. Cultures which condone violence to women are evil.
• Sure, it's daft if you compare cultures on single issues. Every society has certain aspects that, taken individually, are highly undesirable or even dangerous. But the presence of those attributes does not make the entire society itself "evil". Multiculturalism is not about accepting all the bad practices of different societies, but more about accepting that people from different societies are going to do things differently; think differently, behave differently, etc. given common inputs and learning to tolerate certain types of behaviour that are foreign in nature. When you say that some cultures are inherently superior to others, do you mean at all times and under all circumstances? If so, you have to start grading all cultures, which is going to lead to inevitable friction for obvious reasons. One could make the argument that, aside from other factors, our war in Iraq is an outgrowth of our failure to understand Muslim issues. Sure, we hear their complaints, but we don't hear them, which inevitably leads to misunderstanding. All of this is not to say that I condone violence to women (or men) of any sort. Such the nature and cause of this violence is merely one part of many cultures which need to be understood before corrective action and/or instruction, positive influences, etc. can be applied.
• "Some cultures are inherently superior to others." A dangerous and stupid idea that has lead to the genocide of millions. Even if it were true (which it isn't) to act upon it or accept it would be ethically wrong.
• Multiculturalism isn't about loving every aspect of every culture. It means not stigmatising people for having different coloured skin, speaking other languages or cooking actually tasty food. It means saying that people can be Canadian (or American or British or Norwegian) while still celebrating Hannukah instead of Christmas, or Diwali or Eid al-Fitr. It means that we should be happy that stores are just as likely to sell baklava as donuts, and not to shun it as "foreign food". (On culinary grounds alone, multiculturalism is the best thing that has ever happened to western culture.) It means learning about different cultures, and disagreeing with them out of knowledge, not wilful ignorance. No one has ever said multiculturalism was about accepting every aspect of every culture - that's a straw man set up by apologists for forced assimilation.
• I think Chaz means "cultural relativism" rather than "multiculturalism".
• OK - I might have been a bit over-assertive there. All cultures have faults. Most, if not all, cultures have aspects that others would do well to copy. But some aspects of some cultures are so vile that other aspects of the culture pale into insignificance. I think 'honour killings' fall in that category. (not-so-proud member of the most historically rapacious culture on Earth)
• I love the topic of Western individualism versus collectivism. I actually brought this point up in regards to suicide bombing, in the Lebanon thread I believe. I don't think the honor killing should be indicative of collectivism, as I don't believe sophism is representative of individualism. I think either system is equally reprehensible brought to it's extreme, and a happy future for mankind is found in the medium between the two (This would be Marx's utopia). I think as an issue in itself honor killing is minor. 4-5000 people dieing a year is small potatoes compared to the number of other atrocities committed in the name of any ideology, capitalism kills waaaaayyyyy more people. I think one issue I feel the writer fails to extrapolate the idea is how honor does not stop at the family, but extends to town--->district--->state--->Islam. Which is one of the reasons people all over the Middle East feel Palestine is an issue. I cannot emphasize enough, if that issue is resolved equitably at the hands of America, public opinion in those countries will go through a drastic change. If anyone is interested in more "clash of civilizations" reading, I would suggest Guests of the Sheik. It is a weekend read but very educational. I may still have it somewhere in my collection. I would be willing to mail it to someone, but the cost of postage is probably comparable to the price of the book itself.