Sunday, April 07, 2013



Canada calls Muslim customs "barbaric"

Jason Kenney, the federal immigration minister, deserves congratulations for releasing an updated guide for newcomers that refers to certain unacceptable cultural practices as “barbaric.”

Those practices include any that “tolerate spousal abuse, honour killings, female genital mutilation, forced marriage or other gender-based violence.” The term “barbaric” is strong, but it leaves no room for misinterpretation. That is the most important issue here.

There is no question that some will be offended by “barbaric” and its connotations of primitive cultures and a lack of sophistication. It is a provocative adjective to use in reference to another culture, especially in Canada, where it does not quite fit with our self-image of a multicultural, all-accepting country that embraces other peoples with open arms.

But there are three overriding points that justify the term’s use. One, the most obvious, is that honour killings, spousal abuse, female genital mutilation and forced marriage are unjustifiable and savagely brutal acts that have no place in Canada. Mr. Kenney is absolutely right about that.

Secondly, these sorts of gender-based cruelties have no place in any country, and Canada is sending a strong message about it. Gender equality is a basic human right, and countries that embrace it as such tend to fare better economically than those that don’t. Not that a basic human right needs economic justification, but Canada is a prosperous and safe place to live, and its attitudes about the rights of women and girls are a critical part of that success.

Finally, the absolute clarity of the government’s position on barbaric cultural practices is a healthy step toward pluralism and away from the illusion of multiculturalism. The latter – a word that gets tossed around liberally in Canada – presumes there is no dominant culture. But that is not true about our country. We are a pluralist society that welcomes other peoples and encourages them to celebrate their unique cultures and traditions but only, as Mr. Kenney’s updated guide also says, as long as they “are consistent with Canadian values such as human dignity and equality before the law.” Anything else is non-negotiable.

Source

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chalk one up for the hosers. Now sit back, have a Molson's and figure out wtf to do about them. I suggest a one way ticket to sandville.

Anonymous said...

A show of courage? From Canada? Wow! What's next, rational, logical policies?

Yes, barbaric is a term which can be used to describe primitive cultures, or in the case of Islam, a primitive (cult). That makes the word barbaric perfectly appropriate, and very accurate.

Anonymous said...

But naturally it's not barbaric to mutilate boys. Amputation of the foreskin is just what nature or God intended to happen. That's why it was put there in the first place.

Use the Name, Luke said...

Health benefits of circumcision outweigh the risks for newborns, doctors say

"It's not a verdict from on high," said policy co-author Dr. Andrew Freedman. "There's not a one-size-fits-all-answer." But from a medical standpoint, circumcision's benefits in reducing risk of disease outweigh its small risks, said Freedman, a pediatric urologist in Los Angeles.

Circumcision Benefits More Than Risks, AAP

Since 2005, the AAP says that recent scientific evidence shows compellingly what the benefits of circumcision are. The AAP's Taskforce on Circumcision explained in Pediatrics that after reviewing recent studies, the health benefits of circumcision include a lower risk of acquiring or developing:

• Syphilis
• Genital herpes
• HIV
• Human papilloma vĂ­rus
• Penile cancer
• Urinary tract infection during the first 12 months of an infant's life
• Reduces the risk of cervical cancer in men's sexual partners

A report published by the American Cancer Society demonstrated that males who are circumcised have a 15% lower risk of developing prostate cancer if the procedure is carried out before their first sexual intercourse.

Anonymous said...

Oh come now Luke, don't let facts get in the way of a touchie, feelie lib talking point. This from the same bunch that thinks it's perfectly OK for a 4 year old to select their sexual orientation and start surgery to rectify natures "mistake."

Use the Name, Luke said...

…for a 4 year old to select their sexual orientation and start surgery to rectify natures "mistake."

Which is somehow not barbaric.

Anonymous said...

Canada has the right for ITS "culture" to be respected, not least by those applying for residence or citizenship within its borders (unless those immigrants are intending to set up their own de-fecto colonies and enclaves!).

Anonymous said...

......unless those immigrants are intending to set up their own de-fecto colonies and enclaves.

Precisely what is being done. They intend to overwhelm Western civilization from the inside through force of numbers, turning our own democratic ideals against us, aided and abetted by the usual suspects on the Left. Liberals apparently think they will be somehow exempt from the destruction when Muslims reach critical mass. To all liberals I've news for you: when a useful idiot's usefulness is done all that remains, however briefly, is the idiot.