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June 24, 2004
The hidden price of multi-culturalism?
The news broke today of something many in fire investigation have been aware of but unable to address - mainly because it exposes an ugly side to some of the cultures being actively "promoted" in Britain and elsewhere as equal or superior to the native culture. Believe me, the native culture could do with some looking at, but at least it does not condone the murder of female family members who have "brought shame" to the families. The Police are now reviewing 117 cases of supposed "suicide" deaths of girls who had "shamed" their families by acting outside of rules their culture says are the norm. In fact it usually involves some member of the family who undertakes to expunge the source of shame on behalf of the parents, brothers, or other family members who then also protect the murderer.
Now I do not suggest for a moment that this is widespread; it is, however, something that is far more frequent than is admitted, and even when it is, it is usually hushed up "because it might incite racial prejudice". Worse, it is often denied by the PC lobby who will then accuse the investigators of being prejudiced.
The Police hope to learn how to prevent these by studying the cases they have re-opened. To be fair, they do obtain convictions, and they do succeed in bringing to justice quite a number of the murderers, but it is something that will be very difficult to prevent as long as there remains a cultural acceptance that girls are the property of their families and must obey at any price the edicts of their male relatives. This extends to wearing certain styles of dress, who they may consort with, who they will marry, and what they may do or study at school or university. Laws forbidding female circumcision in this country have simply led to the girls being taken to visit "relatives in their 'home' countries" where they are subjected to this appalling practice by quite often unqualified and frequently unhygenic practitioners.
Add to this the killing of young boys for "muti" - African Tribal remedies based on animal parts, spiritualism, and herbalistic practices - which is supposed to cure everything from AIDS to infertility. Recently there have been a couple of deaths in London which could be directly linked to this practice and there will no doubt be others which have not yet come to light. If we are to guard against these things there needs to be a greater public awareness of exactly what these cultures do practice, do condone, and bring to these shores with their practice. Again, not every African condones or practices these things, just as not everyone English is a potential Fred West or Ian Huntley, but it is something we need to admit happens. It must not be hidden for the sake of not upsetting the PC mobsters.
These things are deeply ingrained matters of belief in some cultures and I regret to say that the promoters of "multi-culturalism" frequently have no idea of the viper's nest they are stirring in their efforts to be "unprejudiced".
If we are to become a truly open and harmonious society we need to address a number of things, not least the tolerance of abuse of tolerance and the abuse of truth in the way we deal with matters which should be repugnant to every thinking and compassionate person. Sweeping things under the carpet, refusing to discuss them, or admit to them is a recipe for undoing all the good that has been and can still be done to make our society work better.
Murder is an ugly thing in any society, it is even more ugly inside a family, and it is particularly ugly when it is dressed up as a cultural remedy for a supposed "wrong". It must be brought into the open, and it must be stopped. I hope that the conference on these issues currently underway in Amsterdam produces something positive and not just more blather and PC word mangling as these things usually do.
Posted by The Gray Monk at June 24, 2004 08:39 AM
Comments
I think you use the term "multi-culturalism" combined with a powerful example of backwards and vile practices in a reactionary and harmful way -- to bash people who want mutual respect and do not condone such behavior while they may use that term for other reasons you don't include -- "multiculturalism really is overly broad and meaningless out of context. I suggest you become educated about the difficult challenges faced by teachers with parents from diverse cultures -- as those of us who live in a city where 80 languages other than English are spoken in the homes of our students -- you think it's an intellectual challenge for us as it seems to be to you, or a daily struggle and a serious one? -- Next time, I would suggest to attack the misogynist murderers directly if that bothers you -- not blanket people as uniformly misguided and blind to this -- do you not realize how many people have written in much greater depth than you or I on the tough struggles of the co-existance of contradictory value systems and cultures?
Posted by: Anon at June 24, 2004 09:34 AM
The commenter offers no constructive &/or productive proposal to remedy an appalling situation. That is so sad, and a HUGE part of the problem. Far better he/she should have offered alternative proposal, rather than just complaining about the writer.
Posted by: MommaBear at June 24, 2004 11:03 AM
It may seem strange, but I do fully understand the difficulty of teaching in that sort of environment. As an adult educator I have had to deal with a class of mixed backgrounds, seven different languages and varying ability to read and write. In a class of 12 only 6 had a common home language - and only I was an English speaker at home. My chief argument against the current "multi-cultural" debate is not that it should not happen, but that it should be open and frank and not attempt to disguise or ignore aspects which sit uncomfortably with others. And it must not, under any circumstances, be selective in either promoting one or isolating another - for down that route lies a new and perhaps as pernicious form of apartheid - a word which means "separation".
This is my fear with the current form of "Multi-culturalism" - simply that it will lead to the growth (and we are already seeing indications of it in some cities) of separate and isolated cultural groups who will pursue their own agenda's in isolation and at the expense of integration into one homogenous nation. I have no problem with people wishing to preserve and celebrate their cultural identity, what I am seeing here is a reinvention under a different guise of the apartheid system which divides peoples and promotes racial tension.
I have every sympathy with a teacher who must teach to such a diverse class, but surely the solution lies not in suppressing the tensions but rather in using them creatively to show each other a better and more productive way. Ignoring them, or suppressing them, or worse, labelling anyone who questions the perceived wisdoms - quite possibly from a position of experience - as a racist, neo-nazi or any other favoured epithet from the liberal-left is simply not going to help the creation of a society in which we can all work and play together - whatever our cultural background.
Posted by: The Gray Monk at June 24, 2004 04:42 PM
At the risk of being blunt, the root error of multi-culturalism is the assumption that all norms are relative, that there are no absolutes, and that therefore all cultures are equally good and praiseworthy. In point of fact, they aren't, and it isn't merely cultural chauvinism to say so.
Posted by: Will Duquette at June 25, 2004 02:39 AM
I agree with Will. There has to be boundries as to what is acceptable behavior.
Posted by: skipjack at June 30, 2004 04:25 AM
Will makes an excellent point. As long as relativism persists, so will the troubles brought on by multiculturalism. Absolutivism will, of course, create many disagreements and conflicts at different levels and in different forms, but at least we won't be pretending that Aslan and Tash are one and the same. Those who set up the altar of Tashlan will find they have bitten off far more than they can chew, and will choke on it.
Posted by: Mike at July 5, 2004 07:40 PM