In reply to Octavio Johanson

Submitted by Peter J. Herz (Taiwan), Mar 23, 2005 at 05:39

The problem isn't multiculturalism, it's the degeneration of of mid-20th century radicalism into the nihilism that was always at its core. The fact that radical feminists, race baiters, the militant "godless", and lifestyle experimenters can join hands with Islamofascists shows that all these variants of Western radicalism hate the society that nurtured them more than they love anything. The much-abused term "multicultural" has come to mean a stick with which Western civilization's malcontents beat the dog of the civilization that nurtured them. Yet scratch the typical multicultie and you'll find someone who knows nothing of the world beyond the shores of his native land and probably knows only one language--and badly, at that.

I daresay Dr. Pipes is a true multiculturalist. He is the son of an immigrant to the USA, and probably got used to the idea of a multiplicity of languages early in life. He is a capable student of the Arabic language and a few others. While I am sure he has his own convictions about the ultimate realities of the universe, he seems respectful enough to those of us who might differ. Judging from the people he has shared platforms with and with whom he agrees, he seems capable of a certain sympathy and friendship for people from other backgrounds. This is a multiculturalism worthy of the name. An embrace of the Ba'ath Party and Hamas, while simultaneously charging Pres. Bush with "fascism" is not.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".