Thursday, October 04, 2007

Bent Lumber.

Over at the Crooked Timber, the self satisfied academics blog, they are having a discussion. Following on from their debate in February over whether it was okay to shriek racial abuse at asian women if they hold political viewpoint different to ones own, they are directing this weeks two minute hate at uppity apostate muslim women who don't know their place. Well one in particular Ayaan Hirsi Ali of course. The author of the post declares:
people were a bit tired of hearing her views which never covered any shade of gray but were always rather black-white, provocative, and, at least in the opinion of some, unnecessarily insulting and divisive.
Evidence of her being 'unnecessarily insulting' isn't provided, but it's probably true that Ali hasn't yet reached the state of enlightenment where she can see the nuanced shades of grey between those who murder her colleagues, mutilate her genitals and threaten her with an honour killing on the one hand compared with those who don't. Funny that. The writer continues in about her problems paying for her bodyguards now that the Dutch state won't and then delightfully sneers:
since Hirsi Ali is a Resident Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, can’t they pay for her security as part of her secondary employment conditions?
Classy! Though not as classy as the commentators of course who variously propose that it's a plot by the AEI to get Ali killed so that she becomes a martyr and that she's basically asking to be killed in any case for being so provocative. As I've stated before I think Salman Rushdie is an extremely unpleasant man, but I've never felt the need to slaver over the prospect of his bodyguards being removed from him.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've read both of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's books. On the subject of "honor" killings, she is quite truthful in her writings.

Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
"Reclaiming Honor in Jordan"