Sunday, March 30, 2008

That's why the lady is a trope   [Mark Steyn]

A week or two back in our print edition, I wrote about Susan Faludi's myopic geriatric-feminist critique of an old 9/11 column of mine. Reviewing Ms Faludi's book in The Observer today, Geraldine Bedell is largely approving but feels the author's evidence that Bush's "war on terror" is really a massive cover for the patriarchy's ongoing war against women depends on too obvious examples:

Faludi's book can sometimes rely too much on the usual suspects. Grown-ups know to treat with caution the writings of Mark Steyn in the National Review.

This would be a cuter line if Miss Bedell gave any indication of ever having read "the writings of Mark Steyn in the National Review", or at least the column referred to by Ms Faludi. (Full disclosure: Geraldine's sister is a pal of my sister.)

There is something rather impressive about the inability of "progressives" - feminists, gays, etc - to move beyond their ancient tropes even as the world changes. But on they go, remodeling the gay disco on the Titanic.

Ed Driscoll pages me to weigh in on Kathryn's post below, about Islam overtaking Catholicism in worldwide adherents. But I'm not sure I've got anything to say I haven't already been taken to court over. I had the bizarre experience earlier today of watching the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation interview a young Muslim about my "flagrant Islamophobia", as evidence of which he cited my appalling habit of accurately quoting prominent Muslims.

I've been told repeatedly America Alone is "alarmist", yet every day a slew of stories appears all of which support my argument. The only point left to debate is the precise rate of transformation. But, if you're a European under 50 and have no desire to end your days in a society that's half-Islamic and half cowed infidels, you might wish your newspapers weren't so full of cobwebbed feminists fighting battles they won a generation ago.

03/30 05:45 PMShare