Boy Genius ... Mark Steyn

Steyn Online ^ | 15 March 2011 | Mark Steyn

[Rummyfan]

Should western governments describe “honor killings” or female genital mutilation as “barbaric”? The son of the late Canadian colossus Pierre Trudeau thinks such terms have unfortunate pejorative overtones:

Liberal MP Justin Trudeau said the government should not call honour killings “barbaric” in a study guide for would-be Canadian citizens…

“There’s nothing that the word ‘barbaric’ achieves that the words ’absolutely unacceptable’ would not have achieved,” Trudeau, the Liberal immigration critic, said.

“We accept that these acts are absolutely unacceptable. That’s not the debate. In casual conversation, I’d even use the word barbaric to describe female circumcision, for example, but in an official Government of Canada publication, there needs to be a little bit of an attempt at responsible neutrality.”

I suppose one should be relieved that he absolutely accepts that it’s absolutely unacceptable. The trouble is, as your average honor killer or clitoridectomist around the planet well understands, “absolutely unacceptable” is Liberal Weeniepants-speak for “we entirely accept it”. Last month:

Libya Must Stop ‘Unacceptable Bloodshed’ Now: Hillary Clinton

This month:

Obama Warns Violence By Libya Government ‘Unacceptable’

Alas, all this absolutely unacceptable unacceptableness is spreading. Secretary Clinton on Bahrain:

We do not want to see any violence. We deplore it. We think it is absolutely unacceptable.

When a western politician says something’s “unacceptable”, the rest of the planet understands it means “carry on until it drops off the front page, and I no longer have to talk about it”. Justin Trudeau’s observation is characteristically moronic – whoops, I mean “absolutely unacceptable”.

[UPDATE: When you're in a clitoridectomy clinic, stop digging: M Trudeau has now clarified that, by "absolutely unacceptable", he means "totally unacceptable".]

[Berlin_Freeper]

Savage.

[Slings and Arrows]

Ping!

[Portcall24]

This is why people cuss...to make their point. How about, “If you do it again, I’m going to come to your house and burn it down with your wife and kids inside?”

[Happy Rain]

Oh those silly morally relativistic Lefties—now they are defining barbarity down.

Can't wait til they start on sadistic--perhaps renaming it "uncalled for buzz killing."

[Waco]

What does Mr.Pearl say about all this???????

[SECURE AMERICA]

Another useful idiot for the muslims in their quest to destroy freedom and liberty

[Oztrich Boy]

Justin Trudeau: Heredity or environment?

[Jack Hammer]

No, I’m not a neutered weenie with no b@lls whatsoever.

I’m an insufficiently maled non-female.

[aruanan]

“There’s nothing that the word ‘barbaric’ achieves that the words ’absolutely unacceptable’ would not have achieved,” Trudeau, the Liberal immigration critic, said.

No, Trudeau, you moron, "absolutely unacceptable" doesn't go far enough because it doesn't describe why: because these actions lie completely outside the confines of civilized behavior; that is, they are typical of the behavior of barbarians, people whose ethics and ways of life are inimical to our Western civilization. No matter how anthropologists may map them onto civilized society as "functional equivalents," they aren't equivalent.

[Soothesayer]

Another worthless scumbag leftist. I bet the underpants on the head at Gitmo was “barbic” though.

Make a mass murderer mildly uncomfortable and the leftist vermin will scream moral indignation to the sky. Mutilate or slaughter an innocent Arab girl and the leftist vermin will find it mildly distasteful.

[Soothesayer]

Another worthless scumbag leftist. I bet the underpants on the head at Gitmo was “barbaric” though.

Make a mass murderer mildly uncomfortable and the leftist vermin will scream moral indignation to the sky. Mutilate or slaughter an innocent Arab girl and the leftist vermin will find it mildly distasteful.

[Gene Eric]

A facilitator of barbarism.

[RoadTest]

(***Jesus***)

My favorite tag line and my friend.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Absolutely unexceptionable.

[momtothree]

“There’s nothing that the word “barbaric” achieves that the words “absolutely unacceptable” would not have achieved...”

Absolutely unacceptable is urinating in the sink. Barbaric is stoning some woman who went out of her house without a male escort. Barbaric is cutting someone’s head off while calling them an “Infidel”. Barbaric is hijacking planes and crashing them into a building killing innocent people. There is power in words and phrases. Barbaric is the “nicest” word to describe the radical Islamists. IMHO

[NonValueAdded]

there needs to be a little bit of an attempt at responsible neutrality

And there's the problem: "responsible" neutrality. In fact, young Trudeau is engaging in irresponsible neutrality or perhaps better put, pathological neutrality. Sometimes barbaric IS an appropriate modifier.

[Former Proud Canadian]

Re post 10, good post. But what do you do when your fellow countrymen insist on electing morons?

[JLS]

Mark Steyn ping.

Freepmail me, if you want on or off the Mark Steyn ping list.

Thanks for the ping slings and arrows.

[bert]

Over use of the concept of barbaric is unacceptable.

[texmexis best]

Note to Justin:

Barbaric works for me, savage is quite a bit better. But I am American and you’re not.

So....

[TheOldLady]

Political correctness: the grease on the skids to dhimmitude.

[spodefly]

We accept that these acts are absolutely unacceptable, but by lack of action to stop them, we accept them.

So let’s not call these actions barbaric, lest we see that we accept barbarism.

[Billthedrill]

Trudeau, for all his liberal past, will at least consider criticism of immigration policy. But the word “barbaric” applies to behavior of a people whose practices are outside the norms of a decent, civilized society, generally characterized by violence, brutality, and a lack of regard for those members of a society not strong enough to defend themselves. The word is absolutely accurate. The practice is disgusting and its practitioners, barbarians.

[maica]

Nicely said!

[maica]

Trudeau, for all his liberal past, will at least consider criticism of immigration policy.

####

In Canadaspeak, the “immigration critic” is the Member of Parliament of the party not in power but involved with immigration issues. Our equivalent would be the minority ‘ranking member’ of a committee - the head of the committee would be titled Chairman and would belong to the party in power.

[zeugma]

[UPDATE: When you're in a clitoridectomy clinic, stop digging: M Trudeau has now clarified that, by "absolutely unacceptable", he means "totally unacceptable".]

LOL. what a weeniepants!

[MNJohnnie]

Re post 10, good post. But what do you do when your fellow countrymen insist on electing morons?

Emigrate.

[MNJohnnie]

Re post 10, good post. But what do you do when your fellow countrymen insist on electing morons?

Emigrate.

[Billthedrill]

Ah, thanks for that clarification. I may have been reading too much into his opposition (such as it was) to Quebec nationalism.

[maica]

I just learned on a recent trip to Canada that the second generation of Trudeaux (sic - a little French humor) has been elected to national office. As a member of the Liberal party, he probably is in opposition to a more conservative immigration policy (if there is such a thing) of the Conservative Party, in power now.

The stories that I have heard about the indiscriminate acceptance of ‘new Canadians’ are really bad - lots with TB, Hep B and C, etc.

[SunkenCiv]

son of the late Canadian colossus Pierre Trudeau... Liberal MP Justin Trudeau said the government should not call honour killings "barbaric"... "There's nothing that the word 'barbaric' achieves that the words 'absolutely unacceptable' would not have achieved... We accept that these acts are absolutely unacceptable. That's not the debate. In casual conversation, I'd even use the word barbaric to describe female circumcision, for example, but in an official Government of Canada publication, there needs to be a little bit of an attempt at responsible neutrality."

Incoherent babble by a second-gen career lib. Thanks Rummyfan.

[Joe 6-pack]

"Absolutely unacceptable is urinating in the sink..."

Well, at least I'm not 'barbaric.'

[Fledermaus]

Maybe the should just get Hans Blix to write a letter of complaint.

[momtothree]

“... at least I’m not “barbaric”.

LOL! You have better manners than that! You remove the dishes and pots first. ((( giggle giggle)))

[proud American in Canada]

“UPDATE: When you’re in a clitoridectomy clinic, stop digging”

________________________________________

There is something terribly wrong with this sentence, with all due respect to Mr. Steyn.

Although, knowing his genius, he may have meant that. :)

[Forgiven_Sinner]

““UPDATE: When you’re in a clitoridectomy clinic, stop digging”

________________________________________

There is something terribly wrong with this sentence, with all due respect to Mr. Steyn.

Although, knowing his genius, he may have meant that. :)”

It never occurred to me he DIDN’T mean it to be a terrible sentence, conveying a terrible image image—it’s just not as terrible as passively accepting clitoridectomies.