Hating the West, Inc.

National Review ^ | 1/5/2016 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Servant of the Cross]

Western elites and Third World critics both enjoy Western largesse.

Professing dislike of the West and its culture and legacy is an industry on campus. The subtext of “white privilege” is that it consists of unearned status accorded those of European background. To listen to the anti-Westerners, you would think that the inventors of electrical generation, indoor plumbing, and vaccinations were enemies of the planet.

Multiculturalism, the orthodoxy of popular culture, and the current bite of the media and the arts are all predicated on the idea that Western civilization is more toxic than admirable. Citing the evils of the European tradition can also provide exemption from an occasional politically incorrect gaffe. And assuming a non-Western identity (ask Elizabeth Warren, Ward Churchill, Rachel Dolezal, or Shaun King) can offer career dividends.

American society lavished scholarships on the upper-middle-class prep-school graduate Barack Hussein Obama but perhaps would not have done so much for just another Barry Dunham. It is not surprising that when George Zimmerman had been in a fight with Trayvon Martin, his scars were photoshopped away and his 911 call racialized. Would that have happened had he chosen to go by the name of Jorge Mesa?

Paradoxes arise in attacking the West in general and the so-called European diaspora in particular. First, there is the obvious question: “Compared to what?” There are plenty of alternative cultures unstained by past Western imperialism and colonialism. Are their legacies more congenial to the present politically correct progressive agendas?

Do Islamic republics — Iran, for example — have a more reputable record of protecting gays or urban young women than does Europe or the United States? Is the venerable tradition of China more tolerant of religious and racial minorities? Would Michael Moore be permitted to be an edgier propagandist in Beijing?

[Servant of the Cross]

VDH ping ...

[Crazieman]

Say you think Western Civilization is the most advanced culture in the world to a group of college know-nothings and watch the bloodbath.

[Tax-chick]

Excellent article.

[Kaslin]

Thanks for the ping

Freepmail on the way

[Servant of the Cross]

True dat. VDH got on a roll and Liberal Hypocrisy [redundant] was exposed!

algore - alJazeera
Georgelucas - Disney
Fauxcahontas/WardChurchill - Western benevolence/career enhancement
0bama - King Louis XIV luxury
Michael Moore - Bejing

Being liberal .... means never having to say "HYPOCRISY!"

[Kaslin]

Victor Davis Hanson Column

Please Freepmail me if you want to be added, or removed from the ping list

[wintertime]

Re: Leisure

Affluence yields leisure. For our nation's overgrown puppies, most of whom shouldn't even be on campus, four or more years in college contemplating their navel lint is a luxurious leisure.

If my parents were still alive ( born 1913), whose friends were working at the age of 14, they would be rolling their eyes.

[oldasrocks]

So you’re saying that if the libs and haters of white privilege really are upset they should give up electricity, flush toilets and any other thing invented by horrible people like Henry Ford? Also they should be cut off from the white poeples money paying the welfare, food stamps, free rents, free phones and anything else that may be insulting to them.