"Screw 'em all!"

On the occasion of the tenth anniversay of his book America Alone, Mark Steyn looks back on his battles with the Canadian Human Rights Commissions.

I don't think of myself as a victim of "the decline of freedom". Au contraire, I was liberated by my battles with the Canada's "human rights" commissions: I learned what craven, cowardly, furtive rodents they were, and, rather than trying to calibrate what they'll permit you to get away with, it's much easier - and certainly psychologically healthier - to say what you want, and screw 'em all.

This passage from the book was much quoted a decade back:

Still, as we always say, the "vast majority" of Muslims oppose "extremism". These are the so-called "moderate Muslims". One is tempted to update the old joke: A ten-dollar bill is in the center of the crossroads. To the north, there's Santa Claus. To the west, the Tooth Fairy. To the east, a radical Muslim. To the south, a moderate Muslim. Who reaches the ten-dollar bill first?

Answer: The radical Muslim. All the others are mythical creatures.

The "moderate Muslim" is not entirely fictional. But it would be more accurate to call them quiescent Muslims. In the 1930s, there were plenty of "moderate Germans", and a fat lot of good they did us or them. Today, the "moderate Muslim" is a unique contributor to cultural diversity: unlike all the visible minorities, he's a non-visible one – or, at any rate, non-audible.

Read more here.