If you missed our livestream Clubland Q&A earlier today, here's the action replay. Simply click above for an hour of my answers to questions from Mark Steyn Club members around the planet on various topics, from the approaching Honduran caravan to the latest victim of the left's war on statues. I also considered the recent deaths of South Africa's Winnie Mandela and Canada's Peter Munk. The latter gave us the Munk debates, the former gave us ...well, as I wrote four years ago of Nelson Mandela and F W de Klerk:
As the years go by, it seems to me that the comradely de Klerk and Mandela are less symbolic of the new South Africa than were their wives. Marike de Klerk wound up getting murdered; Winnie Mandela was a murderer — or, at any rate, found by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to have been personally responsible for multiple murders. Either role would be unusual for an American first lady, as it would have been for a prime-ministerial consort in Smuts's day. Mrs. de Klerk was stabbed and strangled in 2001 by a domestic servant — just another of those 50 murders a day; no motive, nothing was taken; she was killed because that's just the way it is.Upon her death, Winnie Mandela said, 'As a woman I can identify with the exhaustion of her emotional resources in shaping her former husband's career.' That's one way of putting it. Mrs. Mandela coped with her own emotional exhaustion by having her security detail kidnap 14-year-old Stompie Moeketsi on suspicion of being an informer, slit his throat, and dump his body in a field. Her most famous contribution to the dictionary of quotations was a celebration of the aforementioned practice of black-on-black 'necklacing': 'With our boxes of matches and our necklaces we shall liberate this country.'
As to the obliteration of any trace of William McKinley in Arcata, California, Michael Winkler writes:
Dear Mr. Steyn,
I am the only member of the Arcata City Council who voted against removing the President McKinley statue.
I believe that President McKinley was an exemplary leader who fought to end slavery and especially for the rights of black Americans and who died for our country. I believe that he shouldn't be judged solely by the standards of our time.
I have written the ballot language and am taking a lead role in organizing the campaign to collect signatures to put a proposition on the November ballot to allow the citizens of Arcata to override the city council decision to remove the statue.
I don't support open borders and I don't support tearing down U.S. history to cave in the demands of small, strident groups. These groups seem to believe that we as a country are so flawed that we have no moral grounds for resisting their demands for "justice" as they see it or to enforce any rules for whom may emigrate into the U.S.
By resisting in Arcata, I am being labeled as, 'racist', 'tone deaf', 'mansplaining', etc. Recently, the local chapter of the NAACP called for the city council to censure me for condemning the out-of-control mob that shouted down any opposing views and called for the 're-assassination' and lynching of President McKinley.
Nine years ago, I was elected as a long-term, card-carrying liberal Democrat. Now, as those on the 'progressive' left get increasingly radical and try to lay more and more guilt on U.S. citizens, even that isn't good enough.
Regards,
Michael Winkler
That's another point that came up on today's show - that it's insufficient to be "a long-term, card-carrying liberal Democrat" 87 per cent on board; today's left demand 100 per cent compliance - and the merest deviation therefrom moves you straight into the racey-racey-racist camp.
Thanks for all your questions today. If you're considering signing up for The Mark Steyn Club, you can find out more info here - and don't forget, for any Steyn fans among your loved ones, there's always our limited-time-only Gift Membership.