Getting Used to It

by Mark Steyn
Steyn on the Oakley Show
April 25, 2018

https://www.steynonline.com/8611/getting-used-to-it

On Wednesday afternoon I checked in with John Oakley at Toronto's Global News Radio 640. The main topic of discussion was Monday's appalling mass murder on Yonge Street in North York - and whether around the western world we're getting accustomed to these attacks. But John also found time to ask me about Shania Twain's apology for telling The Guardian that, if she'd been American, she'd have voted for Trump. Click below to listen:

If you're one of that small, brave band who prefer me on camera, I'll be back on TV tomorrow, Thursday, south of the border with Tucker Carlson. And, for Mark Steyn Club members, we'll have a special video bonus this weekend.

~As you can tell from my conversation above with John, I think we need to expand the parameters of public discourse. In Britain, alas, almost everyone who matters - government, police, and even the media - want to shrivel them even more. Peter Lucey, the Mayor of Wokingham, Berkshire, has just been forced to resign because his Facebook page linked to ...well, we'll let genius reporter Phil Creighton of The Wokingham Paper explain:

THE mayor of Wokingham town has resigned following an investigation into his social media presence.

Cllr Peter Lucey decided to step down with immediate effect after an investigation was launched in to his posting of links to far right and Islamophobic websites.

Golly. Like what?

Some of the sites that the Wokingham town councillor links to include The Gatestone Institute, a right-wing anti-Muslim think tank, and We Are At Home, a page that says it is for people who "are sick of increasing political correctness" and links to webpages about white supremacy.

Cllr Lucey's Facebook page, which was viewable by anyone yesterday, also included likes to a fan page to controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders and the former UKIP leadership candidate Raheem Kassam who has just self-published a book called Enoch Was Right: 'Rivers of Blood' 50 Years On.

Raheem Kassam: there's an obvious white supremacist moniker. Anybody else?

There are also posts from Cllr Lucey showing him with controversial Canadian author Mark Steyn, who hold anti-Islamic views, at a book signing.

I'm so anti-Islamic I'm plural: "Mark Steyn, who hold anti-Islamic views..." Evidently anti-Islamic enough for at least three run-of-the-mill Islamophobes.

Only a weasel writes like this:

Why is Gatestone "right-wing"? Because they publish lifetime liberal Democrat Alan Dershowitz? Why is Gatestone "anti-Muslim"? Because their chairman is an Iranian? Or because their speaker next Tuesday is a Saudi Muslim?

Why shouldn't a chap's Facebook page be "viewable by anyone"? Would we all be safer if, say, Thames Valley Police got to determine who gets to view whose Facebook page?

Why exactly is this Canadian guy "controversial"? Because he guest-hosts America's Number One radio show with an audience equivalent to half the UK population? Are all those listeners controversial, too? Should they be banned by UK immigration?

Freedom of expression is dying in a land that was once the crucible of liberty - and so-called "journalists" like Phil Creighton are happy to serve as court eunuchs to the new thought-crime commissars. [UPDATE: Mr Lucey defends Mr Creighton's honor below - which is more than Creighton was willing to do for Lucey. I maintain my original objection: He simply accepted these labels instead of getting off his arse and checking.]

~When Mark is asked about which of his books is his personal favorite, he often picks his anthology of obituaries, Mark Steyn's Passing Parade. So we were pleased to see Joseph Sherlock's brand new review of the book:

Each obit is interesting in itself. Many are irreverent and witty; all are chock full of information about the deceased.

Mr Sherlock then provides a few favorite tidbits, before concluding:

Recommended. A fun and informative read.

Personally autographed copies of Mark Steyn's Passing Parade are exclusively available from the SteynOnline bookstore - and, if you're a Mark Steyn Club member, don't forget to enter the Club promo code at checkout to enjoy special member pricing.

~For more information on the Mark Steyn Club and becoming a member, please see here - and don't forget our limited-time Gift Membership. As our first anniversary approaches, we are grateful for the support of all our friends around the world, and look forward to welcoming many more in the years ahead.

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72 Reader Comments

Steven Payne • Apr 27, 2018 at 02:15

Good commentary by Mark and many of my fellow club members! When it comes to mass murder, I have another factor that I think comes into play -- population growth. Without getting too technical, I believe most human traits are distributed along the bell curve, including the propensity for mass murder. Simply, the more people, the more potential mass murderers.
I looked at the populations of both the U.S. and Canada and saw that the rate of population growth has been practically the same since 1980 -- about 50%. The U.S. went from about 200 million to about 300 million and Canada went from about 20 million to about 30 million. I didn't look at any European figures. However, whatever percentage of the total population you estimate to be potential mass murderers, the actual number will go up commensurate with the total population.
Also, I didn't look at worldwide population because I'm tired and, ahem, I don't want to be one of those lonely, misfit people going on the internet. I hate those guys.

Holly Birtwistle

Steven Payne • Apr 27, 2018 at 16:17

Totally agree with your comments Steven. More population=more incidents; as well the internet and rapid pace of information sharing means we hear about incidents everywhere, not just our own cities anymore, as it used to be.

Andrew A • Apr 26, 2018 at 15:55

Some clarity should be provided (maybe next time) to what "Getting Used to It" actually means. Getting Used to It never means that people cheerfully accustom themselves to mass murder like they do to cold weather. It means that attitudes among the general population toward unassimilated foreigners operating vehicles become colder, harder and more mistrustful. Charity is a finite resource. I can't remember who originally said it, but eventually the "bleeding hearts" bleed out. People cunningly discover that however "bad" being a "racist" might be, most of the "bad" of "racism" is experienced by somebody else.

Stephen Davis • Apr 26, 2018 at 14:33

Good afternoon, Mark. This is less a comment on this, with which I agree, but a tangent off of the "getting used to it." I'm thinking of the Alfie Evans disgrace. But, what should we expect from "NICE"? We have become accustomed to a culture of death which the state carries out, except on convicts.
The name struck me as I am old enough to remember the 1966 movie "Alfie", starring Michael Caine as a narcissistic roue. And, then there is the song from the movie. I would lose in a musicology face off against you, but I'm sure you remember: "...and if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie..." In the fictional Alfie, he had an awakening of a conscience, of sort, following a girlfriend's abortion of their baby. Unfortunately, we have moved far beyond the hope of a societal awakening to this pervasive evil!

Paul Harmon

Stephen Davis • Apr 26, 2018 at 21:19

Exactly so.

Robert Stewart • Apr 26, 2018 at 13:19

Mark, I think your interest in understanding the motivations of this killer are a dead end. Some things can only be "understood" if you view them as an expression of an evil that is inherent in our existence. As a society we seem to have stumbled in dealing with this reality. We have lost confidence in our ability to recognize and respond to evil, for fear of being imperfect. Our courts will take years to deal with this fellow, and no good will come of any of it. Academics will interview him, politicians will use him for whatever they think they can gain by suggesting that he supports their opponents, and the bureaucracy will argue for increased budgets, if not for psychotherapy, then for higher curbs on city streets. Lawyers will flock to the opportunity to put their names before the public ostensibly to ensure his right to competent defense, and psychologists will hope for a lucrative consultation with the goal of showing the man incapable to understanding his act. This is all based on a false premise ... the premise that our society is on the verge of perfection, and we have but to listen to our betters and avoid confrontation and unpleasantness to get there. This is hubris on a scale never seen before in history.

Far better would be a quick trial, and three weeks from now, hang the killer on gallows constructed in a dismal swamp on a cold rainy day to discourage attendance. Make as little of the man as possible. There is really nothing to understand. But we need to make the penalty fit the crime. Failing at this, we risk a visit by Nemesis, with the risk that the event is likely to be on a scale commensurate with our vanity.

Sol Cranfill

Robert Stewart • Apr 26, 2018 at 14:15

Mark briefly mentions the dissolution of the family and some other factors that might lead people to arrive into the world damaged. If you think of it like a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit, born 16 weeks premature, Mark is focusing on the incubator. He's really investigating the pathologies of society, and the perpetrator insofar as what is happening to him by what is incubating him.

Robert Stewart

Sol Cranfill • Apr 26, 2018 at 17:34

Sol, nurturing a premature infant in an incubator is a problem that can be dealt with logically, if imperfectly. The notion that we are on a fast track to utopia via the application of nostrums that tickle the fancy of left wing loons is a different story entirely. As a group, they would be unable to create an incubator, let alone improve one. But they have no qualms trying to tell us how to think and express ourselves. So wondering about the cause of this man's anger and homicidal actions seems to fall more in the court of the left wing loonies than in any sensible reading of history. Why not take it for granted that some will develop such feelings. Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Pol Pot intentionally killed tens of millions of helpless people, facilitated by the actions of "ordinary men." Each had their own reasons, but none of them ever expressed any remorse. So the will to kill is part of our DNA, and we'd be better off acknowledging this instead of pretending all of the world's ills are due to some well defined minority or society, or the failure of an incubator.

Andrew A

Robert Stewart • Apr 26, 2018 at 18:04

Robert

I agree. My interest in motivations is limited to determining if it is an act of crime, war, or insanity. If he did it for selfish gain, it is a crime; if he did it to further a political cause, it is war; and if the had no reason whatsoever, he's insane. The courts can stand on their feet when prosecuting crimes, are less suited for dealing with madmen, but are pitifully unprepared for politically motivated violence. I want to weep every time I see Jihadists being treated by the courts and the media as though they were mobsters obsessed with eliminating rivals, or madmen hearing voices. The good news is that this does not look like a case of Jihad right now, so the courts and media should be on territory slightly more familiar.

Holly Birtwistle

Sol Cranfill • Apr 26, 2018 at 22:03

Sol, in the past few hundred years, do you think that families were intact? They are probably more intact in the modern age than they have ever been; and for those families that break apart, there is more professional help and Community help and compassion than ever before in history. This idea that a dissolution of families today, is causing all sorts of societal problems is a bit of a leap to me. Societal problems have always existed. We have more tools, knowledge, and laws to deal with them today than ever before. One good thing about the Internet, is we can communicate much faster and more easily than before. Talking, listening, and debating is how we resolve issues and move forward. The problem is getting opposing views through to citizenry, so informed decisions can be made on important, and sometimes complex topics.

Sol Cranfill

Holly Birtwistle • Apr 27, 2018 at 01:11

You see a very different world than I see.

Sol Cranfill

Robert Stewart • Apr 27, 2018 at 01:26

I didn't mean the incubator was a good thing. It's a lefty incubator, the kind Dr Frankenstein would have.

What is society? It's the people around us. We influence each other by inspiration, peer pressure, conformity, standards, laws, rules, mores, customs, expectations, rewards, coercion, etc. Individuals are responsible for their own actions, which are governed by the above.

Kate Smyth

Robert Stewart • Apr 27, 2018 at 10:10

"This is all based on a false premise ... the premise that our society is on the verge of perfection, and we have but to listen to our betters and avoid confrontation and unpleasantness to get there."

An excellent summation of progressives' imposed utopia (particularly their restriction of free thought and speech), which actually aligns with Mark's point (and those of Sol and BallBounces) on mass murders, and the deficiency of restraining forces (confronting and unpleasant as they are), that once kept detached evil in check— ie. shame, pressure of social conformity, fear of God etc.

The cult-of-self, coupled with victimhood, elevates the individual above the limitations of all this unpleasantness, and diminishes his sense of "social solidarity" and empathy for others.... a proportion of which will manifest as murderous acts.

Holly Birtwistle

Sol Cranfill • Apr 27, 2018 at 16:45

I'm more open to other explanations; and we don't know what life was like in a detailed way, or daily basis, very far back in history. Lots of things happened that nobody outside their city or village ever heard about. Now, we hear about every horrific incident that happens all over the country as well as world-wide, which makes it seem like society is crumbling. It isn't. Populations are larger=more incidents, but not more per capita. Don't forget for every broken family now, there is plenty of community help. How many men wiped out their families/per capita 100 years ago? 200 years ago? We don't have the stats for that. But I'll bet it was a lot; How many families today have been saved because men can get help? Many. As well nowadays, men in the West at least, don't feel they 'own' or should 'have control' of the women in their lives anymore. We don't have the stats, but I'm guessing incidents/per capita of men killing their wives or families is WAY DOWN compared to the past. There will always be exceptions; What makes you so sure Human Society (in the West) is worse than before when you don't know the past? Yes, I agree with you about the threats from the far Left to Society today. But unlike any other time in Human History, America sits on the foundational bedrock of it's Constitution. As long as the Constitution is followed, emerging Tyrannies eventually are defeated. There are always negative forces at work in Society, but also positive forces.

Sam Williamson • Apr 26, 2018 at 12:47

For years, I have been watching the pillars of our society and civilization being pulled down by acts of progressives through either misguided or perhaps deliberate efforts. We should not be surprised that the roof of civilization falls down on us when the pillars are being destroyed. Like gravity, I suspect civilization has certain laws, which we break at our own peril.

We won't reverse the trend by lighting candles, making a heap of teddy bears, and posing with signs that say (insert your city here) Strong. So weak.

George Pazin • Apr 26, 2018 at 12:47

Because this is very learned group with a wide breadth of knowledge, and because I don't know where else to post this, I'd like to ask an immigration question:

If the US deports a violent criminal to, say, Mexico, do the Mexican authorities imprison him? Or is he simply kicked out of the US, and therefore able to sneak back in?

I've often wondered this when people recommend deporting violent felons. Unless there's some guarantee they won't be sneaking back in, I'd prefer to see them in US prisons. Call me crazy, but murderers and rapists should be imprisoned (at a minimum...).

Thanks to anyone who can answer my question!

Sol Cranfill

George Pazin • Apr 26, 2018 at 13:05

If the violent felonies were committed in the US, Mexico has no jurisdiction. If a Mexican National is charged with a crime in the U.S. that carries the death penalty and he escapes to Mexico, he is protected by Mexico, which refuses to extradite in death-penalty cases.

Clark Jerrell

George Pazin • Apr 26, 2018 at 16:15

More to the point, if an illegally resident alien is convicted of a violent crime, they generally serve out their prison sentence before being deported (early release/parole notwithstanding). At which time they will usually find a way back to the U.S. because no one who "matters" in our country takes border security seriously (except Trump, and even he is a bit wobbly on some issues like the so-called "Dreamers").

Fran Lavery

George Pazin • Apr 26, 2018 at 16:26

I don't know about the very violent criminal, George, except what I hear in the news. They have a knack for returning repeatedly once deported like the one who killed Kate Steinle, and some others that made national news in the last few years. I never hear what happens to them unless it becomes a huge story. As an example of non-violent though, we knew a teen son of a yard guy. He was deported for multiple trafic violations including a DWI. He was in jail for a little while, was released here, had a baby with a young American high school drop out his age, and could have married her and avoided deportation but opted not to marry her. I asked him why won't he marry her. The girl was very sweet and so was the adorable child. He shrugged and said he wasn't the marrying kind. A bit later he had himself picked up a second time for another trafic offense and this was possibly his second time in jail. Third time, he was released and ran through a similar routine with the police. I lost track of all the run-ins. Finally, the dad, heartbroken came and told me he was deported and was sent back to live with grandparents.

If my memory serves me, the dad paid coyotes to get him back in because he and his wife still with another young one to care for and a daughter with a four-year old living with them, couldn't care for the baby and the very young mother any longer. I felt sorry for the young girl and the child but what was I supposed to do? I had two in college at the time. We had sold our business and had nothing to offer for employment. Where the girl's family of origin was, I never found out definitively. They probably were "good" people who disowned her for getting in that situation. The teen son, the young deported deadbeat father did sneak back into the States and last time I heard he was caught, deported a second time and never came back. I think the last time the authorities sent him back they told the parents if he came back a second time, they would throw away the key. Bad decisions compounded with total irresponsibility and a border that is porous adds up to equal the big problem. And this was not even a drug dealer or murderer. It has been a huge drain for our court system dealing with this unresolved immigration situation along the southern border. People are fed up yet I hear from others they really don't want a wall. Families on this side going back generations have family members on the other side. The Mexican government is corrupt like any other government and the drug cartels run the whole works on the other side. Of course, this is just from living around here for nearly thirty years and hear say. I stopped going to Ciudad Juarez in '05 and even then it was probably a big error in judgement. The young women between 18 and 22 started going missing mid to late nineties. There was speculation police were behind it but now I'm not sure what the final body count was or who was caught, and if anyone was caught or if it started up again. Once the cartels gain control of a city, it's my understanding that the average citizens can feel "safe" again going out shopping. None of that probably answers your question.

Fran Lavery

Fran Lavery • Apr 26, 2018 at 18:15

For a more specific answer to your question about keeping the criminals here in our prisons for violent offenses along the border as opposed to deportation, I'll look into that and let you know what I hear. I've been curious as well.

Fran Lavery

George Pazin • Apr 27, 2018 at 12:17

George, this is what I found out by doing a search on undocumented immigrants who committed violent crimes. All the data seems to be from 2015 so I'm guessing it's much higher now now: There were 925,000 ordered removed by Immigration and Naturalizaion Services and were still in the country. Of that, 20% have at least one criminal conviction (and from other searches it's my understanding they go through the same court systems and process as citizens and get sentences when convicted and have to serve those sentences out). The 20% figure includes immigrants who are not accepted back by their home countries. 124 criminal immigrants released through ICE were charged with homocide related crimes. Also, the lack of cooperation between local communities and ICE seems to fall into two categories: one are the so-designated sanctuary cities or states. The other is those state and local jurisdictions that have not set themselves up as sanctuary areas officially but who have passed policies limiting cooperation with immigration authorities so no notification is made when a deportable non-citizen has completed a jail term. Those not posing threats to the community may be placed under supervision rather than detention while waiting for a hearing. I suspect the son of a "guest worker" I talked about earlier may have been seen as violent with his multiple DWI's and so deported. I guess sometimes the system works the way it should, now and then. Contacting our council reps and county commissioners and inquiring what policies have passed in our respective areas could be eye opening.

George Pazin

Clark Jerrell • Apr 28, 2018 at 12:19

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

George Pazin

Fran Lavery • Apr 28, 2018 at 12:22

Thanks for the stories and the research, all are much appreciated. Sad to read about your neighbor's predicament, but it sounds appropriate that the guy is gone, hopefully to never return.

Fran Lavery

George Pazin • Apr 28, 2018 at 20:23

Yes, probably it saved someone from getting killed by a quite young inebriated driver. One life or many lives saved is an excellent concept for a good society to practice. If they aren't up to speed on this one, the ship is going down.

One last thing I wanted to emphasize. This family was here in a guest-worker capacity. I remember the dad showed up at our door with a New Mexico Driver's License looking for work. It happened with Gov. Bill Richardson permitting driver's licenses to be owned by undocumented who qualified to be "guest workers." I was angry about that for a while but then it was explained to me this was a way to keep track of who lived where. Maybe it did ultimately work when they tracked the son abusing traffic rules. So this is how you get used to a disturbing new idea, meaning the drivers licenses, heretofore, only meant for citizens.

But no great pressure is on them to buy car insurance so if you get hit you can forget about collecting from any insurance company. In fact, the rest of the driving citizenry no longer has to show proof of car insurance to the DMV to renew your vehicle registration. What do you think that means? A good portion of legal citizens don't buy insurance any longer, I bet. So talk about "getting used to it," this is a second good example.

Maggie Menzies • Apr 26, 2018 at 11:25

Then there is the Liverpool girl charged and sentenced for quoting lyrics from rap song by Snap Dogg -
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/woman-who-posted-rap-lyrics-14543694

Alex Baldor • Apr 26, 2018 at 10:33

Mark I listened to you talk on Oakley show talking about Monday's mass murder at the Young and Finch in North Toronto and I strongly disagree with you. In my view this is a case where the motivation for this mass murder stares right in your face and you are looking for philosophical reasons to explain it that are not more valid than that of a politician that blames it on Alt-right. First this misfit Alek Minasian did not drive on Yonge Street with the van and suddenly decided to mow down people on the sidewalk and killing them. It was a premeditated and planned act which he explained in his Internet post. The reason that he gave is a revenge of a male that the society forced him into involuntary celibacy the same time when sexuality is glamorized in all branches of media. Yes, he was a misfit because he was clumsy and did not have the knowledge of how to connect to a female because of psychological reasons and inhibitions, what are those it is for a clinical psychologist to find out. He is not the only one that faces this problem but he is the one that reached his breaking point and decided to lash out on what he views as his tormentors. I mentioned that there are quite a number of males that face this problem but they are able to resist and restrain themselves otherwise we would read about it as often as Jihad motivated mass murders.
Years ago, there was a public and legal solution for young males such as Alek Minasian and it was brothels where young men of modest means were able to buy the services of prostitutes without the risk of being robbed or arrested. But "well intentioned" hypocritical politicians enacted laws which outlaw prostitution and prosecutes men that buy the services of a prostitutes. The carnage in North York is the unintended consequence of this fake morality.

PK33

Alex Baldor • Apr 26, 2018 at 12:08

Actually, Mark has talked about the imbalance of male/female population in certain locations due to gender-specific abortions as well as more recently young, male migrants invading countries on a massive scale, and how the imbalance is a recipe for disaster if men cannot find partners and have no outlet for their sexual energy.

Prostitution has become more generally acceptable in Western culture over the years, not less. Prostitution is legal in several European countries (Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Hungary, and Latvia) and some of the countries have had numerous vehicle attacks and other mass murder attacks by young men yet others have not. I bet you can separate the countries into the two groups without even looking up the stats. Think about why you can do that if legalized prostitution is the solution.

Chris Hall

Alex Baldor • Apr 26, 2018 at 13:45

This problem is right up Jordan Peterson's alley. Gee, I wonder who did a whole show with Peterson? Some other dude from Toronto, last name starts with S I think.

There have always been depressed, unsuccessful young males. They didn't used to drive into pedestrians on Yonge Street, even the ones who couldn't go upstairs with Miss Kitty (boy, that reference dates me).

Alex Baldor

Chris Hall • Apr 26, 2018 at 20:24

I have a hole in my education and don't know who Miss Kitty is. I am guessing that many years ago she might have been the specialist that introduced sex to young inexperienced unsuccessful males in Toronto before it became a mega city such as the GTA. Based on what is published on the internet there is some competition in number of schools there are female teachers that for personal reasons offer unofficial extracurricular sex initiation education to some students. If all depressed unsuccessful young males would drive into pedestrians this would be in a city like GTA a weekly story not on Yonge street necessarily but on another XXXXX street (not Avenue because of the trees ), But it takes only one individual to reach this point therefore it is a multi year event. Although with the publicity of the current event the frequency might increase. All this can not be detached from the increased sexualization of the public media in the last 50 years which is another contributing factor.
As to Jordan Peterson he would be probably the right person to have a chat with Mr. Alek Minasian to find out what drove him over the edge. It would be also worthwhile for another dude from Toronto whose last name Start with S have another show to HEAR what Jordan Peterson opinion is on the last incident.

Alex Baldor

PK33 • Apr 26, 2018 at 20:47

The imbalance of male/female population and the cultural difference of male/female population manifests itself by increase in rapes in general and gang rapes in particular.Based on what I read in the Canadian media. Brothels are illegal, Raided by the police and its owners prosecuted, Men that are trying procure sexual services on the street are prosecuted , Police uses undercover female officers to entrap what they call "Johns" .As I understand for an outsider try to find commercial solution for his personal sexual needs is a risky undertaking. As to Netherlands what I read that the famous "window shopping" district in Amsterdam was closed.

Holly Birtwistle

Chris Hall • Apr 26, 2018 at 22:32

You are right Chris, " there have always been depressed, unsuccessful males", as well as 'angry young males', For Millenia. They didn't used to drive on sidewalks, but they committed horrible revenge murders using the weapons of the times they lived in. AK -47's and vehicles are just the popularized weapons of the Nihalists of today. There aren't more "depressed unsuccessful males" per capita today, there are probably less, because there is tons of compassion, education, and help available to people in society today. Before the internet and rapid communciation world-wide, we didn't hear about all the murders committed by these young men. Now we hear about every incident that occurs within populations of millions of people, and it seems like this never happened before. But it did. It always has; we just didn't hear about them because they were local news only.

Chris Hall

Alex Baldor • Apr 27, 2018 at 11:53

Miss Kitty was the senior saloon girl in the Gunsmoke radio and TV series. Her "dance hall" job was sanitized for the TV version, but I remember hearing an audio joke played on the stars during a radio episode, where from the sound effects being made, it was quite clear what was going on when cowboys made a trek upstairs. Very funny.

Chris Hall

Holly Birtwistle • Apr 27, 2018 at 12:00

I disagree a little with your characterization of how dysfunctional males were dealt with in the past. For the majority of them (i.e., if they weren't the leader of the tribe/country/nation), they would have been spotted early. If their talents for violence could be channeled, it would be in some sort of military setting. Otherwise, they would not have survived long, as other more functional males would likely have eliminated them. Being male has always been hazardous.

Holly Birtwistle

Chris Hall • Apr 27, 2018 at 16:57

They would have been spotted early?? No they wouldn't. Why would other "functional males" eliminate them? They wouldn't even notice them; men didn't butt into other mens business, they turned a blind eye. They would have committed their atrocities, and at a higher rate per capita. Nowadays they are far more likely to be noticed and their behaviour reported, or they make seek help themselves, because unlike in the past, there is a lot of help available to get men through crises.

David Elstrom • Apr 26, 2018 at 10:06

Despite Mr. Lacey's defense of the newspaper editor, I have a hard time seeing Mr. Creighton as anything but a groveling toady to the the Left's program of "coordination" where any departure from the PC "don't mention Islam" rule results in the free-thinker being driven from the public square and his livelihood. What's to respect when a "journalist" actively assists the State's enforcers instead of questioning them?

Denyse O'Leary • Apr 26, 2018 at 09:05

Mark writes, "Freedom of expression is dying in a land that was once the crucible of liberty - and so-called "journalists" like Phil Creighton are happy to serve as court eunuchs to the new thought-crime commissars." [UPDATE: Mr Lucey defends Mr Creighton's honor below - which is more than Creighton was willing to do for Lucey.]"

Look at it this way: Who needs freedom of expression? A society of independent farmers, professionals, small businesses, and craftspeople would value freedom of expression because success includes independent judgment in the context of honest discussion.

As more and more people work for government and government-dominated enterprises or are dependent on them for survival, fewer see the point of thinking for oneself or confronting issues honestly - even if failing to do so will cost one's life. The main thing is to keep the rules and don't ay thing that upset anyone and hope to stay out of trouble.

People sometimes speak confidently of the fact that the toxic campus snowflakes who assault profs and dissenting students won't find jobs. Yes, they will. Progressive governments will need lots of them and they will be loyal after a fashion because they have no other future. Their ignorance of their heritage is actually a strength. When progressives return to power in the United States, they will behave the way these British thought police and the Trudeau regime in Canada are behaving. They wll lose no time in taking back lost ground.

"Conservatives" go along with it all because they then get to exist as a pretend alternative but never have to do anything. A viable alternative would require the dismantlement of the progressive state.

Just for example, all public school students would be voucher students, whose parents are disinclined to see vast wads of money wasted on administrations whose job is explaining why classrooms are out of control. But what "conservative" will really fight for that? And if one did, who would vote for her? Wouldn't she be targeted as a "hateful" person? Foolish people who know something is dreadfully wrong but lack the courage to confront what it is will avoid her.

Giovanna Visconti

Denyse O'Leary • Apr 26, 2018 at 17:53

I would like to apologize to Mr. Steyn and his excellent staff who allow us the opportunity to comment here. As time went by today, I realized I'd written something unacceptable in response to an excellent post today (April 26) by Denyse O'Leary, here under "Getting Used to It."

As a resident of New York City for several decades, it has become second nature to refer to the city, without thinking, by names that would be, quite properly, objectionable here. So I'm amending my error and hope my comments will be accepted with this and a few other adjustments.

Outstanding, Denyse!

Don't know where to begin with this excellent post! But anyway:

Denyse writes:

"As more and more people work for government and government-dominated enterprises or are dependent on them for survival, fewer see the point of thinking for oneself or confronting issues honestly - even if failing to do so will cost one's life. The main thing is to keep the rules and don't ay thing that upset anyone and hope to stay out of trouble."

That describes New York City! Yes, yes, I know: California is the major example, but California gets all the press because the governing population is so far Left it's become difficult to categorize. But flying quietly under the radar is the one-party state of New York, headed by the one-party city of New York. It's always been a one-party deal, at least since I've lived here ('62)—with the exception of Rudy Giuliani's two terms—and that includes the disaster that was John Lindsay's mayoralty, from 1966 through 1973: a perfect example of what Denyse describes as "keep the rules and don't s[ay] a thing that upset[s] anyone and hope to stay out of trouble." It was reported that in 2016, New York City alone voted over 80% for Hillary Clinton. Can't get too much more "one party" than that.

And THIS brilliant paragraph from Denyse!

"People sometimes speak confidently of the fact that the toxic campus snowflakes who assault profs and dissenting students won't find jobs. Yes, they will. Progressive governments will need lots of them and they will be loyal after a fashion because they have no other future. Their ignorance of their heritage is actually a strength. When progressives return to power in the United States, they will behave the way these British thought police and the Trudeau regime in Canada are behaving. They will lose no time in taking back lost ground."

EXACTLY! THIS is the profound disaster awaiting this country, unless we somehow have profound change! Not looking likely. Our disastrous schools—from K-12 through the awful universities—are churning out historically illiterate and ignorant individuals who will be running things in a very short time. In fact, we've seen that the high tide of Leftism has already thrown some of them up on the shore, like Ben Rhodes for one example.

Denyse then points out:

"'Conservatives' go along with it all because they then get to exist as a pretend alternative but never have to do anything. A viable alternative would require the dismantlement of the progressive state."

A perfect description of most of the Republican Party! That's all they've been for such a long time, and apparently all they want to be: a "pretend alternative" so they can just "Pick a little, talk a little...cheap, cheap, cheap...talk a lot, pick a little more..." (h/t Meredith Willson!), and hold on to their own power, such as it is. Basically they agree fundamentally with the Left anyway. They've no real principles of their own. There are some few, of course, but they'll be voices crying in the wilderness for a while, and then eventually throw up their hands and return to real life.

Holly Birtwistle

Denyse O'Leary • Apr 26, 2018 at 22:38

Right-on Denise. The 'gravy train' of perks also dissuades people in government from actually changing anything. No one wants to sacrifice, they want these perks for themselves and their families. You should run for government - you'd be surprised how many people would vote for someone who calls a 'spade a spade', like yourself andTrump.

Janet Pajerski • Apr 26, 2018 at 09:01

The haters of Western (i.e., European) culture/civilization,, whom we generally refer to as the "international globalists", have completely undermined the moral foundation of that civilization (i.e., destruction of the family, rampant pornography, etc.). Our political elites (of all political stripes) have been somehow compromised into a cowardly and treasonous political correctness which permits the overrun of our nations by mass immigration. Yes, we are being 'trained in acceptance' -- our children and grandchildren will need to accept total subjugation.

Nicola Timmerman • Apr 26, 2018 at 08:49

So we have come to this: How to Survive a Getting Hit by a Car, According to a Professional ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhKZwyIMiNk

Also useful the Shahada: there is no god, but All-llah, and [ I testify that ] Muhammad is the messenger of All-llah.

PK33 • Apr 26, 2018 at 08:48

If more and more people host their own websites, like SteynOnline, so that their views theoretically cannot be restricted, or eliminated, will the SJWs demand that the internet providers take the websites down once they no longer have FB or Twitter as leverage for their causes?

Mark replies:

Oh, yes.

PK33 • Apr 26, 2018 at 09:59

For sure. I believe that already happened to Daily Stormer, and a number of far less extreme sites like VDare and American Renaissance had their ability to raise funds effectively curtailed by PayPal.

Holly Birtwistle

PK33 • Apr 26, 2018 at 22:46

But they won't succeed in my opinion. The end of the Big Tech Companies is on the horizon; they cannot be trusted for a number of reasons. New, smaller internet services will replace them.

Alex Baldor • Apr 26, 2018 at 07:49

I am waiting to read the latest news that the British parliament passed a resolution to remove the statues of the despicable, White supremacist, Islamophobic racist Winston Churchill from all public squares, also remove his books from all public libraries and burn them

Giovanna Visconti

Alex Baldor • Apr 26, 2018 at 10:20

Coming, Alex, coming. And after Churchill's statue comes down (along with Nelson's), then Stratford will be shut down, the house dismantled or...simply converted into housing for the burgeoning immigrant population.

You know where Churchill's statue stands, unmolested? At a relatively small, independent college in the U.S., Hillsdale College in Michigan. Hillsdale accepts no government monies, so they won't have to take down the Churchill statue, or else risk losing federal money. Winston stands there along with a seated statue of Baroness Thatcher. However, eventually Hillsdale will have to ring the campus with armed guards, I'm guessing.

Holly Birtwistle

Alex Baldor • Apr 26, 2018 at 22:50

All these things are 'straws on the camels back', on the road to civil war or some sort of horrific backlash in Britain. As well as some other European nations.

Dennis wichterman • Apr 26, 2018 at 07:16

MarK

As to Obits, it seems the California murderer, only one? Is an ex-cop. Why? He was a cop for two years in 71-73 but was fired for stealing. Seems that a better label would be ex-thief or ex-murderer. What would you be labeled, ex bus-boy? Words are used now to label police as butchers now, an Ex-cop. Of course.

BallBounces in Toronto • Apr 26, 2018 at 06:57

In spite of all the "we are united" hoo-hah, the day after the carnage in Toronto cars had resumed travelling along Doris Avenue (which runs one short block east of Yonge), at unsafe, unfriendly speeds. Toronto is becoming increasingly unsafe for pedestrians -- many more pedestrians will die this year in Toronto from "normal" Toronto driving behaviours than those who were mown down on Monday. About 5 pedestrians are hit per day, and one per week is killed. The social convention (and law) that pedestrians have the right of way is unravelling. The new convention is "pedestrian beware".

PK33

BallBounces in Toronto • Apr 26, 2018 at 08:42

I cannot agree with you Ball. The law does not always grant pedestrians the right of way. If they are crossing legally they have it, but if they are jaywalking or crossing against a light they do not. I find it very odd that Canadians seem to think that pedestrians always have the right of way and in my experience most of them do not even look for traffic when they cross a street.

I've lived in some large US cities and pedestrians watch for vehicles because it is often a matter of life and death. A few years back a friend from Miami and I were driving in Calgary and I had to yell at him to stop when a person started crossing after the "Don't Walk" light came on as he was about to turn right. When I told him that Canadians don't usually even look, they just assume that vehicles will stop and they just keep on walking he thought that was one of the dumbest things ever. I have to agree. Just like other areas of society, people want to have every right and zero responsibility, even for their own safety. Pedestrians should always be aware. Motorists and cyclist should be as well.

BallBounces in Toronto • Apr 26, 2018 at 09:51

I'm glad I'm not the only one retching at all this maudlin #TorontoStrong nonsense.

With regards to your point about the pedestrian carnage here, I often wonder where some of our fellow drivers purchase their licenses from because they cannot possibly have earned them. Having said that, many pedestrians here apparently think it wise to meander around having rendered themselves deaf and peripherally blind with their earbuds and those ridiculously elongated fur-trimmed hoods.

And then there's the cyclists.

Gwendolyne Curran

KC • Apr 26, 2018 at 16:27

Hit twice while walking (legally) on the sidewalk by cyclists who seem to have less regard for the laws of the roads than pedestrians and some car drivers.

BallBounces in Toronto

PK33 • Apr 26, 2018 at 19:24

Take a look at this -- http://spacing.ca/toronto/2015/06/24/reid-exploding-some-myths-about-pedestrian-collisions/

or this -- https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/who-has-the-right-of-way-at-a-crosswalk-cars-or-pedestrians/article15719308/

Simus1canada • Apr 26, 2018 at 06:15

Even the murdered and maimed innocent, going about their ordinary lives on a Toronto street while being killed by an evil human question mark must be made to serve the ends of disgusting VWs on the left.
Very Stalinesque. Very Katyn.

peter lucey • Apr 26, 2018 at 02:52

Mark, I am the Peter Lucey referred to, and I know and respect Phil Creighton (the Wokingham Paper editor). I thank you for your support but think your criticism of him is unfair. I resigned as some of the links and views could be considered unappropriate as Wokingham Town Mayor position and there had been a complaint. I want the best for Wokingham Town, and so resigned. Best wishes Peter.

Simus1Canada

peter lucey • Apr 26, 2018 at 10:41

Peter, just a reminder for the road ahead.
No one not 100% onside with the left can ever hope to meet their true moral threshold for acceptance.
No one 100% onside with the left need ever worry much about exceeding their true moral threshold for rejection.
Best wishes.

Clark Jerrell

peter lucey • Apr 26, 2018 at 11:14

Just out of curiousity: If you hold views that would be considered "unappropriate as Wokingham Town Mayor", what were you doing in the position in the first place? If your views themselves are inappropriate, why should your Web browsing history along those lines be so disqualifying?

Even if you were a rampant, full-throated white nationalist, and I rather suspect you are not, you have a fundamental right to your personal political/social beliefs, especially in the country that was the birthplace of the modern idea of "freedom of expression". I believe that you should not have felt obliged to step down from your position because you happen to read Gatestone and Steyn Online, or clicked on "Like" to Geert Wilders's fan page.

All the best for you and your future endeavours, but Mark is right. Creighton is a weasel and freedom of thought is dying in your country. Take care.

John Shuba

Clark Jerrell • Apr 26, 2018 at 11:58

Very well said. I wish Mr. Lucey all the best but his resignation (both official and emotional) bodes ill for the future of freedom of expression in Blighty (if indeed any is left.) I suspect a good deal of this is due to the fact that British citizens are now so used to being watched in almost every aspect of their lives. The National Health system requires that all of your personal information be provided and archived within their massive record system. The British Police are practically out of the business or actually investigating crime and much more interested in monitoring "impure" thoughts on social media. In fact the most noteworthy thing about the UK police is their increasing use of CCTV cameras on every street corner which record just about everything that happens in public. When faced with such an atmosphere I suppose the tendency of most people is to simply give up and go along with it. I'm sure that the British government will soon demand that each home be equipped with an Orwellian telescreen that watches you more than you watch it. It's very sad.

Roger Beesley

peter lucey • Apr 26, 2018 at 14:54

Mr. Lucey; with all due respect, I have to wonder if there isn't something else going on here. What you have done by resigning, and by your response above, is to cede victory to the intolerant, censorious mob.
I understand that to your typical "common purpose" hag, Mark Steyn is the devil incarnate, but by succumbing to this pressure you have essentially confirmed that the tactics of the thugs work and that they are right, what you did was innapropriate. I have to ask, since it is many years since I was in that area; is there a significant muslim presence, do you fear for your own or your family's safety?
Perhaps you just became frustrated with it, I know that local politics in particular, can be a very time consuming and thankless activity.
Anyway, best wishes.

Holly Birtwistle

peter lucey • Apr 26, 2018 at 23:04

Peter, nice of you to weigh in on the discussion. You should not have resigned; you did nothing wrong by listening to opposing or diverse views. That never used to be a reason to resign. Listening to and considering other views is called freedom of speech, and freedom of expression. If everyone in government who dares to have their own opinions or listens to other views resigns or is pressured to resign, Britain is truly on the road to serious unrest.

Bob Belvedere

peter lucey • Apr 27, 2018 at 09:14

Mr. Lucey: regarding your comments and actions: Could This Be One Explanation?

Adam • Apr 25, 2018 at 23:59

Mark you've written that in the future there will be no jokes but it seems that in the future the chief victim of the culture will be logic itself. Logic why isn't that just a manifestation of white settler colonial ideology? Nuts to that! Eventually it won't just be the apparatus of the state and the journalists that will have made a mockery of logic at some point this will mindset will infect everyone from the butcher to the baker to the candle stick maker and then it'll be the end of us all. First they came for the knives but I said nothing because I was not an electrician, general contractor, chef, package delivery man, art student who has progressed beyond safety scissors ... do you need a license for a letter opener in the "crucible of liberty"?

Denyse O'Leary

Adam • Apr 26, 2018 at 09:11

As a matter of fact, there is a full on war within science today against falsifiability and a serious movement that sees consciousness as an illusion.

As post-modernism advances on science, logic gets revalued as just some people's oppressive way of thinking that hurts others. It's useless to say that that won't end well because "well" itself becomes a point of contention.

Kate Smyth

Denyse O'Leary • Apr 27, 2018 at 09:27

"We should apply logic and reason? But that's just your opinion!"

Lindsay Shepherd explained that any form of debate is now deemed to be a construct of white privilege. Similarly, it appears scientific convention has deprived transgendered persons of their dignity. Everything Must Go, as Mark observed.

Sol Cranfill • Apr 25, 2018 at 22:55

Kanye West woke up as the new mayor of Wokenham. Enoch Powell said that a country can be fought for, but not its values. I wonder if he would concede that values are fought from. Our values have drastically changed. Today I asked someone, who had said the usual about abortion and a woman's body, "What about the baby's body?" and I got the following reply: "what about it ?, in the civilized world we do abortions until a certain time / development stage. in my country the max time is 12 weeks pregnancy and until that time the unborn life is called either embryo or foetus. and isnt conciderd human yet so the dumpster will do i guess."

The devaluation of life, appearing in policies like the outsourcing of population, is creating a disposable culture. Philosophies trickle down to street level, and the street (the most generic kind of society) is where certain disaffected people, grasping the essence, take a logically sequential step on a people who, in a sense, created them - and took away their hope. They'll see the nihilism, and up the ante to death. The left acknowledges the logic by tolerating the byproduct, but then, illogically, doubles-down to reinforce the philosophy, declaring the perpetrator to be a victim, and that more of the same is necessary. It's the circle of extinction.

Fran Lavery

Sol Cranfill • Apr 26, 2018 at 14:41

Excellent insight, Sol. How to break that circle, is the million dollar question.

Sol Cranfill

Fran Lavery • Apr 26, 2018 at 15:26

I think England is showing us that even with a good foundation, the faith of our forefathers has to be current.

Holly Birtwistle

Sol Cranfill • Apr 26, 2018 at 23:15

Sol, you are over-thinking this because you want an answer for society's issues. But it is far too complex to boil it down to devaluation of life - due to abortions, or anything else. Life is greatly enhanced, valued, and lengthened in our modern Society. More than it has ever been in History.

Kate Smyth

Sol Cranfill • Apr 27, 2018 at 09:16

And looking at England, it's interesting that a local councillor is compelled to resign over virtual links to not-so-controversial anti-Islam views, while the UK Labour Party approaches "Nation of Islam" levels of anti-Semitism. It's about time Mark got himself officially banned from speaking in this once great, now odious, little country; it's beneath him.

(On a related note, re Kanye West, Mark should definitely interview him. Seriously.)

Reid Trummel • Apr 25, 2018 at 22:41

That answers a question I've long had. Steyn's work ethic and massive production on so many topics in so many media must certainly be the result of the effort of more than one man, er, person. And the answer is, Steyn is plural. Makes sense.

Paul Nachman

Reid Trummel • Apr 26, 2018 at 00:10

Reid is right: Mark Steyn is astonishing ... in a **good** way.

Heck, on top of everything else, he must be able to type like mad!

Susan Loring • Apr 25, 2018 at 22:02

"You'll be surprised how much of 'the right' counts as alt-right..." I'm glad you pointed this out, Mark. It's become standard behavior recently for people on the left to characterize all conservative ideas as alt-right, all the better to imply these ideas are outrageous and should be rejected automatically.

Sol Cranfill

Susan Loring • Apr 25, 2018 at 22:59

The Ctrl-Alt-Del people.