Last update - 09:28 29/07/2005
Straight Talk / A Geek Chorus, British-style
By Julie Burchill
I call them The Geek Chorus; those differently-reasoning, shall we say, individuals who, just when you think about some hot topic - Well, at least no one will say X! - promptly get up and say X.
Right now, they're the people writing letters to every English newspaper from the Mail to the Guardian suggesting that we should "negotiate" with the joyless, murderous nihilists who perpetrated the London bombings.
Here is one from the Mail: "Terrorism doesn't arrive spontaneously for no reason. It always has a cause and the only way to bring it to an end is by bargaining with its perpetrators and obtaining some kind of qualified agreement. We need a willingness to obtain a practical solution - which may involve giving in to some of the terrorists demands," writes one Philip Hodgetts blithely.
One wonders if his reaction would be the same to a white - as opposed to Islamofascist - fascist campaign of terror.
But generally the same British survey-responding public (which less than a year ago allegedly considered Israel the greatest threat to world peace on earth) have now turned on the Muslims instead, with three-quarters of those questioned believing that even moderate community leaders have not done enough to discourage their young men from hating the host country to the point of wanting to bomb it out of existence.
It's true that London - mocked as "Londonistan" by the French - plays host to a large number of virulently hardline Islamists who preach hatred of Jews, homosexuals and "decadent" Western values, while being happy to soak up up hundreds of thousands of pounds in welfare benefits each year.
A great deal of Muslim bleating about the "Islamophobia" backlash conveniently ignores the fact that the majority of the record number of attacks on synagogues this year have been carried out in the name of Allah rather than Hitler. And what could be more "decadent," if you like, than blowing up innocent people just so you can get it on in an orgy of 72 virgins! Motley Crue at their most debauched would have drawn the line at that.
I'd love to know exactly how a society which prizes freedom is supposed to negotiate with joyless, murderous nihilists. Do we promise to kill half our homosexuals? Imprison half our women in their homes? Close down half of all Christian, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu places of worship? Make half our men grow beards? And ban half of all music created and consumed in this country?
Maybe Prince Charles, who so famously wants to be the "Defender Of All Faiths," could lead the way by getting his mother to close down half her churches, veiling Camilla, pulling the plug on the endless Princes' Trust pop concerts, growing some face-fur and seeking out a gay relation - go on, there must be one Windsor woofter! - and beheading him.
Or maybe Mayor Livingstone, the enthusiastic host of mad mullahs who believe that women should be beaten and homosexuals killed - or is it the other way around? - could sacrifice a few Londoners as part of the Olympic celebrations.
Ridiculous? Without doubt. But no more ridiculous than believing that a free, democratic nation can negotiate with joyless, murderous nihilists.
