Ghost of a flea

I am also looking forward to her book. But let's not pretend that Manji was anything but an element of the most obnoxious part of the Canadian leftist establishment. Condescending and patronizing, all the way.

As for the right half of the blog-world, I find it is too often infested with LGF-quoting bigots. I do see great potential in the right-wing-blogosphere, but it needs to clean up its act first. We need a blog-conservatism free of bigotry.

Non-bigotry all round!

Let's so I am optimistic about Manji's book while accepting that "condescending and patronizing" are almost inevitable when we are talking about the well-meaning Canadian establishment.

I use lgf as a resource all the time and am happy to be numbered among the non-idiotarians listed there. There is plenty of intemperate language in the comments and that fire is directed at all sides. I suppose the hope I feel for Manji's book is the possibility of conversation directed to specific policies and specific issues rather than the generalized finger-pointing to which debate often descends.

Nick -- I've also spent some time on LGF. It is the most popular hate-blog on the net, and being on its blogroll should really be a mark of shame, not pride. If you really are interested, I can pull out some of the stuff said in the comments section to ilusrate what the blog is about. Thoguh i'm sure you are aware of the stuff said there.

The blog goes far beyong intemperate language. and by no means is the hate directed at all sides (not that it would be aceptable even if it did have a wide variety of bigots, not just one type).

I've been told that LGF was not always a cesspool of hate. Perhaps. But that's what it is now. And there is nothing edifying about participating (or endorsing) such a group.

Mr. Saeed,

I'm not certain it's entirely fair to judge a blog by the content of the commenters. Let's be a little more fair and judge it by the actual posts of the authors. I read LGF fairly frequently and I do not see any evidence of snicere hate-mongering by Charles and LGF. I do see that Charles is particularly fed up with the major media giving Palestinians a free ride, while working Israel over pretty hard. I think he's also a little ticked that other moderate Muslims have not done a terrific amount of self-policing; discrediting those (like Osama) who twist Islam into a vengeful violent force. This is the sort of thing that happens all the time when a so-called Christian bombs an abortion clinic; the ones who call these terror attacks a step forward for the unborn are roundly criticized. I think LGF would be happy if the Middle East started doing some of the same.

It's also not hard to spot some "intemperate remarks" as Nick puts it, in the comments. This doesn't lead me to believe that all LGF readers are foaming at the mouth and lurking on street corners with crowbars to waylay Muslim women and children. The commenters are usually harsh critics of the United States, Canada, and Israel, when warranted, not just Arab or Muslim states.

Perhaps you've had a bad experience there, and this may help persuade you that they are all bigots. Keep in mind that there are rotten apples in every bunch, but that does not mean that the entire franchise can be painted with such a broadly irredeemable brush.

I wrote a post intending to congratulate Manji for taking a position as leftist, activist, feminist Muslim woman who has reportedly written from a perspective all too infrequently heard at the very real possibility of risk to herself. The only "shame" connected to my post is that she should have received threats for expressing her opinions. I have not read her book and so can only comment on what I have seen from the related website and express a hope for the possibility of a debate which includes the liberation of women everywhere and an end to the vile anti-semitism which has reared its head in so many corners. I further pointed to a peculiar state of affairs where the advocates of democracy, freedom of conscience and personal liberty are often heard in places I would never have expected until recently. Am I skeptical about the intentions and motivations of many elected officials in the West? Absolutely. That is a list which starts with the government of Canada. But nothing I had to say and nothing Manji faces has anything to do with anonymous comments left on another blog.

One of these days I might write a post about my editorial policy here. I delete comments which use foul language or which I regard as abusive or insulting to other commenters or myself. I also delete comments I find offensive. In fact, I just deleted a comment someone left with regard to gay marriage for no other reason than I disagreed with it. Why? I publish this thing and I pay for it. This is not a public forum. I have no interest in paying to publish viewpoints with which I disagree unless I find them entertaining, educational or otherwise thought-provoking.

What's unque about Manji is that what she says should be self-evident. Women should have equal rights to men. Homosexuals exist (loved the story on her web site about the reaction to her show on gay Muslims) and should have rights. Criticizing Israel is OK, but rabid anti-Semitism is not. Slavery is not nice. Tolerance is good.

The fact that saying these things out loud is seen as a betrayal and a threat is scary.

Ikram,

We need a blog-world free of bigotry. In fact, I don't think the lack of bigotry should be limited to the blog-world.

Chris -- As Nick points out, a blogger controls his own comments. On my blog, I enjoy reading comments that disagree with me, but I delete comments I find unacceptable. Charles Johnson's comments indicate the range of view he finds acceptable.

Angua -- I agree. But the blog world (this corner of it) is one of my worlds, and i care more about the worlds I occupy. I will also be voting against the white-supremicist running for mayor of Ottawa. Let's focus on keeping our own worlds clean.

And out of defernece to Nick, who does not appreciate the way this thread has drifted, I'll refrain from commenting further on this issue here.

Thanks, Ikram, Chris and Angua for your courteous exchange of views. This post has moved further up the Google search hierarchy than I might have expected and I am closing comments to it now.