| Monday, January 19, 2004 |
16:31 - Stand, Men of the West
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/content_objectid=13830081_method=f
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John Rhys-Davies, just as he publicly said he was sure he would be, is now being thoroughly raked over the coals for daring to express that Western Civilization is worth defending.
In the interview, Rhys-Davies, who plays heroic dwarf Gimli and recorded the voice of computer-animated character Treebeard in the Hollywood blockbuster, interprets Tolkien's story of good versus evil as a metaphor for modern race relations.
He said: "There is a demographic catastrophe happening in Europe that nobody wants to talk about, that we daren't bring up because we are so cagey about not offending people racially. And rightly we should be. But there is a cultural thing as well.
"By 2020, 50 per cent of the children in Holland under the age of 18 will be of Muslim descent.
"I think that Tolkien says that some generations will be challenged. And if they do not rise to meet that challenge, they will lose their civilisation. That does have a real resonance with me."
"I am for dead, (traditional) white male culture," said Rhys-Davies, who divides his time between his homes in Los Angeles and the Isle of Man.
"Many do not understand how precarious Western civilisation is and what a joy it is.
"From it, we get real democracy. From it, we get the sort of intellectual tolerance that allows me to propound something that may be completely alien to you.
"I'm burying my career so substantially in these interviews that it's painful. But I think there are some questions that demand honest answers."
Note the elision of a quote from the earlier interview that makes the above statements sound even less like the ravings of a white supremacist (except insofar that expressing pride in your own culture is a monstrous thing, if you're European):
And don’t forget, coupled with this there is this collapse of numbers. Western Europeans are not having any babies. The population of Germany at the end of the century is going to be 56% of what it is now. The populations of France, 52% of what it is now. The population of Italy is going to be down 7 million people.
There is a change happening in the very complexion of Western civilization in Europe that we should think about at least and argue about. If it just means the replacement of one genetic stock with another genetic stock, that doesn’t matter too much. But if it involves the replacement of Western civilization with a different civilization with different cultural values, then it is something we really ought to discuss — because, [hang it all], I am for dead-white-male culture!”
Now there are leaflets being handed out at showings of Return of the King by the British Nationalist Party, which is portrayed as a completely loathsome group akin to the KKK. The leaflets, which were produced without Rhys-Davies' knowing (or endorsement after the fact), evidently go to great lengths to make clear that they are not trying to make racial judgments against Muslims (which doesn't even make sense, because Muslims aren't a race, remember? Rhys-Davies clearly understands this, but it seems to have been lost on the horrified guys responding to him and on the writer of the article), but rather trying to call attention to the notion that Western Civilization is not some unassailable edifice that can never be torn down, and indeed is a very precarious tapestry of human achievement that must be nurtured lest it fall into disrepair and ruin.
But those who are determined to make race-baiting hay out of this aren't going to be deterred by simple adamant denials of racial chauvinism.
"I condemn these comments as being racist and ill-informed," said Adam Price, Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East & Dinefwr.
"It is obvious that this man who now lives in the lap of luxury in Hollywood is out of touch with realities of the nature of present day European society.
"His attack on Muslims and comments about the threat that they pose to Western society shows his ignorance of world events and the true teachings of Islam.
"Ammanford people will feel very let down by a man with such close connections to the town."
Last night Mohammed Javed, chairman of the Muslim Society for Wales, said: "We want an apology. This could stir up racial hatred in society. It's ignorance, he should learn more about Islam and the religions before he makes these comments.
"They are based on his ignorance and nothing else."
Chief executive of the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (Awema) Naz Malik agreed.
He said: "I do not know why he has said these things. If 50 per cent of people in Holland under 18 are Muslims in 16 years time, so what? In Britain the fastest growing race is mixed race, people of dual heritage. It is a cause for great celebration that our cultures are mixed.
"We live in a global society - we celebrate what is good in cultures and challenge what is bad in civilisations.
"Does he ever listen to any music other than European? Does he eat Indian food? Does he ever appreciate art other than that from Europe?
"I feel sorry for this actor because he must feel very insecure about his future. I feel sorry for his close mindedness."
Hey, maybe he does, you turd. How do you know how the man likes his tabbouleh? How do you arrive at feeling "sorry" for him and painting him as a past-his-prime actor now grandstanding for a legacy, just as he's knowingly imploding the reputation he's earned these past three years in the biggest role he's ever played? How come you can't bring yourself even to acknowledge that Western Civilization has a few benefits that even you enjoy, and that there are things that you might even learn from it, instead of just stamping your foot and demanding apologies? Can you be just a tiny bit less arrogant when demanding that Rhys-Davies turn his own expressions of cultural pride down from 1.5 to 1?
Rhys-Davies has made his career on playing protagonistic roles both European and non-European, and he's making it as clear as day that his goal isn't to denigrate other races or religions wholesale. His entire point is to demonstrate that Islam, just as we've been repeatedly remonstrated about, ought to be able to inspire great positivity in the world. But, dare we make mention, it's not. In this day and age it's inspiring suicide murderers, car bombers, sexual slavemasters, religious nihilists, and a cult of victimhood that preys on the modern European welfare states that are so bound to their mantras of multiculturalism and refusal to confront "what is bad in civilisations" that the social upheaval that Rhys-Davies is warning about is continuing unchecked, without even so much as a hunted and guilt-laden glance in its direction.
Rhys-Davies is daring to stand up and point, and for that he's being crucified.
If someone wants to see a social upheaval waiting to happen, one that's currently held in check by the fragile scaffold-work of postmodern antiseptic decorum, one could do worse than to point to the seemingly huge contingent of Britons who are snapping up the BNP's leaflets. The more they're denied the ability to speak freely and "challenge what is bad in civilisations", the worse the cataclysm will be when it finally occurs.
The way we're going, we will one day see a new Crusade fought right on the fields of Europe.
UPDATE: Alan e-mails to point out that the portrayal of the BNP as a skinhead/KKK-like group is entirely accurate, and Rhys-Davies is well advised to keep from being associated with such a bunch of thugs. I suspected as much, but I had no context for knowing for sure what the story was. I stand clarified.
In any case, it sorta confirms my point: if a major cultural confrontation is coming, it'll be between the radicalized fringes of society. And if the BNP is having as much success handing out these leaflets as the article makes it sound, then that ugly day may not be too long in coming.
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Brian Tiemann
