Jenner's cutting remark

Bruce Jenner was a hero of the 1976 Olympics in my hometown of Montreal. He won the gold medal in the decathlon, a discipline that is specifically for men. He was married at the time but then divorced and subsequently married and divorced twice again He produced two children with each of his three wives. By any calculation that makes him a father of six. Perhaps by some estimations that makes him something of a patriarch. Bruce Jenner is no more, however. A search of his name re-directs the searcher to Caitlyn Jenner because that's how he chooses to identify himself. He had a ten-hour facial feminisation procedure and acquired implanted breasts two years ago, in addition to some hormone treatment (I think). Since then he/she has been much in the news and entertainment complex, boasting some fabulous wigs, artful make-up and expensive attire. Well ok, no harm done, right?  Besides everyone else having to readjust their understanding of reality, maybe not, although how readjusting one's understanding of reality weighs up against one person's understanding of their identity is in fact a huge question and not one that necessarily leads to sweetness and light by any means. The big news now, though, is that Bruce/Caitlyn has this year undergone surgery to remove his male genitalia, and presumably replace it with a semblance of the female opposite. This is what was until five minutes ago called gender reassignment surgery and is now referred to as 'gender confirmation surgery'. This news was accompanied by a quote from Jenner on the organ he calls "just a penis", the one he had chopped off. Here is the quote: "It has no special gifts or use for me other than what I have said before, the ability to take a whiz in the woods." Er, hang on a minute. First of all, in what universe are women incapable of taking 'a whiz in the woods'? (Dismissing as unworthy the other questions that pop up, to wit, how many times did Bruce Jenner actually have to take a whiz in the woods? Was it a regular occurrence? Will Caitlyn now avoid woods for the rest of her life?) Secondly and, of course, more importantly, are we meant to blot from our minds the truth that Jenner's male genitalia engendered six other human beings, all still bearing his name (except for one married daughter as far as I can tell)? No "special gifts", are you kidding? No "use"? The context is meant, I suppose, to be one where the glories of his progenitive power are in the past and now considered to be surplus to requirement. But it seems a bit hard on his children. And even if they all come out in support of their father spouting such nonsense it makes the readjustments to reality for the rest of us that much harder still.

An Islamic reformation?

Well-meaning people often seek to excuse the Islamism on show in every terror event in the West (last port of call: London) by saying that what Islam needs is a reformation. Then, the implication is, all will be sweetness and light and Islam and the West will live peacefully side by side, or even intertwined. The reference, never clearly stated, is to the Christian Reformation that occurred in the 16th century in continental Europe and the British Isles. This Reformation was a movement to recover the truths of the Bible from under the accretions of the Roman Catholic Church. It aimed to hark back to a purer form of Christianity than what prevailed at the time, which had grown in tandem with the Papacy and with widespread political power. The reference is meant to be a positive one: I mean look at how kindly Christianity has accommodated itself to the secularising world since its Reformation. Admirable! An example to be imitated! Such are the undercurrents of this stated hope for Islamic renewal.  But this is misguided, and a completely wrong interpretation of the current situation. For the reformation of Islam is before us now; it is exactly what is unfolding year in, year out in the main cities of the West. It is precisely what we try to distinguish as 'Islamism'. In many countries in the 19th and 20th centuries Islam had grown into a mellow religion with a high tolerance for secularism and for Western decadence. Islamic reformation says enough of that, thank you very much. The Al-Qaeda and Isis type of return to the Koran calls the faithful to embrace their roots in the literal origins of Islam, and rediscover its unyieldingly militaristic and terroristic DNA. When well-meaning people indulge in this reference to Christian history, they gloss over the bloodshed, violence, destruction and martyrdoms the Reformation resulted in over several decades. No doubt they can look at the ruins of any given abbey or monastery and see prettiness, rather than the desecration, despoliation and very often murder that were necessary to produce these ruins. The 21st century Jihad against the West (and indeed unreformed Muslims) is the same sort of thing. But along with subjugating the moderates within Islam itself, its stated aim is to overthrow an entire foreign civilisation, namely ours. Please let's refrain from dreaming of an Islamic reformation: we are already having it.  

Ovaries, rosaries

Irish abortion advocates are pushing to repeal the 8th amendment which protects the rights of the unborn child. If they can do this while further weakening to influence of the Catholic Church, all the better. In the Canadian province of Québec where I come from, which also used to be very Catholic,  the push for secularism and feminism happened a few decades ago. We humans are so unoriginal in our tendencies that naturally the same sort of process is now happening in Ireland. It didn't make women happier or kinder in Québec. Greater spiritual well-being is not what happens when basic facts are suppressed or denied. Of course women are people - who is stating otherwise? But yes, we are vessels for other people. This is known as pregnancy. It's an observable fact - and an awesome one - that women have this capacity. Nothing is gained by turning it into a bogus war between the made-up opponents of people vs vessels. As for rosaries and ovaries, you would think that the rosary and the cult of Mary generally are just about the most sympathetic friends any ovary could possibly wish for, based on a woman generating the Saviour of the world and all that. But mustn't let that get in the way of a neat catchphrase or a trendy poster. 

Mighty Muir

Anyone in need of a mood boost could do worse than look up footage of GB athlete Laura Muir elegantly powering her way to European Indoor Championship gold medals this past weekend in both the 1500m and 3000m  - and almost incidentally breaking records. Also inspiring are her record-breaking performances earlier this year. The woman is on fire. And she loves animals: living an otherwise regular life, in Glasgow, studying to be a vet. You go, girl.

Hollywood royalty

The difference between good royalty and bad royalty is accountability. The senior members of the British royal family quietly go about doing countless deeds of service to their country. The cost of maintaining the royals - or maybe it was just the Queen - has been calculated as amounting to as little as 53 pence per citizen per year. At the other end you have royalty that takes and takes and does not give back. This was how France's last King, Louis XVI, was perceived, and his young Austrian wife Marie Antoinette, before they were both executed in 1793. This is the kind of royalty that says: 'let them eat cake' in response to the populace starving for lack of bread. Marie Antoinette most probably never said that, but it encapsulates an attitude and so it lives on. To this bad kind of royalty we must now add Hollywood royalty. For several years now they have been openly contemptuous of the plebs who pay to see their products and hence make their inflated salaries possible. The other night at the Oscars, their attitude could not have been clearer. Privileged celebrity after privileged celebrity derided the concerns of the common man. They portrayed themselves as essential (the once brilliant Viola Davis, now overblown with fame and adulation) or as 'migrant workers' (Mexican Gael Garcia Bernal) who, by implication, feel the pain of the working man. 'Let them have no walls or borders' said the diminutive Bernal, in response (presumably) to the genuine concerns about immigration, sovereignty and security that were partly responsible for the election of Donald Trump, their great figure of hate, the Louis XVI of the chattering classes.  And then there was the disgusting stunt with the plebs themselves, a carefully orchestrated 'impromptu' moment when a group of forelock-tugging - sorry, I mean smart phone-wielding - tourists from flyover country were ushered into the super-privileged gathering of movie stars to gawp and marvel, and to be marvelled at in turn by the celebrities as if they were dear little creatures from a travelling zoo. There was no difference between this stunt and Marie Antoinette's 'Petit Trianon', her theme park replica of peasant life on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles: a pastiche of 'real life' for those who no longer know - or have never known - what that is, contrived and tightly controlled so it poses no threat whatsoever, as real life so often does. Marie Antoinette had the grace to grow in stature and understanding during her harsh imprisonment before execution. Hollywood royals, who unlike their 18th century predecessors, have access to all the means of modern communication, could be afforded the same redemptive opportunity by a simple expedient: us plebs boycotting their products. Viewing figures for this year's Oscars suggest there might already be a trend in that direction.

The limits of atheism

Dave Cullen, one of my favourite alternative media voices posted this video the other day. It was partly in response to another favourite, Black Pigeon Speaks, who was answering a question from a viewer about the 'holographic universe' espoused by some tech people who have finally reached the all-too obvious limits of materialism and are now making up their own Creation stories. This is an excellent video, well reasoned and genuinely tolerant. It's also an encouraging indication that the self-righteous fad of 'New Atheism' may have run its course; that the hatred of Christianity which has afflicted the West for generations has perhaps peaked and also reached its natural limit. To deny the spiritual reality of life is so illogical and unobservant it cannot possibly stand for very long. Yet by now it's stood long enough to imperil the whole of Western civilisation. For those who now realise that Western civilisation has left itself wide open to being overtaken by, and subsumed under, militant Islam please note there is no secularism on earth that can resist such a force. Spiritually speaking, only Christ can stand against Islam. That is why Islam all over the world proclaims that Jesus is not the Son of God and the Saviour five times a day, day in day out, week in week out, month after month, year after year, century after century. For the West to proclaim the virtues of hedonistic secularism, let alone identity politics and the SJW mentality, against a foreign religious ideology that is on the war path is like holding up bits of straw to fend off a tsunami. Civilisation emerges out of religion. Civilisation cannot survive without religion, of one kind or another. Western atheists need to wake up to this fact. The more they kick against Christ the more, inadvertently or purposefully, they open the door to Mohamed.

Why the women marched

Ladies of the world, keep calm and learn something. All that's happened is that you've been rumbled. You've been found out. One man you disapprove of is inaugurated into a position of great power and that's all it takes for you to acknowledge what you pretend is not true.  For all the world to see, you now implicitly agree to the following. 

1.White men do matter. 2. The US is a beacon to the world and it also matters. 3. Women are women. 4. The colour pink (see images of marches) is a universally recognised symbol of the female sex, never mind its appropriation by gay rights. 5. Women have traditionally learned how to do things like knit, crochet and sew, which are jolly good skills to have (see below, 'Pussy Hat Project').

https://www.pussyhatproject.com

The Women's March on Washington D.C. is happening January 21, 2017! The Pussyhat Project launched Thanksgiving weekend! As of now, we have 4 days to knit, crochet, and sew 1.17 million pink pussyhats. Join the movement

6. Chivalry matters; it is shameful for men to speak crudely about women. 7.  There is no 'equality'; an equal-opportunity loud mouth like Donald Trump must be shamed specifically in regards to certain  groups 8. Women discriminate against men: Trump is neither suave enough (like Bill Clinton) nor deemed sexy enough (any pop or rock star) to get away with crude boasting uttered years ago in private though the favoured men could easily have indulged in it too, probably did, probably do. 9. Feminism hates successful men; why else would it revolt against a man who is surrounded by apparently happy and empowered, intelligent and beautiful women, both in his own family and at work? A man who was voted for by women too? 10.  The infamous 'grab them' comment - presumably the biggest trigger for the marches and 'pussy hats' - was correct. Yes, I'm afraid this worldwide 'movement' of women against Trump looks like a classic instance of protesting-too-much. Any woman who denies that we women can be complete tarts for a powerful male is a liar; or who disregards that a woman will prostitute herself for any sort of power. Hence the ubiquity, after decades of feminism, of women baring their flesh and promoting their sexual availability for gain, for career, for social media status, for all of the above and just basically at the drop of a hat if it will get them some attention. This truth is sad and complicated in its origins but the mere fact that it is truth is so uncomfortable, it sits so awkwardly with the demand for sexual respect rather than the earning of sexual respect, that it must be shouted down as loudly as possible, with as much irrational anger as possible.  And that's what the marches were in a nutshell: irrational shouting and anger. You've come  a long way, baby, from wanting to be valued as rational, but it's not a way forward.