Here is another City Journal entry we missed, a short piece from August on the riots in Sweden earlier in the summer. Dalrymple puts his finger on something that always seems apparent in such instances, the fantasy world of evasions, half-truths and polite fictions associated with anything involving immigration or multiculturalism in Europe:
A gulf soon opened between the pays légal and the pays réel. Officially, all was welcoming, generous, and equal; in reality, urban ghettos were springing up, with all their attendant problems…If there is one thing that we fear and attempt to stifle in Europe, it is open and honest debate.
I’m not convinced that it is the lack of honest debate that is the real problem here. Sweden just needs to throw out all its Muslim immigrants. Problem solved. Then debates could be as dishonest as you like.
Whilst on the topic, perhaps readers of Dalrymple (forum members especially) may wish to share their thoughts on the matter on this blog
http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/blog/view/230