As some of you know, New Statesman columnist Laurie Penny tweeted the following on November 5th:

“Sharing a copy of The Spectator w some hoodie-wearing yoofs on the bus. After some discussion, we all agree that Theodore Dalrymple is evil.”

Note the moral authority the adult writer ascribes to some slovenly-dressed kids and the pathetic attempt to garner “street credibility” by deliberately misspelling the word “youth” in slum fashion (exactly the “downward cultural aspiration” of which Dalrymple has written).

The message was re-tweeted by Guardian contributor Dan Hind and New Statesman legal correspondent David Allen Green.

Hind’s retweet drew a sharp rebuke in the Telegraph from Katharine Birbalsingh, the teacher sacked last month for criticizing the British educational system at the Conservative Party conference. Calling Hind a friend, she pointed out that Dalrymple “spent many years working with the poorest of the poor as a psychiatrist in British prisons” (though in fact this greatly understates his decades of work among the poor, in Africa, England and elsewhere). She added, “Theodore Dalrymple helped the poor every day of his working life, but I’m not sure whether my friend can say the same for himself. Does working for big publishing houses and attending champagne parties equal working in the squalor of British prisons day in, day out?”.

(Birbalsingh did not name Hind directly, but it is clear that she was referring to him. She tweeted on November 8th that “Dan says Theodore Dalrymple is evil and it has made me so angry I have written a blog”. Hind is the only Dan she was following on Twitter. Other publicly-available communication between the two on this matter explicitly confirms this.)

It’s no surprise that these particular writers strongly disagree with Dalrymple. The New Statesman is an avowedly radical leftist magazine. Hind has no idea who committed the 9/11 attacks. Penny, a self-described deviant socialist reprobate, “incensed with rage” and seemingly at war with the world, is the author of such measured and reasonable statements as “the Tories have just imposed a Final Solution on the urban poor.” She tweeted the following from Wednesday’s protest-turned-riot at Conservative Party headquarters at Millbank Tower:

“Right outside millbank tower. Windows smashing. Smoke bombs going off. Anarchy in the UK!”

“This is simultaneously terrifying and the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

“This is the violence of the disposessed. They are not a minority. They are young and scared and angry. Listen before condemning.”

“No I don’t like violence. But this is what happens when govt decides it can override the people. It’s tragic, yes.”

“there was violence on both sides. I’m not condoning or condemning it. It’s just sad that it’s come to this.”

Got that? Sufficiently outraged to shout “evil” at someone like Dalrymple, but strictly non-judgemental about riots and terrorist attacks. One would think this lunacy would prevent Penny, Green and Hind from being taken seriously. In fact, Penny is on the short list for an Orwell Prize for blogging, Green is a judge for it, and Hind spoke last week at the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). So in the end, the whole affair merely confirms Dalrymple’s warnings about the modern intellectual establishment.

Here is a sure sign that Dalrymple is making some headway. You don’t get this kind of reaction from the libs at the Guardian if they think they can ignore you. They even drew up a little illustration. Crace’s satire doesn’t have the ring of truth — it veers between “accurate but not disparaging” and “disparaging but not accurate” — but I still enjoyed it. Am I being too sentimental if I give him an A for effort?

…just as the adjective “Hogarthian” conjures up images of gin-soaked hags and foundlings dying in the gutter, I’ve heard “Dalrymplean” used to describe both the squalor of the modern criminal classes, and the attitude – the endless excuses which criminals, having had any concept of responsibility taken away from them by the welfare system, give to excuse their wrongdoings.

…just as the Tate in 2007 held a Hogarth exhibition, which showed us the squalor of Georgian London, maybe art galleries in centuries to come will put on Dalrymple exhibitions, with examples of his work besides a realistic model of a 21st century council estate destroyed by the benefits system.

Writer and Dalrymple fan Bernard Chapin reviews the forthcoming New Vichy Syndrome.

Two videos recently posted on YouTube show Dalrymple’s activity in the Netherlands: the production of a one-man play based on his book De Filantroop (entitled So Little Done in the English-speaking world) and a new book in Dutch called Profeten en Charlatans (about which we are trying to get more information). The videos include interviews with Dalrymple and the actor Genio de Groot.

We meant to, but neglected to post a link last week to this story in the Daily Mail:

If you are a political conservative participating in a panel discussion entitled “After the crunch: How best to beat poverty?”, and it is sponsored by an organization called The Centre for Social Justice, chances are your views will not be warmly received. Such was the case for Theodore Dalrymple in Manchester on Monday (see here and here).

Actually (and this probably makes it much worse), the organization was founded by the former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, and the discussion was one of about two dozen organized by the group to coincide with the annual Conservative Party Conference. Apparently, there is some dispute regarding how much of the audience was actually conservative, but if it is true that Conservatives can no longer abide the idea of personal responsibility that Dalrymple promotes, then there is not much hope left for the party or their country.

Much of the so-called Right that has recently taken power in Europe have succeeded by simply promising to run the socialist welfare-state more efficiently than the socialists. While this might be good for “conservatives”, it can’t be good for conservatism. I don’t follow British politics closely, and others can correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that the Conservatives are so giddy with the prospect of regaining power that they are increasingly willing to compromise any principle to close the deal.

If you do and you’ll be in the Low Countries, there is a wealth of Dalrymplian entertainment awaiting. His fame continues to grow there, so that per capita he may be more well-known there than anywhere else. He has attributed his popularity in Holland to the assassinations of Pim Fortuyn and Theo Van Gogh, which opened the eyes of its intellectuals to many of the issues that he has explored. If my personal experience is representative, it could also be true that his criticism of his countrymen has struck a chord among citizens of Amsterdam who’ve grown tired of the sight and sound of English yobs marauding through the alleys on their way to the Red Light District.

Whatever the reason, he has a lot going on there. Later today, he will give a public speech or interview or some such at Rechtenfaculteit Leiden, which could very well be the Leiden University School of Law. Details are here. (Nice webpage, by the way, especially that bit on the bottom.) The speech might very well (can you tell I don’t speak Dutch?) have something to do with a new Dutch-language book called Profeten en Charlatans (Prophets and Charlatans, maybe?) published this month by Niuew Amsterdam, who has published all of his previous books in Holland. It appears to be focused on his literary criticism, but we will get more details soon.

Perhaps most exciting though, his 1995 book So Little Done has been turned into a one-man play. Sharing the name of the Dutch version of the book, De Filantroop (or The Philanthropist), it stars veteran Dutch actor Genio de Groot, who collaborated with Dalrymple in adapting it for the stage. How can a Dalrymple work be turned into a play, you ask? Well, remember: So Little Done is a fictional work (his one and only) subtitled “The Testament of a Serial Killer” and written in the first person. I re-read the first few pages, and it almost cries out for a one-man theatrical treatment. The play has been in previews for the last few weeks and officially opens… tonight! It will tour around the Netherlands through December. The schedule is here. For a lengthy interview of Dalrymple discussing the book in Holland, go here.