The Importance of Personalization in US and Canadian Marketing

I mentioned "the crumbling ruins of the academic Left" before because the academic Left hardly exists anymore. Are there any genuine Marxists left? Are there any old-school socialists? Anyone who believes in conventional left-wing economic and class concepts? No. They are all radicals — "activist-scholars" who have spent the last few decades adding terms like "decolonization," "anti-racism," "safe space," and "queering" to everything. Their political friends are remarkably similar. These are the ones who have been telling us that both silence and words are kinds of violence. Or if you don't accept Ibram X. Kendi's anti-racism doctrine without question, you are a racist. Failing to genuflect in front of Black Lives Matter demonstrated moral depravity. "Cancel culture" is about accountability, not arbitrary cruelty. The term "burn it all down" merely expresses Millennial frustration. Using the "wrong" pronouns is now considered a violation of human rights. And Halloween costumes are hazardous. Pay no heed to severe economic inequities or the monetization of everything: someone, somewhere may be having a pumpkin spice latte, which is racist!

Within and outside of academia, it was always difficult to take the 

"speech is violence" bunch seriously. Or at least it should have been difficult. The Black Lives Matter movement's slogan "silence is violence" is no exception. It may no longer be feasible to take the BLM seriously given that dozens of its local chapters have celebrated the slaughter of Jews, while the national organization has remained completely silent. Another weird irony is that many Western imbeciles, such as the Harvard undergraduates who signed a letter criticizing Israel and praising Hamas, are now pleading not to be "cancelled." Similar incidents have happened at York University and elsewhere. We'll see how things shake out in time. For my part, I'm divided between giving folks a taste of their own medicine and declaring Cancel Culture Détente. The former appears to be consistent with the notion of natural justice; the latter with charity, though I am concerned that it may be exploited by unscrupulous persons.

Anyway, the movement formerly known as "the Left" is not just brain-dead

but also ethically inept. When making the local Starbucks a "safe space" became more important than paying fair wages to employees and paying fair taxes to governments, the cancer had already spread. Now, apparently left-wing partisans have been exposed as supporters of a pogrom, as well as racism, violence, rape, indiscriminate murder, and even infant incineration. These partisans, as I already knew, are out of ideas, with no plan or policy to tackle economic disparity or construct stable, long-lasting communities. Worse, they have been exposed as the spitting image of their declared enemies—racists and "literal Nazis" whom they see everywhere and claim to condemn. We must never listen to any of them again.It's been two weeks since Hamas' horrible terrorist attacks in Israel sparked moral indignation and raised the risk of another major Middle East confrontation.The Hub has been working on these advances since we awoke that fateful morning. Readers may have observed that the majority of our discussion has reflected one particular point of view. We've condemned Hamas, chastised anyone who attempted to justify or rationalize the attacks, and defended Israel's right to self-defense. Some have inquired about our editorial position and what prompted us to take such a firm and unmistakable stance—especially in an era when far too many people have equivocated in the face of evil.We thought we'd try to answer these questions here. Not that it matters, but there are no Jews on our little crew. We are not too zealous Zionists. 

Our perspective is not limited to Israel, Hamas

or the Middle East in general. It refers to something deeper—even civilizational—that we see as vital to The Hub's mission and ideals. We opposed the attacks and supported Israel because we feel the events of the last two weeks represent opposing views on the correct aspirations for individuals, society, and politics.Israel is a liberal democracy with the rule of law, democratic institutions, a market economy, and, despite its peculiar circumstances, a real commitment to pluralism. Its civic life is based on an idea of individual dignity and freedom, which has been shown to promote prosperity, stability, and, ultimately, human flourishing. In just 75 years, Israel has developed into one of the world's most vibrant and successful countries because to these concepts and institutions.Hamas, which was declared a terrorist organization by the Canadian government in 2002, represents the polar opposite of these motivations and attributes. It defines itself entirely as opposed to Israel. Its goals are Israel's destruction, and its methods are indiscriminate violence. Its vision for its own people is characterized by an authoritarian and intolerant type of Sharia law that has resulted in the cancellation of elections, the arrest and execution of its opponents, and harsh restrictions on individual rights and freedoms, particularly for women.