I took an interest in Vdare, the immigration reform website, partly because its editor and founder, Peter Brimelow, had lived and worked in Canada, and I thought that his insights would clarify the immigration situation here also. Yes, it did do that. But then, over time, so have many other blogs, including Numbers USA, Immigration Watch Canada, the Canadian Immigration Reform Blog, and the Center for Immigration Studies, to name a few.
But, as I continued to follow Vdare, it was never clear what Brimelow wanted for his site. Was it an advocacy site, an activist site, an intellectual/philosophical site, a site to redefine conservatism? I don't know. Many times, it just appears to be a kvetching site, with endless stories by various entertaining writers. But, nothing clear has evolved, for me at least.
Last week, just before Christmas, as Vdare was doing its fundraising drive, I happened to glance at the left-hand column near the bottom (something I hardly ever do, since the current articles and news are near the top) and saw this:
12/13/09 - For Palestinians, Every Day Is Kristallnacht, by Paul Craig Roberts
This just before Christmas, and in full view of readers supposedly donating generously for Vdare's existence during a Christmas fundraising drive.
It was shocking. I couldn't reconcile the ugliness of its analogy with the "Saving Christmas" articles and blogs inundating Vdare during those few weeks. It was not only hypocritical, it was, in my view, downright evil.
So, after a while of trying to figure out what Brimelow wants for his site, and what he and his team have done to advance their immigration reform views, I concluded that there is no focus, and no goal (unlike the very active Numbers USA).
I have removed Vdare from my blog list, and I will certainly not be donating anything for its upkeep (though, my small confession is that I never have, thankfully).
