When 'Man Bites Dog' ... Over and Over Again

Are we allowing the unthinkable to become the new normal?

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In journalism there is an old aphorism, "If a dog bites a man, that's not news. But if a man bites a dog – now that's news!" It was one of the earliest lessons I ever received from my first managing editor, many years ago.

The point of the phrase is to show how an unusual, infrequent event (such as a man biting a dog) is more likely to be reported as news than an ordinary, everyday occurrence with similar consequences – such as a dog biting a man.

But, if that bizarre occurrence were to happen as frequently as the other, it would begin to become normal and people would tire of hearing about it; just as journalists would tire of bringing it to their attention.

Sadly, I fear news of the skyrocketing violence that has come to Europe on the heels of migrant inflows is beginning to have the same familiarity to readers as if men had gone on a decade-long dog-biting rampage, and every few days a new horrific case was discovered.

With the new normal, people quickly forget what life was like before such insanity was normalized.

THE NEW NORMAL

Manuel Ostermann, the deputy chairman of the German DPolG Federal Police Union, whose area of focus is domestic politics, recently posted a video to X related to last week's migrant-perpetrated stabbing in Solingen, Germany – an attack that killed three, and injured eight others. In the video, Ostermann blatantly declares that "Germany is no longer a safe country."

He begins by saying, "Yes, our country has changed. Nothing about [that change] is positive." He continues to express how the migrant crisis is "first and foremost, a crime crisis," and that "the greatest threat to life and limb in Germany is clearly posed by 'Islamists.'"

This same issue is faced by the citizens of every European nation. Whether you speak to people from the UK, or Norway, or Switzerland, or to citizens of Holland, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Finland or any other European Union nation, the issue is exactly the same.

Once-peaceful towns and cities are now unsafe for their inhabitants. Once-quaint streets are now filled with garbage. The playgrounds and Christmas markets have become danger zones. The millions of newcomers who were welcomed with open arms by Europeans only a decade ago are now running human trafficking rings, rape-and-grooming gangs targeting women and little children, and are responsible for the massive increase in stabbings and murders in what were once quiet towns and cities in the safest nations on earth.

While much or all of this information has been made public (usually despite the best efforts of police, politicians, and corporate "journalists"), the fact that it was made public does not mean the problems have been stopped.

In the UK, The Independent found that in 2022 – nearly a decade after the first discovery of grooming gangs in Britain – these cells were still sexually abusing children across the country in the "most degrading and destructive ways."

The data showed that in just one year alone, almost 20,000 children had been the victims of child sexual exploitation by foreign men who largely got away with it.

One Al Jazeera reporter noted, "nothing has appeared to have changed that would prevent a repeat performance in the future." Many of the perpetrators still walk free in the UK to this day. And similar gangs are replicating this horror across other European nations.

Between 2000 and 2024, acid attacks began to take place in Sweden. The data also suggests that a rise in such incidents, particularly after 2015, aligns with the peak of the migrant crisis, when Sweden received a substantial number of "asylum seekers," particularly from regions affected by conflict, such as Syria, Afghanistan, and parts of Africa. This period also saw an increase in overall violent crime rates.

Moreover, reports from Statistics Sweden indicate that while the number of immigrants reached a peak in 2016 and the subsequent years showed a gradual decline in immigration, the demographic changes had already contributed to the new normal – a horrific shift in violent crime in the once peaceful nation.

Every one of these issues is a concern across the Western world. Acid attacks are an issue in the UK and EU as much as in Sweden. Migrant-driven rapes and other violent crimes are happening across every European nation, and America as well.

Recent events related to open borders in the United States show how gangs have taken over entire communities inside the US with similarly slow, foot-dragging responses from police and politicians.

At what point do we finally point out the missing clothes on this particular emperor and allow ourselves to admit that almost none of the people in these waves of migrants – the vast majority of whom are military-aged single men – are truly asylum-seekers in need? At best, most are economic migrants looking to make money, and often the reality is closer to the 'at worst' possibility.

Secondly, when will we realize that it is the "mass" in "mass migration" that is the issue?

Individuals can be judged by the content of their character, but for groups that is impossible. Governments have shown they are ineffective at vetting migrants and refuse to address the root cause in open border policies, so the tragedies continue at a steadily increasing pace.

Finally, it is time we realize there is a vengeful and racial element to all of this. For many of these migrants, white women are a fetish. For some, power over the white man is the reason they came. For others, vengeance for grievances (that they were told by popular leftist narratives were the fault of all white people) is their cause du jour. For others, it's as simple as a chance to take what they want when they want, knowing the West is too weak-willed to oppose them. What I have written here on this subject is a gross understatement of the issue, but for the sake of brevity, publication, and the psyche of the reader, I must leave it this way.

UNBURDENED BY WHAT WAS

But, the concern being voiced in this particular article (though, of course, there are many others that need to be addressed) is that the endless waves of illegal immigrants and accompanying endless increases in violence against innocents is becoming normalized.

It tires me to wake up everyday and see a new attack in some Western nation wherein innocent men, women and children were harmed, killed or scarred for life for the crime of living in the West and expecting that their government would have any interest in protecting their safety.

But, what's worse, the more we draw attention to it, the more "normal" it is made to be.

You can see this by contrasting the coverage of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris with last week's Solingen attack – what a difference a decade makes.

In 2015 the headlines show genuine outrage at a horrific event that was almost impossible to believe could happen in beautiful Paris.

Today, however, the event happened almost without note. In fact, it isn't even being considered a terror attack anymore – simply another day with another "senseless" stabbing in multicultural paradise.

At one point in time we were all Charlie. Now, the few who see what is going on ask helplessly when someone is finally going to do something about it; while many others fail to notice it's happening at all.

So, we near a point where 'dog bites man' would actually be the more headline-worthy event. For Europe, like much of the West, we are dangerously close to a time where a day without migrant violence would make headlines according to the aphorism.

But, the worst part of it all is that each day becomes Russian Roulette for real people; people like you and me, and the innocents of Europe. Each morning they rise to go to work or send their children to school wondering which of them will become today's back-page statistic?

It's time to make ending this evil the priority of every Western government. It is time to fix the root cause.

Editor's note: Learn the Christian response to the cult of progressive ideology which, out of a misguided sense of welcoming kindness, has invited the enemy into our countries. Click here or on the image below.

Arthur is a former editor and consultant. Born in India to missionary parents, he spent his early career working in development for NGOs in Asia, Central America, and Africa.

Arthur has an educational background in history and psychology, with certifications from the University of Oxford and Leiden in the economics, politics, and ethics of mass migration and comparative theories in terrorism and counterterrorism. He is currently launching CivWest, a company focused on building capital to fund restorative projects and create resilient systems across the Western world.

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