The Great Left-Wing Self-Delusion...

is, apparently, not confined to American left-liberals:

Police in Swaziland are cracking down on rape—by putting women in jail. Authorities in Africa's last absolute monarchy have issued a ban on "rape-provoking" clothing, including miniskirts, midriff-revealing tops, and low-rise jeans, the AFP reports. Women caught wearing such clothing will be arrested, and face six months in jail. "The act of the rapist is made easy, because it would be easy to remove the half-cloth worn by the women," a police spokeswoman explained.

Applause, as is so often the case, to our beloved Instapundit.

Apropos of the above, does anyone else remember “uncovered meat?”

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — One of Australia's senior-most Islamic clerics has triggered outrage after comments reported Thursday comparing women who don't wear a headscarf to “uncovered meat” who invite rape.

Sheik Taj Aldin al Hilali denied he was condoning rape when he made the comments in a sermon last month, and apologized to any women he had offended, saying they were free to dress as they wished.

The row comes during a heated debate in Britain about religious freedom centred around whether Muslim women should wear veils. Similar passions raged when France banned head scarves and other religious symbols in public schools two years ago.

In Australia, there was widespread condemnation Thursday the cleric's comments, from other Muslim leaders, civil libertarians and political leaders.

Mr. Hilali was quoted in the Australian newspaper as saying in the sermon: “If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside ... without cover, and the cats come to eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats' or the uncovered meat's.”

“The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred,” he was quoted as saying, referring to the headdress worn by some Muslim women.

I have no idea whether Swaziland has been overrun by Muslims, as has been the fate of much of Africa. From the stories above, one might imagine so...but if not, should it happen any time soon, the residents might not notice.

But Islam or left-liberals, it apparently makes no difference. Neither group is willing to allow that human beings are capable of self-control, and should be expected to exercise it even in the presence of a scantily-clad woman...or a gun.

For some left-liberals – hopefully, the majority – that’s because of indoctrination they suffered that they can’t quite throw off. For others, no such excuse is possible:

The pattern should be clear to anyone with three functioning brain cells:

• Some people misuse guns? Ban guns.
• Some people rape? Ban porn, or provocative clothing.
• Some people say “offensive” things? Ban “offensive” speech.
• Some people use over-the-counter drugs to fabricate banned drugs? Make the over-the-counter drugs harder to purchase.
• Some people wash their cars every day, or over-water their lawns? Tightly regulate the times and places of outdoor water use, and the amounts that may be legally used.
• Some people leave half-assembled cars up on blocks in their yards? Pass “eyesore ordinances” that rigidly restrict everything homeowners are allowed to do with their supposedly private property.

The list could, of course, be extended.

It’s been said innumerable times that “hard cases make bad law.” What hasn’t been said nearly often enough is that persons desirous of control over others are happy about that. They actively seek the exceptional misdeed and strive to characterize it as the norm, so that it can be made the basis for a freedom-killing law. In a hefty fraction of such cases, the moral onus is placed on an inanimate object, as is currently being attempted with privately owned firearms.

Quite a few years ago, I wrote that “We have had enough of laws against this because it 'leads to' that.” It appears that I was wrong. The self-deluded will accept any amount of totalitarian control of the citizenry rather than admit that human beings are moral agents, but inanimate objects are not. Our political elite, happy to snatch at any opportunity to increase its power, will perpetuate that attitude – I refuse to call it a “mindset,” as that would require a functioning mind – for as long as the game holds out.

At this time, the Meme Of The Rebellion:

Politician.
Rope.
Lamppost.
Some Assembly Required.

...should be on everyone’s lips.