I care about the oppressed and I'm here to help you.

In today’s political culture, if you want to assert influence, you are no longer required to win an argument or build a constituency of support; you merely have to say you are acting out of conscience for the oppressed of the world. Khan [one of the 7/7/05 Muslim bombers in London] claimed to be a victim acting for other victims. The claim of powerlessness, however, is accompanied by a lack of accountability. You no longer need to go through the long, difficult process of winning people over to your argument. You simply act out your frustrations alone and then claim to speak on behalf of others who are powerless to do so themselves. This individuated and self-indulgent emotionalism has become a substitute for political persuasion.

But it’s not just angry Muslims who do it. . . .

* * * *

. . . We need to challenge the anti-democratic nature of contemporary politics and stop flattering individuals who have no claim to speak for anyone but themselves.

"Why we should ignore Shehzad Tanweer's pompous video." By Munira Mirza, Spiked, 7/7/06 (emphasis added).