SCANDAL IS an overused(被过度使用的) term. But the decades-long sexual abuse of (mostly white) British girls by gangs of men of predominantly(主要地，占主导地位地) Pakistani heritage, often ignored by the authorities, more than deserves(完全配得上) the label.
“丑闻”这个词被用滥了。但数十年来，以巴基斯坦裔为主的男性团伙对（主要是白人）英国女孩的性虐待——且常常被当局忽视——完全配得上这个标签。
It has also become an obsession(执念，痴迷) of the international far right. On July 22nd Jordan Peterson, a popular conservative commentator, described it as a “sexual atrocity(暴行) now seemingly integral(不可或缺的，固有的) to multicultural Britain”. Asked in a recent interview with The Economist whether he is anti-Muslim, Elon Musk said, “I am against rape and murder.” He has previously claimed on his social-media platform, X, that the media “hid the fact that a quarter million little girls were—still are—being systematically(系统地，有计划地) raped by migrant gangs in Britain”. Those on the right are particularly outraged that authorities’ fears of appearing racist or upsetting relations between groups in the affected communities were a central cause of the state’s failure to protect vulnerable children.(右翼尤其愤怒的是，当局担心显得种族主义或破坏社区关系，这成为国家未能保护弱势儿童的核心原因。)
这也成了国际极右翼的执念。7月22日，受欢迎的保守派评论员乔丹·彼得森将其描述为“如今似乎已成为多元文化英国不可分割的一部分的性暴行”。在最近接受《经济学人》采访时，当被问及是否反穆斯林时，埃隆·马斯克说：“我反对强奸和谋杀。”他此前曾在自己的社交媒体平台X上声称，媒体“隐瞒了25万小女孩曾经——现在仍然——被英国移民团伙系统性强奸的事实”。右翼尤其愤怒的是，当局担心显得种族主义或破坏受影响社区群体间的关系，这成为国家未能保护弱势儿童的核心原因。
The right’s obsession has itself produced a reaction from those on the “anti-racist”, progressive left, who have tended to play down(淡化，贬低重要性) the (undeniable) ethnic and religious element of these crimes. They accuse right-wing campaigners of cynically( cynical 地，愤世嫉俗地) exploiting the grooming-gang scandal to stir up(煽动，激起) anti-Muslim hatred and advance their views that Pakistani or Muslim men are a profound(深刻的，严重的) threat to Western society. In the light of rising hate crimes against Muslims in Britain, such concerns are not unfounded(无根据的). This heated(激烈的，热烈的) row has long prevented a sensible conversation about how controversial factors—from honour culture to the role of misogyny in fundamentalist Islam—may have led to the overrepresentation(比例过高) of Pakistani men in these gangs.
右翼的执念本身也引发了“反种族主义”进步左翼的反应，他们倾向于淡化这些犯罪中（不可否认的）种族和宗教因素。他们指责右翼活动人士 cynical 地利用性侵团伙丑闻来煽动反穆斯林仇恨，并宣扬巴基斯坦裔或穆斯林男性对西方社会构成严重威胁的观点。鉴于英国反穆斯林仇恨犯罪上升，这种担忧并非毫无根据。这场激烈的争论长期阻碍了关于有争议因素——从荣誉文化到原教旨主义伊斯兰教中厌女症的作用——如何导致巴基斯坦裔男性在这些团伙中比例过高的理性讨论。