When advised by his doctors to take a break from his cares as one of the richest men in America, he astonished the rest of polite society by taking a pass on the suggested world cruise and came to Alaska, of all places, instead.

BBC: Journey into the Alaskan wild

The European political class will not permit this - even though what is "undiscussable" in polite society is a statement of the numbingly obvious if you stroll through Amsterdam and Rotterdam, not to mention Antwerp, Clichy-sous-Bois, Malmo, or any old Yorkshire mill town.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Mark Steyn on the Geert Wilders Trial

Mr. Kirby says his upbringing as a white minority in his neighborhood left him "uncomfortable" in polite society and hostile to authority.

WSJ: The American Who Tells Russia How Bad Things Are in America

The bravery of the journalists on the scene, the media's determination to ignore Islamic misogyny, and their expulsion of Rosen from polite society all tell us that what drives the international media is not a quest for truth.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Lara Logan and the media rules

Anti-Catholic prejudice was rife in polite English society until surprisingly recently: countless families can tell tales of scandals or feuds triggered by a mixed Anglican-Catholic marriage, up to the 1960s or 1970s.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot