DesertFox
02-09-2008, 10:59 AM
Michael Coren
Toronto Sun
9 Feb 09
"I hate therefore I am."
The rallying cry of self-justifying liberals as they run to human rights commissions with complaints or to the courts with their latest hate crimes prosecution. The comfortable lords of the umbrage industry, demanding that if anyone offends them in any way they must pay and pay again.
We've heard a great deal recently about various Muslim activists taking journalists Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn to assorted human rights commissions because the two men indulged in that age-old sin of informed and moderate free expression.
But it would be unfair to label Muslim radicals as the only or the loudest of censors.
Islamic zealots have merely taken a lesson from other groups, in particular those from the Jewish and gay communities. Numerous Jewish leaders somehow thought it a good idea to prosecute Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, thus transforming a fringe madman into an international icon. They have targeted numerous neo-Nazis and like-minded twits and vociferously supported the introduction of hate-crimes legislation. ...
The courts should have nothing at all to do with one person's hate or dislike of another. It is simply none of their business. If someone assaults a person, prosecute him. If someone calls for a person to be assaulted, prosecute him, under the long-standing criminal code. If someone says nasty things about a person, ignore him.
... when the state is allowed to judge speech and decide whether it is acceptable, use is just as bad as abuse. In other words, the very process is as malicious as any verdict.
More (http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Coren_Michael/2008/02/09/4836848-sun.php)
Toronto Sun
9 Feb 09
"I hate therefore I am."
The rallying cry of self-justifying liberals as they run to human rights commissions with complaints or to the courts with their latest hate crimes prosecution. The comfortable lords of the umbrage industry, demanding that if anyone offends them in any way they must pay and pay again.
We've heard a great deal recently about various Muslim activists taking journalists Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn to assorted human rights commissions because the two men indulged in that age-old sin of informed and moderate free expression.
But it would be unfair to label Muslim radicals as the only or the loudest of censors.
Islamic zealots have merely taken a lesson from other groups, in particular those from the Jewish and gay communities. Numerous Jewish leaders somehow thought it a good idea to prosecute Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, thus transforming a fringe madman into an international icon. They have targeted numerous neo-Nazis and like-minded twits and vociferously supported the introduction of hate-crimes legislation. ...
The courts should have nothing at all to do with one person's hate or dislike of another. It is simply none of their business. If someone assaults a person, prosecute him. If someone calls for a person to be assaulted, prosecute him, under the long-standing criminal code. If someone says nasty things about a person, ignore him.
... when the state is allowed to judge speech and decide whether it is acceptable, use is just as bad as abuse. In other words, the very process is as malicious as any verdict.
More (http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Coren_Michael/2008/02/09/4836848-sun.php)