And from the comments:
Hate speech is less prevalent in Canada today because Canadians don't like it and don't want it, not because of any law. Canada is not a more fragile place than in 1990; it's a much, much stronger and more tolerant place. The bizarre fear-mongering in this opinion piece is not only logically incoherent, it's completely unjustifiable.Via Scaramouche.
To the commenter I would say, oh, really? Let's ask Arnie of Blazing Cat Fur about speech in Canada. Or Mark Steyn and McLeans Magazine. Or Ezra Levant.
ReplyDeleteSpeech is not protected in Canada and nearly any utterance (or hyperlink) may be reported as offensive to the Human Rights Commission. And routinely is, leaving the speaker or writer with the burden and cost of defending themselves.
Erna Paris is delusional. Free people need more speech, not less. Including those Marxist idiots at the Occupy gatherings. Especially them.
Thanks, Professor, for highlighting the speech issues north of the border. We're following dangerously close behind them, IMHO.
The real problem with "hate speech" laws is that eventually those who propagated them will be subjected to them. Something they rarely consider.
ReplyDeletelanguage is not a very good communications medium by itself. Word meanings change from place to place, generations to generations and usage. The ease with which something can be taken out of context is amazing.Once any part of speech is considered hate then all speech will be considered bad by those who are in power.