American 'Zine Doesn't Get the Nuances of Canadian 'Justice'

An American online magazine devoted to the comedy industry addresses a lesbian heckler:

...You want to make a point, Lorna, that you’re a human and you don’t deserve to be made fun of because of your sexual orientation? Talk to Earle like a human being; give him a piece of your mind — yell at him, even — after the show, in private, if that makes you feel better.

But literally putting Earle on trial, wasting taxpayers money, claiming what feels like melodramatically blown up charges (psychological damage? loss of self-esteem?) just makes us feel less badly for you. It makes us think you’re in this to make an extra few thousand dollars, get some media exposure or maybe use this to make your foray into the Canadian LGBT rights leadership.

People get hurt every day, for every sort of reason. Life sucks. But you can’t run to the government every time you think you’ve been wronged. If you’re sexual orientation is indeed not a handicap – and it isn’t – then you should be able to stand up for yourself. Bringing this unpleasant incident to the courts is not empowering; it’s quite the opposite.

You can't run to the government every time you think you've been wronged? How little you understand our system, my American friend  In fact, you can run to the government--or, to be more accurate, to the government's "arm's length" "human rights" apparatus--if you happen to be a member of one of Canada's designated victim groups who has been "wronged" by a business owner. Which is precisely why Ms. Pardo did what she did--because she knew she could, and because she knew it would be no financial hardship to her (but would be a major financial hardship to the object(s) of her disaffection) if she did.  

I'd say that's pretty damn "empowering".