The conference theme, which runs through Wednesday, is "New Realities, New Directions," and there certainly seemed to be a sense early on in the program that the human rights business may need to readjust its orientation to increasingly complex modern circumstances.
For instance, Daniel Weinstock, a University of Montreal philosophy and ethics professor, seemed to tempt sacrilege, drawing heavily on the classical liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill, and daring to question whether the "cultural rights" that have washed up on the shores of societies such as Canada's may be, in fact, more dangerous than helpful. When ethnic groups are granted hands-off "sovereignty" in the name of multiculturalism, he pointed out, it can mean a bad deal for "internal minorities." Women and homosexuals, in other words, don't celebrate quite as enthusiastically when traditionally patriarchal communities win the governmentblessed "right" to keep their Old World ways here.
It was startling enough to say such things moments after Barbara Hall's speech. The former Toronto mayor who, as chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, once seemed to publicly lament that the law didn't give her enough power to do something about "Islamophobia" in the mainstream press, had praised the remarkably diverse crowd for all the progress in eliminating discrimination, while reminding them it was still a serious problem.
"In the almost 50 years ago when [Alberta's] then-premier Peter Lougheed introduced the legislation here, 50 years ago this year in Ontario that our commission was established we dealt with very overt discrimination at that time, the focus was primarily racism," she said. "Today, we understand more and more the impact of systemic discrimination. These are new realities. And new directions or new strategies are required to address them."
At times, it seemed as if many delegates (though not all) were more willing to buy Ms. Hall's interpretation of the theme: Where "new realities" means rooting out new varieties of discrimination, even indiscernible types, rather than accepting that there might be a systemic problem in the contemporary human rights pursuit itself in an era where cultural accommodation isn't always sublime for everyone, and where there might be greater societal costs than benefits to prosecuting every offensive gesture in the land.Not "might be". There is a greater societal cost. In other times, in other places, the effort to perfect oneself and one's society has given rise to Robespierres, Stalins and oceans of blood. Here in Canada, it has engendered the tragicomic lunacy of "victim" groups which, in the name of equality, have been accorded special privileges (and as Libin points out there's even a pecking order within this select grouping, with some "victims" being "more equal" than others). It has also given rise to these convention attendees, a powerful elite of bureaucratic mediocrities which persecutes Canadians for our own good, dammit! And even though some of the most "sensitive" people in the world sit on these bodies--people who ask your pardon before daring to eat a banana, for heaven's sake (an episode captured by Libin)--there is no other group, no, not even Islamists, that is doing as much grievous injury, as much long-lasting harm, to our body politic.
Eventually, all Robespierres and Stalins rise and fall. And if we are to be truly free, so must the perversion, the Orwellian laughingstock, we here in Canada have made of "human rights."
Hey, maybe that can be the theme of the next "human rights" confab.
Update: The conference ends today, but the "human rights" simps have been given a chance to stay on and attend an "educational" semimar to help hone their "investigative" skills:
Based on Gareth Jones’s successful book Conducting Administrative, Oversight and Ombudsman Investigations, this seminar is an overview of the basics of good investigation. It includes: the eight underlying principles of investigative excellence; how to plan an investigation; evidence gathering; how to assess evidence; and how to write clear, comprehensive and compelling reports.
The course uses real-life examples, including some human rights cases, with targeted case studies. Discussion is encouraged. A great refresher for those already involved in investigations, as well as a comprehensive introduction into the world of investigations for those with little or no prior experience, the course will give anyone the confidence and capabilities necessary to conduct, monitor or supervise an investigation...Yikes. It's like offering an "educational" seminar on blade-sharpening to guillotine operators. If the above doesn't make you shudder in horror and want to tear down this berzerko system, nothing will
All Robespierres and Stalins rise and fall, indeed. Which is why turning their conference into an investigations seminar might not be a bad idea. As long as the instructor does the natural thing of getting them to investigate each other. Now a lot of Stalin's early victims went to the wall professing their undieing love and devotion to the party, pointing out merely that it had made a mistake in identifying counter-revolutionary sentiments in their particular case; but if one's death were needed for the party to remain scandal-free then by Vladimir they were going to go out without turning back the finger of blame. But after a few millions of murders it can become clearer even to the dullest bureaucrats that the party's need for blood to secure the professed Utopian future is paramount and has no real relation to any alleged infractions of the "counter-revolutionaries". So I say, get them started on each other. What's to lose?
ReplyDeleteIts a world full of delusions by people who never where liked inHigh school or after.
ReplyDeleteBullies united.