Thursday, September 8, 2011

"Who Is This Strange Steyn Fellow Of Whom You Speak?"

A Mark Steyn reader--Mark Appleton of Halifax, N.S.--details his hapless quest to file a hate complaint with our province's Hall-acious "human rights" Commissariat:
Hi, Mark. I just spent a fruitless hour on the phone trying to file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission for the hate speech at the Al-Quds rally that just took place at Queens Park in Toronto. You may be amused that after being told this was not in their jurisdiction, I asked how come the Canadian Islamic Congress was able to file a complaint against you for your articles in Macleans, and was advised that they had never heard of this happening.  
I had hoped that they would be equally upset by anti-Israel (and anti-Jewish) comments as by your reasoned writing, but apparently it is only hate speech if it mentions Islam. Any advice you can offer on how to stop these guys from having future events like this on government property would be truly appreciated.
I'm glad N.S. Mark complained to the speech police, if only to show how, um, selective they are in their prosecutions. They tend to be receptive to cases involving Nazi hate speech  (which is agin' "the Jews" and non-whites) and Christian hate speech (which takes issue with homosexuality or Islam), but anything along the lines of "We Hate 'Zionists'" or "We Hate the Kafir" is perfectly acceptable and actually quite "diverse" and "multicultural." Of course, I would never complain to these twerps about anything because it only encourages them, which is the last thing you'd want to do. It is, however, hilarious that the person Nova Scotia Mark spoke to had never heard of New Hampshire Mark's run-in with the thought cops, culminating in a week-long show trial in Vancouver. I used to think, a la that familiar saying, that you should never impute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity. But living in Canada, land of 13--count 'em, 13--"human rights" jurisdictions, I have come to realize that it's quite possible to be stupid and malicious at the same time--the real reason, I suggest, for the OHRC weenie's purported befuddlement.

As for suggestions on what to do about CASMO--I think shining a bright spotlight on their hatred is the first step. Also, it would be nice if credulous dhimmis--politicians, police chiefs, human rights commission chiefs, etc.--stopped accepting their crappy gifts.

No comments: