...born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad

Sifting through the ashes of the Levant dismissal: The second—and final—HRC ‘toon complaint against Ezra Levant has flamed out. For a number of reasons, Ezra’s not so thrilled about it. He doesn’t believe the commissar involved  has any right to sit in judgement over his words and deeds. He knows that, for the target of an HRC complaint, the seemingly interminable process is as much a part of the punishment as the actual punishment—and he’s been punished plenty. He sees it as a sign that these HRCs are feeling the heat of public scrutiny in this highest of high profile cases, and that, structurally at least,nothing whatsoever has changed.

You got that right, Ezra. In fact, the Calgary Herald quotes two fans of the anti-hate industry who see the dismissal as vindication for the system as it is. The first,

Kathleen Mahoney, a law professor who specializes in human rights issues at the University of Calgary, said the decision is an example of the system working as it should, arguing that human rights commissions are a vital part of a free and democratic society.

"Freedom of speech is not absolute," said Mahoney. "There's nothing absolute. We have to balance freedom of expression with other people's freedom from speech. Otherwise, we'd have absolutism running roughshod over other people's freedoms."

Americans have the first amendment enshrining an individual’s right to free speech; Canadians have a court-decreed loophole in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrining a group’s right to “freedom from speech.” Which is why Americans still have free speech and Canadians, alas, do not.

The second anti-hate fan,

David Taras, a U of C professor writing a book on the media in Canada, said he doesn't believe human rights commissions are jeopardizing the ability of news outlets to publish controversial stories and images.

"We have an extraordinary amount of freedom in the country," said Taras. "People in Quebec can openly advocate for Quebec to leave the country. The boundaries are very wide.

"There is the traditional media, but there is also the blogosphere and this thing called the Internet, which Canadians participate in in the millions. There's a lot of freedom in Canada."

Not if  Leo, Frank and Tammy have anything to say about it. They and other anti-hate types are engaged in a quixotic quest to corral the blogosphere and banish the hate.

So what does this latest dismissal bode for the future of the anti-hate industry? Well, it’s looking more and more like the BCHRT, currently deliberating the complaint against Maclean’s and Mark Steyn, will take a page from their confreres in Alberta, Ontario and Ottawa, and fight its natural inclination to punish the defendent. For the moment, anyway, complaints by Muslims about “hate speech” in the media are going nowhere fast, and those so inclined to curtail any and all criticism of what they see as unassailable will have to find another way to compel people to shut up. But does that mean that the Jewstablishment will still be able to run to the commissars when they espy a swastika on a White Power website or in a loo? Hard to see how they’ll be able to do so with the same regularity, since Muslims, seeing complaints by other Muslims being shot down, will decry the “double standard” that allows Jews, but not Muslims, to seek redress for “hate speech.”

As for the system as a whole, clearly, it’s still reeling from all the exposure, and hoping desperately to retreat back into the shadows so it can continue its business as usual—i.e. hassling businesses, making ridiculous rulings, sucking up vast quantities from the public trough, and operating as a de facto Marxist (and therefore subversive) entity within the Canada’s democratic body politic. There’s no going back to its former obscurity, though. Too many of us have now spotted the beast in its lair, and, knowing how dangerous it is, are determined to engage it in what will undoubtedly be a battle to the death—it’s, or ours.

Posted by: scaramouche at 11:22 | link | comments (1)

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