Author Faces Canadian Tribunal For Hate Speech

An anonymous reader writes "A Seattle Times editorial notes that the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal will put author Mark Steyn on trial for his book 'America Alone,' which has angered Muslims in Canada. Steyn is a columnist for the Canadian magazine Maclean's. According to the editorial, British Columbia bans all words and images 'likely to expose a person... to hatred or contempt because of race, religion, age, disability, sex, marital status or sexual orientation.' Steyn is unapologetic, and is advertising his book as a 'Canadian Hate Crime' and daring the tribunal to 'pronounce him bad.'" The Canadian tabloid the National Post has coverage of what it calls "a media storm."

Comments

As a practicing Muslim

[mapkinase]

This leaves me with uneasy feeling.

The desirable course of events would be that Muslims in Canada unite around their religion in response to that attack, but I am afraid that decision of authorities will create false impression on some borderline Muslims that people who reject Allah and His Messenger, sal Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam, actually are "protecting" Muslims.

I view the concept of "speech" as a speech for which a man bares full responsibility, speech as an act for which the man is responsible before the Creator and before other people.

For example, if you offend somebody's mother, you should expect that you might get a beating at the hand of the son.

As for the content of the book, as far as I understood, it's about predictions what will happen. The author of this book is right, the rulers, the powers, the scumbags that rule your countries, that brainwash you with shopping channels and atheism, should be afraid of Muslims, should be afraid of Islam, because Islam is about enjoining Good and forbidding Evil, and those governments are pretty much on the evil side.

In the times of the Prophet, sal Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam, leaders of polytheist tribes were trembling upon hearing his name even at the distance of a month travel.

Ordinary people should not be afraid of Islam, because only good for then will come out of future Islamic domination.

Yes, every bad habit that destroys your life will be quite hard to follow: no liquor sores, no pornography, no public lewdness means that the things you have been addicted to will be hard to find. And that is good for you because more people will be free from that bad stuff that ruins their lives.

There will be much less street crime because most of the street crime is alcohol or drug fueled or gang-related and all those things will be gone during Islamic rule.

Most of you don't understand now that the rights you think you have now are illusion, they do not lead anywhere. If you think about it the rights that you have now are mostly used for bad things and government is ok with it. As soon as you apply this right to the stuff that matters, one of the following things happen: the powers either ignore you or suppress you.

Example: vast majority of Americans are against the war in Iraq, yet the government who was elected by the pressure and money of lobbyists is not listening to it.

So please think about the weight behind your right of free speech: is it just to make you feel good about yourself or does it have some effect on society?

As for real important freedoms, you will retain them: right to economic endeavors, right to practice religions, e.g. Christianity or Judaism.

Islam is good for you. Embrace it.

Re:The world will be a better place..

[Lord Apathy]

I don't know how Islam got so protected and the Muslims so protective. It would almost seem like lack of self-confidence.

It is simple. When you spoof Christians or Jews you don't have a rabid bunch of stone age character threatening your life. That is how islam deals with any form of criticism. Satanic Verses author had a death threat issued by a national leader. The Danish cartoonist who drew them pictures of muhammad is still under a death threat, over a fucking bunch of cartoons!

People are afraid to stand up to the muslims and it's that pure and simple. You try it and you get shit like subway bombings in Britain, 9/11 here in the states, and hundreds of school children murdered in Beslan.

Islam is with out a doubt the greatest threat to western way of life there is.

Re:He SHOULD Be On Trial

[Ironsides]

As for offering a rebuttal, it's their magazine, their printing press. Why should they allow a rebuttal? Am I allowed to write a column in the New York Times if they print something I disagree with? No. Is Microsoft allowed to force Slashdot to post a pro-Vista rebuttal on the main page? No. Do we want that sort of stupid to be a law? No. It might seem nice and fair if you don't think about it, but when you do, you'll see a thousand ways it would be abused and used to bog down free speech to the point no one says anything someone else might not like for fear of having to let the someone else use their resources to yammer on and on about how wronged they were. Careful. The Democrats have been talking about bringing back the "Fairness Doctrine".

Just how much longer.....

[IHC Navistar]

Just how much longer until political correctness takes away all of our freedoms and liberties? Soon, we'll be having to:

1) File an "Environmental Impact Report" every time we use the bathroom.
2) Hire a lawyer every time we say something.
3) Consult the ACLU whenever we say something.
4) Consult an environmental group every time we want to burn wood in our fireplaces (it's illegal to use you fireplace if it creates smoke where i live in California).
5) Register all teacups (or anything that can be used to harm someone) with the State and Federal Governments.
6) Give your house to a criminal who you hurt while he tried to rob you after breaking into your house.
7) Consult the ACLU and rights groups whenever you learn something.
8) Hire a lawyer to accomany you wherever you go.
9) Consult "Fair Trade" groups whenever you shop.
10 Consult Unions whenever you shop.
11) Consult PETA whenever you shop.
12) Consult a nutritionist whenever you cook dinner.
13) Consult the EPA whenever you mow your lawn.
14) Use Union Labor to do household chores for you.
15) Consult an environmental group whenever you fish or hunt.
16) Pay for medical care, food, housing, education, and clothing for illegal immigrants who don't care about the law enogh to enter legally and think they have a right to my hard earned money.
17) Consult an environmental group whenever you go for a walk or hike.
18) Consult a Patent Attorney every time you have an idea or share one.
19) Recite a disclaimer before you say anything.
20) Everything offensive becomes a "Hate Crime".
21) Insults become "Hate Crimes" (already in the U.K.)(Declared as torture by the U.N.)

Every time some delusional, bleeding heart, left-wing nutjob tell me how intolerant I am of other people, I just say, "You do realize that tolerance means tolerating intolerance, don't you?".

That always shuts them up pretty fast.

By the way: Wheather you like it or not, hate speech is free speech. And legal.

Re:And so it begins...

[bussdriver]

The government is a manifestation of the nation; the people and they are ultimately responsible.

The irony in the USA is how many nationalistic government haters oppose social programs and support the militarization & police state.

The biggest threats of government are not PBS, firefighters, free education, or healthcare; but the "law and order" areas of government.

Having said what should be obvious; the social services should be better shielded with more separation of powers.

One has to remember in the USA we tolerate world-is-flat believers and despite being a minority, they have gained disproportional representation. (thankfully, not enough to mess with evolution in most public schools yet...) In addition, the US FOOLISHLY limited the number of representatives long ago. Is there a study showing the optimal ratio of people to representative?