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Author Faces Canadian Tribunal For Hate Speech

Posted by kdawson on from the can't-say-that-here dept.

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."

8 of 818 comments (clear)

  1. This law goes overboard, but yet... by bobdotorg · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... does absolutely nothing to stop the scourge that is Celine Dion for acts, "likely to expose a person... to hatred or contempt."

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    __ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
  2. Re:National Post is not a tabloid... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    With that sort of generalization, you must be a viewer.

  3. Re:why by nurb432 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Then they came to restrict your speech, and there was no one left to speak out in your favor.

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  4. Re:Hate Speech? by Calinous · · Score: 3, Funny

    100% conviction rate? They are as good as the Inquisition at that.
          What happens to the victims? Torches and pitchforks?

  5. Blasphemer! by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 2, Funny

    Pastafarians are evil?

    Dude, you're about to get your soul sucked out by somebody's noodly appendage.

  6. Re:Hate Speech? by gijoel · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nobody expects the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal.

  7. Re:Hate Speech? by Orange+Crush · · Score: 4, Funny

    Actually, if you are an author, I think quite the opposite is true. Nothing will make people want to read your book more than being told by the government that they aren't allowed to. I'm sure the publicity resulting from all this nonsense has done wonders for the sale of his book worldwide.

    There. Fixed that for you.

    Seriously. After 10,000 years or so of recorded history and civilizations and all, you'd think everybody would've gotten the memo by now. Good or bad, ideas are a bitch to kill. Shoot/torture/maim/imprison the messenger, they become a martyr. Ban saying the words out loud, they get whispered even further.

    We're upitty little animals, and scolding and yelling at us about what not to do is about as effective as telling junior not to put peas up his nose. We'll do it just to spite you.

    If you're serious about banning hate speech--that is, any works that advocate or could incite the killing of other people--then throw the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, Nietzsche, Machiavelli, and probably a good half or more of the rest of the sum total of religious and literary texts throughout human history onto that fire.

    The only way to kill a bad idea is to give it attention and discuss why it's wrong.

  8. Tabloid? Ahh! ... THAT Canadian Tabloid! by aqk · · Score: 2, Funny

    >>The Canadian tabloid the National Post has coverage of...

    The Canadian "TABLOID"?? LOL!
    O, how the mighty have fallen!
    Poor Conrad will be turning over in his cell, whilst chuckling, if he ever gets a chance to read the above description!
    I'm sure Steyn will be, if he sees this!


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    - aqk
    F U /. illiterates.