I finally formulated my thoughts on the Coulter debacle

[wendykh]

Getting lost in whether or not hate speech laws are appropriate, I was really missing the point I feel. And so here is a concise prose on my thoughts on the Coulter nonsense.

Ann Coulter exercised her free speech rights and scheduled to come to U of Ottawa (I'll hold aside my rant on my Canadian taxpayer dollars paying for a non Canadian with no serious concept of our country and issues to come speak on said issues).

Francis Houle then exercised his free speech rights and reminded her we have hate speech laws here and to watch her mouth. Reasonable based on her suggesting a student "take a camel" if she doesn't "have a flying carpet" when the woman asked how she should travel when Coulter recommended during a public speech that Muslims be whole scale barred from flying. (I'll hold aside my rant on naive Canadian journalists who refer to her as a shock jock and entertainment. Coulter is dead fucking serious and she has a dead fucking serious following. You people know not of what you speak. Really.)

Some people then exercised their free speech rights and protested. Based on all the attention this was garnering, Coulter's security team decided the venue was unsafe. They were offered another venue where they could provide better security and more room in order to exercise their free speech rights.

THEY DECLINED.

Now every journalist across Canada is screaming about free speech blah blah blah and I'm trying to figure out where free speech was violated. When the Beatles came and had to hold their concerts in venues allowing for security to keep everyone, fans and Beatles and their protesters (Yes! People did indeed protest at Beatles concerts!), safe, no one screamed "OMG FREE SPEECH IS BEING VIOLATED!" No, they did what they needed to do to keep everyone safe. The Beatles didn't take it as a time to pull a publicity stunt and take their guitars and go home and cry about free speech. They moved to where more people could see them and be safe and ignored the protesters.

So no, sorry, U of O are not a "bunch of fucking crybabies" a one Miss Ann Coulter is, and shame shame SHAME on the Canadian Press for running with it. Shame on you indeed.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Comments

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

Houle was stupid to get involved. He triggered it passive aggressively. The information about the differences in law should perhaps be part of whatever information-package is given to people who are hired to speak on campus. You can argue semantics about him exercising his free speech rights, but professionally, that was a completely inappropriate thing to do. I hope he was at the very least officially sanctioned.

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

(I'll hold aside my rant on my Canadian taxpayer dollars paying for a non Canadian with no serious concept of our country and issues to come speak on said issues).

I cant imagine how much howling would come up from the left (like you? (not accusing, just asking where you lean)) if the Harper government said that they would have to approve, or review, the choices of University speakers, and their choice of topics, in order to qualify for financial funding.

You cant be FOR and AGAINST something at the same time?