Oh, Canada! I think I love you.
Did you hear the latest about Ann Coulter? It seems that she was scheduled to give speeches in a series of Canadian universities, but when some of the students at those schools heard about it, they decided to exercise their right of free speech and peacefully (It's the Canadian way.) protest her coming to their schools. Apparently, thousands of the students joined in the protest. They did not want this noted purveyor of hate speech on their campus.
Now, Coulter is a bold proponent of free speech, so you would think that she would rejoice in the Canadian students exercising their rights. You would be wrong. It seems she is only a proponent of HER freedom to speech, but not if she feels threatened in any way. Apparently, she did feel threatened by the peaceful Canadian students because now she has canceled her speeches rather than face them. Of course, Coulter and her ilk were never long on physical courage. It is why you will almost never find any of them serving in any military service, much less fighting in a war. They will always find some reason to be excused.
The Canadian students rejected Coulter because of her racist hate speech. She uses the most scurrilous terms to incite her listeners, to stir them up and make them unwilling and unable to listen to any other side of any issue other than the one she advocates. She is not alone in the tactic, of course. There is a long list of such hate speakers in America today. Chief among them are people like Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, and Rush Limbaugh, but Coulter ranks high on this list of dishonor, also.
Canada has laws regarding hate speech and I think it is very wise to draw a line in the sand against such behavior. As a matter of public policy and safety, one should not be allowed to yell, "Fire!", in a crowded theater. Neither should one be allowed to yell, "Kill the liberals!" in an overheated political atmosphere.
I'm all for free speech, but your right to free speech ends when you are encouraging people to do violence to me. We could benefit from Canada's example in this regard, as in many others.
Now, Coulter is a bold proponent of free speech, so you would think that she would rejoice in the Canadian students exercising their rights. You would be wrong. It seems she is only a proponent of HER freedom to speech, but not if she feels threatened in any way. Apparently, she did feel threatened by the peaceful Canadian students because now she has canceled her speeches rather than face them. Of course, Coulter and her ilk were never long on physical courage. It is why you will almost never find any of them serving in any military service, much less fighting in a war. They will always find some reason to be excused.
The Canadian students rejected Coulter because of her racist hate speech. She uses the most scurrilous terms to incite her listeners, to stir them up and make them unwilling and unable to listen to any other side of any issue other than the one she advocates. She is not alone in the tactic, of course. There is a long list of such hate speakers in America today. Chief among them are people like Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, and Rush Limbaugh, but Coulter ranks high on this list of dishonor, also.
Canada has laws regarding hate speech and I think it is very wise to draw a line in the sand against such behavior. As a matter of public policy and safety, one should not be allowed to yell, "Fire!", in a crowded theater. Neither should one be allowed to yell, "Kill the liberals!" in an overheated political atmosphere.
I'm all for free speech, but your right to free speech ends when you are encouraging people to do violence to me. We could benefit from Canada's example in this regard, as in many others.
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