FeedSat 10 May 2008
The pot calling the kettle black
Posted by Big Fat Hairy Dave at 5:50 pm under Miscellaneous Ramblings
The Seattle Times on Canada’s Human Rights Code, which forbids “hate speech”:
Canada, which has made “hate speech” against the law, now struggles to balance political correctness with freedom.
We do not envy the Canadians. They have entrusted to their government a power Americans never would, and they follow it into foolishness. In the week of June 2, a body of bureaucrats called the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal will call on the carpet author Mark Steyn.
Blah, blah, blah. No, Americans would never entrust to their government the power to punish people for exercising their right to free speech.
The American government doesn’t waste time censoring racist newspaper columnists or neo-Nazi Holocaust deniers—there asses and tits on television! But that’s all right—it doesn’t touch political discourse.
You know that Canadian obscenity laws are really arbitrarily enforced and have prevented a significant amount of adult literature from entering Canada, particularly GLBT titles, right?
The existence of unjust laws and/or arbitrary enforcement of those laws in the United States does not justify unjust laws and/or arbitrary enforcement of those laws abroad.
By Daniel M. Laenker, May 11th, 2008 at 1:28And to be fair, there’s a logical distinction to be made between broadcast television and books.
I’ll grant that what the Republicans have specifically done with the FCC disgusts me, but TV spectrum in the US is explicitly licensed “for the public good.” The idea is that if there aren’t enough TV channels for everyone to run a station, the stations have to be run for everyone.
I disagree, of course, that tits and asses are inherently offensive, but I think the general idea behind the various FCC rules surrounding broadcast TV is fairly sound.
By Dan, May 11th, 2008 at 4:15Yes, Daniel, I’m aware of that. I posted this because I think the Seattle Times should shut the fuck up with its “OMG Canada and its oppressive laws (but ours are TOTALLY DIFFERENT)” shit.
By Big Fat Hairy Dave, May 11th, 2008 at 9:31I would say “political diatribe”. Just think mAnn Coulter and her numerous anti-minority ravings.
By Prometheus, May 14th, 2008 at 15:58