Xeno In Action?
First things first: a flip o’ my chapeau to the Relapsed Catholic for beating me to the punch on this one.
Some people will look at the issue and think that I’m referring to Xeno in the usual “xenophobia” context. Not so.
I’m referring to Xeno of Elea, the Greek pholosopher famous for, amongst other things, his paradoxes. You know; those bothersome little questions that, by their very nature, seem to have no possible answer at all. Perhaps the most famous of all of them was the question which has so often been paraphrased like this:
What, exactly, would occur if an immovable object were to be struck by an irresistable force?
What, indeed? It is beginning to seem as if this very question is, as you read this, being played out in Regina.
Bill Whatcott, a “long-time pro-life and family campaigner” from the Big Flat, has recently been slapped to the tune of $17,500 by Saskatchewan’s Human Rights Tribunal for… wait for it… hurt feelings.
Yup, that’s right. We’ve gone from “sticks and stones may break my bones” to “BOO HOO, he hurt my feelings, your honour; WHERE’S MY CHEQUE?!?!”
Okay, let’s examine this, shall we? First, in my opinion: yeah, he went a little overboard and crossed the line of decent debate (kinda hard to look reasonable strolling down the street holding a sign saying “Bare Bottomed Pitifuls are Celebrating Buggery in Regina. God Help Us!â€), but it is still damned hard to slap down the very logical points that he does make:
If you can find factual inaccuracies in my flyers or if you can find that I said something in bad faith, at that point there should be civil penalties […] I’d be the first one to agree with that. […] If I’m lying by saying that homosexuals are predisposed to sexually transmitted diseases at a rate greater than the general population, by all means find me liable for slander. If I’m wrong in saying….that there is a predisposition in homosexuality towards the sexual abuse of children, if that can be factually proven to be wrong, find me guilty of libel. But don’t tell me that I can’t say something that is true.
In other words: “prove me wrong and I’ll take my medicine.” Sounds reasonable to me. Also sounds like the best way to deal with any disagreement, debate or what have you.
But the problem here (and a chilling one it is) is that the SHRC doesn’t seem to give a damn about bothersome little things like facts or truth. According to Janice Gingell (a lawyer for the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission):
Sexual orientation is a protected category under the code and you are not allowed to say things that will cause other people to feel hatred or ridicule or belittlement towards members of those protected categories.
Yup, you got it. Thou Shalt Not Speak Against The Priviledged Group. Period. Truth? Lies? Doesn’t matter. Just sit the hell down and shut the hell up. Forget freedom of reli… aw, screw it. Forget any freedoms you think you have. None of them matter. You aren’t one of the Protected Ones. So you’re screwed.
Orwell himself couldn’t have done better.
Getting back to Xeno….
…he will not pay a $17,500 fine ordered by Saskatchewan’s Human Rights Tribunal […] Whatcott has vowed to continue distributing his flyers with about 3,500 more to go out on Thursday.
Some things just make you shake your head. Like this, for example. I’ve known for a long time that many so-called “liberal” types, who howl so long and loud for their own liberties, separation of church and state, and who knows what else, were really nothing more than thinly-veiled God-haters. And now we have proof. Or should I just say, more proof?
