"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Monday, March 31, 2008

Expressing hatred of Israel is not hate speech -- apparently

The Muslim fruitcakes sure do not like having "hate speech" restrictions placed on them. Report below (excerpt) from a Canadian professor who went along to a Muslim/Leftist "forum" and was foolish enough to think that his defence of hate speech restrictions would be heard:

"A forum was held on Feb. 29 at McMaster University under the pretext of discussing "the recent shocking decision by the McMaster Student Union (MSU) and administration to unequivocally ban on campus the usage of the phrase Israeli Apartheid." This event was organized by a group calling itself U4SR, in reality an amalgam of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, and Muslims for Peace and Justice.

What had McMaster done to merit such attention? The university had merely embraced and enforced its Student Code of Conduct. This code, which can serve as a model for other universities, prescribes conduct for an inclusive academia respectful of the "rights, responsibilities, dignity, and well-being of others" and proscribes behaviour that is "harassing, intimidating offensive and/or threatening."

The code was deemed to have been violated during Israeli Apartheid Week held several weeks earlier. At that time, responding to a complaint, the Provost Ilene Busch-Vishniac denied placement in the Student Centre of a banner with the outrageously inciteful juxtaposition of Israel and apartheid, which could not combine two more incongruous words, judging such banner to be unduly inflammatory and so in violation of the tenets of the code. ....

Midway through my presentation the moderator shut the microphone. What had I said? I was warning students about the dangers of confounding free speech with hate speech. I aimed for inclusion and had just exhorted the students to show the world that McMaster is an example where Muslims and Jews can live together in harmony and mutual respect, pointing out that they share the same father Abraham, write from right to left, and have similar words for peace - salam and shalom. I was pleading with them not to be the pawns of the older generation with hate-filled hearts that uses unwitting handicapped people to deliver suicide bombs or launch rockets against civilians, when the microphone went dead.

Let's understand this clearly. At a forum arranged by a student group to discuss free speech, a professor supporting the university and discussing what hate does to a campus community was not allowed to finish his speech. Evidently, what the organizers and moderator intended was: free speech for themselves but not for others.

Source



Posted by John Ray. For a daily critique of Leftist activities, see DISSECTING LEFTISM. For a daily survey of Australian politics, see AUSTRALIAN POLITICS Also, don't forget your summary of Obama news and commentary at OBAMA WATCH

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