The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

4 responses to “Comedian Fined $42,000 for Telling a Joke?”

1. 

   Cascadian

   August 22, 2016

   I could try, but ultimately it would be pointless.
   Canaduh, like the rest of the world is sinking into a morass of “feelings legislation” propounded by quasi-judicial “human rights” commissions. This kind of stupidity was effectively beaten back in BC by Mark Steyn, but of course Quebec (as always) is a different matter its legal system based on the civil code may have something to do with it, though it is just as likely that the comedian has an anglicized name and is therefore guilty as charged.(because French feelings were hurt in The Battle of the Plains of Abraham (13 September 1759))
   I have not read the decision: http://www.canlii.org/fr/qc/qctdp/doc/2016/2016qctdp18/2016qctdp18.html
   and I am not prepared to rely upon the CBC’s precis to be accurate.
   To summarize-feelings were hurt, somebody complained, government workers need to be employed, something must be done if only one person feels better about themselves- or some such.
   Such is Canaduh, under the clown prince Turdeau. Did I offend someone? I hope so.

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2. 

   Tom

   August 22, 2016

   Thanks! Not me at least. It's surprising how illiberal these liberals can be. 🙂

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3. 

   Bill Sticker

   August 23, 2016

   It seems to be an institutional delusion of the Liberal and NDP parties that if only ‘hate speech’ were made illegal, then all would become the kingdom of heaven. Now Trudeau’s government are trying to re-establish the tribunals which, effectively acting as a court of the star chamber, tried to prosecute Mark Steyn and others a few years ago and failed miserably. For some reason Quebec never quite threw off these vile shackles.
   This time we’re told, the legislation is to protect the feelings of a very few transexuals. Which smacks to me of codified privilege and as such very much against the spirit of Canada’s constitution.

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4. 

   Tom

   August 23, 2016

   It is very odd to me that Canada, which I always think of as one of the most civilised places on Earth and Canadians, several of whom I am happy to number among my friends and whom I think of (even when they are naively Leftist) as intelligent, humorous and kind, should have fallen so hard for this student politics type stupidity.
   Free speech is good for society, liberty and science. The merest glance at history would suggest that the application of such modern laws in the past would have led to the petrification of thought. God knows what stupid ideas would have been preserved unchallenged. After all, historians will one day look back on today's orthodoxies and find them just as bizarre as we do our ancestors unshakeable convictions.
   Ethics aside, it makes no practical sense to drive underground ideas that thoroughly need to be engaged with and defeated or to make martyrs of nasty idiots. For example "Black Lives Matter" activists are engaged across America at present in what any reasonable person might call hate speech as well as actual incitement to murder. Sensible Americans don't want such useful intelligence as to the location and inclinations of violent criminals suppressed. It's a shame every German hadn't read Mein Kampf before the Nazis came to power, and just bloody stupid to suppress it now.
   I would argue the same for the "Islamist" hate speech that Western governments are foolishly trying to suppress in order to cover up their own betrayal of our values. At least until our intelligence services have recruited enough agents thoroughly to infiltrate terrorist groups, the more hate speech the better. If only all our enemies were daft enough to make their intentions so apparent as the occasional blustering idiot we are immorally locking up for mere speech. It's the actual killers, rapists, traitors, destroyers of cultural artefacts and violent misogynists we need to deal with, not the armchair jihadis, who are useful idiots.

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