There's a minor kerfuffle going on at the Alberta Legislature. A Liberal opposition member, Hugh MacDonald, accused Tory MLA Drew Hutton of possessing "hate literature" in the august chamber.
Mr. Hutton claims that he found the document in some papers handed to him and threw it away once he realized what it was.
And what was it? Well, The Edmonton Journal found it so utterly horrible that it couldn't bring itself to even describe its contents, save to note that it
"includes a rant against people who don't speak English; suggests things like the Miss Asian Canada contest and the United Negro College Fund discriminate against Caucasians; and says there's no place for girls in the Boy Scouts."
Whew. Fortunately Charlie Gillis of the National Post has a stronger stomach for this appalling stuff, and gave a bit more of the flavor of the thing (sorry, no link available):
The document was an apparent attempt at "redneck" humour, purporting to reveal the thoughts of true Canadians on a variety of issues.It included attacks on gays, women, minorities, drug users, and gun-control advocates.
Among them:
"I don't think that being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers.
"I have the right NOT to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off."If you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper, or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be a Canadian you should have to speak English."
Now, frankly, some of this might be a little tendentious, but I hardly see where it qualifies as "hate literature." It doesn't seem to contain any racial slurs, nor does it seem to advocate violence. I'm sure Mr. Gillis could have provided better examples if there were any.
I've heard worse from Don Cherry any Saturday night you'd care to mention.
It is interesting, too, to see what new territory the PC speech police are lately staking out. Apparently criticizing gun-control advocates, or drug users -- drug users! -- is beyond the pale these days. Or daring to demur on girls joining the Boy Scouts.
This is good, because our various Human Rights commissars are in need of new things to crack down on. They've certainly not eager to tackle real life examples of hate, like, say, Palestinians marching through Calgary shouting "Death to the Jews!" or rioting at Concordia University.
Or the group of militant lesbians who stormed a Catholic church in Montreal a few years ago, burning crosses on the steps, knocking the priest to the ground, and desecrating statues and paintings with used condoms and tampons. They weren't even criminally charged for this: A police spokeswoman said with a straight face that the attackers were engaged in "political speech."
It's gormless wankers like Hugh MacDonald who facilitate these ugly trends. They bellow over trifles and wink at the outrageous.