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Originally Posted by InTheServiceOfZeke
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What's disturbing about the comment section on the linked page is the amount of unoccupied intellectual space between what appear to be quite polarised viewpoints.
Most of the "free speech" advocates make no effort at all to qualify their statements with any condemnation of the apparent hysterical tone of the original offending articles ("TEH MUSLIMS R COMING!") and quite a few seem outright in agreement with said (I noted more than one post of the "This is a Christian Nation" variety). The overall impression is that, for many "free speech" advocates, the tone and hysteria of the article would be unproblematic even if there was no threat of thought-policing its author and publishers. Perhaps for some its simply a case of the threat of the loss of free spech being more fundamental than the distant threat of such opinions expressing themselves as political discrimination, but there is a strong implication in many of the comments of approval for the actual hysteria-mongering that started all the fuss.
On the other side of the discussion there are frequent comparisons to demonization of the Jews prior to the Holocaust and the "denial" of a right to response being itself suppression of free speech. Clearly the Nazi's did not give their Jewish victims a chance to respond, whereas one assumes Canada has many avenues for offended Muslims (and non-Muslims who find hysterical Muslim-bashing offensive) to freely express their disgust. So the comparison is spurious.
If this is possible in theory but difficult in practice because of institutional barriers, I would sympathise with their position, since it would prejudice the right of those subjected to criticism to be heard. Sometimes I think Americans (and it appears Canadians) are a little too hung up on institutionally protected free speech at
any cost*. In societies with massive inequality and seriously disempowered and unpopular minorities, it can equate to a one-sided, prejudicial hate-fest. But Canada doesn't strike one as such a nation and little evidence is presented for this thesis.
*I think the great value of freedom of speech is simply that it allows societies to explore the phase space of all possible ideas without arbitrary and irrational barriers being put in the way, thus enabling more rapid social evolution. But when an idea and its variants have already been tested repeatedly with horrifying results, it becomes reasonable for some societies to close certain avenues if the idea set they're terminating is well enough defined not to risk occluding a near relative that is worthwhile. So, for instance, I agree with (my limited understanding of) many central European anti-Nazi laws.
The Islamic Republic of Canada
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