Free Speech Fail

[Husker_x]

OTTAWA — After protesters at the University of Ottawa prevented Ann Coulter from giving a speech Tuesday night, the American conservative writer said it proved the point she came to make — free speech in Canada leaves much to be desired.

 

Then she said what she really thought of the student protesters who surrounded the school's Marion Hall, making it too unsafe, in the view of her bodyguard, for the pundit to attempt entry.

 

"The University of Ottawa is really easy to get into, isn't it?" she said in an interview after the cancelled event. "I never get any trouble at the Ivy League schools. It's always the bush league schools."

 

Coulter said she has been speaking regularly at university campuses for a decade. While she has certainly been heckled, she said this is the first time an engagement has been cancelled because of protesters.

 

"This has never, ever, ever happened before — even at the stupidest American university," she said.

 

Coulter remarked on the reception she has had since entering the country.

 

"Since I've arrived in Canada, I've been denounced on the floor of Parliament — which, by the way, is on my bucket list — my posters have been banned, I've been accused of committing a crime in a speech that I have not yet given, I was banned by the student council, so welcome to Canada!"

 

The "accusation" of which Coulter speaks is a reference to an e-mail she received from University of Ottawa vice-president and provost Francois Houle on Friday, warning her that freedom of speech is defined differently in Canada than in the U.S. and that she should take care not to step over the line.

 

Coulter said that letter set the tone for and encouraged the protesters. She said it's well known on the campus speaking circuit that conservatives need to travel with security staff, as she did.

 

"I'm pretty sure little Francois A-Houle does not need to travel with a bodyguard," she said. "I would like to know when this sort of violence, this sort of protest, has been inflicted upon a Muslim — who appear to be, from what I've read of the human rights complaints, the only protected group in Canada. I think I'll give my speech tomorrow night in a burka. That will protect me."

 

Canadian conservative political commentator Ezra Levant, the other speaker travelling with Coulter on the three-city tour, presented by the International Free Press Society of Canada, told the half-filled hall that no more people would be able to enter and that Coulter had been advised it would not be safe for her to appear.

 

Coulter's bodyguard ultimately made the judgment, after conferring with security staff on site.

 

In a short speech, Levant said Tuesday was "an embarrassing day for the University of Ottawa and their student body, who could not debate Ann Coulter . . . who chose to silence her through threats and intimidation, just like their vice-president did."

 

Levant laid the blame squarely on Houle.

 

"A fish rots from the head down," he said. "Francois Houle got his wish. He telegraphed to the community that the University of Ottawa is not a place for free debate."

 

Houle could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

 

Levant said the spectacle showed "just how eroded our Canadian values of free speech have become" — especially on university campuses.

 

"I think this has turned into a teaching moment for the entire country, a reminder that freedom of speech is a Canadian value," he said.

 

Rita Valeriano was one of several protesters inside the hall who, with chants of "Coulter go home!" shouted down the International Free Press Society of Canada organizer who was addressing the crowd.

 

Valeriano, a 19-year-old sociology and women's studies student, said later that she was happy Coulter was unable to speak the "hatred" she had planned to.

 

"On campus, we promise our students a safe and positive space," she said. "And that's not what (Coulter) brings."

 

Outside the hall, Sameena Topan, 26, a conflict studies and human rights major at the U of O, spoke to the Citizen on behalf of a group of protesters.

 

"We have a large group of students that can very clearly outline the difference between discourse and discrimination," Topan said of the protest. "We wanted to mobilize and make sure that's clear on campus, that there's a line between controversy and discrimination, and Ann Coulter has crossed it. Numerous times."

 

"We had concerns about (the event) at the beginning, but especially after we saw what happened at the University of Western Ontario, when she called out a Muslim girl there and was saying she needs to take a camel because Muslim people shouldn't fly. That kind of stuff just reaffirmed everything that we were afraid of and that's when . . . we really got worried."

 

Topan was pleased to hear the students behind her shout, "Hate speech cancelled!" in unison.

 

"I think that's great. I think we accomplished what we were here to do, to ensure that we don't have her discriminatory rhetoric on our campus," she said.

 

Jonathan Reid, 18, a Carleton political science student and a fan of Coulter, brought a book to be signed.

 

During the protest outside after the event was cancelled, Reid and a group of other students shouted a counter-chant, "No more commies on our campus!" while pumping their fists. The Coulter protesters moved forward to face them, and TV crew lights lit angry faces.

 

"It's a shame," Reid said of the cancellation. "They claim we're the intolerant ones, yet they're the ones who refuse to allow a Conservative speaker to come to campus. That is the definition of intolerance."

 

U of O political science student Faris Lehn, 23, said he doesn't support Coulter's message, but had hoped for a debate.

 

"It's too bad she didn't get to speak because I think she would have made herself look more ridiculous than anyone here could have made her look," Lehn said.

 

"The problem with Ann Coulter . . . is that the arguments that she uses don't necessarily promote good debate, they promote this," he said, glancing at the chanting crowd.

 

LINK

[Chef K]

I'm still waiting to hear the reason why she's the only "woman" to ever have an Adam's Apple.

[Husker_x]

I'd go with genetics.

 

+1 for science!

[carlfense]

I'm not sure that a private student protest that Coulter's bodyguard deemed unsafe qualifies as a suppression of speech. If the author is making the point that freedom of speech in the US is wider ranging than in Canada I agree. However, this incident hardly seems unusual. In fact, the same thing happens at US universities every year. In fact the exact same thing happened at UNL last year when Bill Ayers speech was canceled out of concerns for his safety. I'm not a fan of EITHER Bill Ayers or Ann Coulter, but she handled this in a trashy and alarmist fashion. I guess that is fitting for a trashy and alarmist woman.

[Chef K]

I'd go with genetics.

 

+1 for science!

My vote goes for "trans" something or another.

[knapplc]

I'd go with genetics.

 

+1 for science!

My vote goes for "trans" something or another.

 

What? I don't get it...

 

 

 

Oh, wait. I'm so embarrassed...

[walksalone]

Husker Jen?

[carlfense]

Husker Jen?

[Husker_x]

The plot thickens...

 

-----

 

Oh, Canada!

 

by Ann Coulter

 

Since arriving in Canada I've been accused of thought crimes, threatened with criminal prosecution for speeches I hadn't yet given and denounced on the floor of the Parliament.

 

Posters advertising my speech have been officially banned, while posters denouncing me are plastered all over the University of Ottawa campus. Elected officials have been prohibited from attending my speeches.

 

Welcome to Canada!

 

The provost of the University of Ottawa wrote to me -- widely disseminating his letter to at least a half-dozen intermediaries before it reached me -- in advance of my visit in order to recommend that I familiarize myself with Canada's criminal laws regarding hate speech.

 

This marks the first time I've ever gotten hate mail for something I might do in the future.

 

Apparently Canadian law forbids "promoting hatred against any identifiable group," which the provost, Francois A. Houle, advised me "would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges."

 

I was given no specific examples of what words and phrases I couldn't use, but I take it I'm not supposed to say, "(Expletive) you, Francois."

 

Upon reading Francois' letter, I suddenly realized that I had just been the victim of a hate crime! And it was committed by Francois A. Houle (French for "Frank A. Hole").

 

What other speakers get a warning not to promote hatred? Did Houle send a similarly worded letter to Israel-hater Omar Barghouti before he spoke last year at U of Ottawa? How about Angela Davis, Communist Party member and former Black Panther who spoke at the university just last month?

 

I'm sure Canada's Human Rights Commission will get to the bottom of Francois' strange warning to me, inasmuch as I will be filing a complaint with that august body, so I expect it will be reviewing every letter the university has sent to other speakers prior to their speeches to see if any of them were threatened with criminal prosecution.

 

You'd have to be a real A-Houle not to anticipate that accusing a conservative of "promoting hatred" prior to her arrival on a college campus would in actuality incite real-world violence toward the conservative.

 

The university itself acknowledged that Francois' letter was likely to provoke violence against me by demanding that my sponsors pony up more than $1,200 for extra security.

 

After Tuesday night, the hatred incited by Francois' letter is no longer theoretical. The police called off my speech when the auditorium was surrounded by thousands of rioting liberals -- screaming, blocking the entrance, throwing tables, demanding that my books be burned, and finally setting off the fire alarm.

 

I've given more than 100 college speeches, and not once has one of my speeches been shut down.

 

Only one college speech was ever met with so much mob violence that the police were forced to cancel it -- the one that was preceded by a letter from the university provost accusing me of hate speech.

 

If a university official's letter accusing a speaker of having a proclivity to commit speech crimes before she's given the speech -- which then leads to Facebook postings demanding that Ann Coulter be hurt, a massive riot and a police-ordered cancellation of the speech -- is not hate speech, then there is no such thing as hate speech.

 

Either Francois goes to jail or the Human Rights Commission is a hoax and a fraud.

 

LINK

[knapplc]

Dear Ms. Coulter,

 

I understand that you have been invited by University of Ottawa Campus Conservatives to speak at the University of Ottawa this coming Tuesday. We are, of course, always delighted to welcome speakers on our campus and hope that they will contribute positively to the meaningful exchange of ideas that is the hallmark of a great university campus. We have a great respect for freedom of expression in Canada, as well as on our campus, and view it as a fundamental freedom, as recognized by our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

 

I would, however, like to inform you, or perhaps remind you, that our domestic laws, both provincial and federal, delineate freedom of expression (or "free speech") in a manner that is somewhat different than the approach taken in the United States. I therefore encourage you to educate yourself, if need be, as to what is acceptable in Canada and to do so before your planned visit here.

 

You will realize that Canadian law puts reasonable limits on the freedom of expression. For example, promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges. Outside of the criminal realm, Canadian defamation laws also limit freedom of expression and may differ somewhat from those to which you are accustomed. I therefore ask you, while you are a guest on our campus, to weigh your words with respect and civility in mind.

 

There is a strong tradition in Canada, including at this university, of restraint, respect and consideration in expressing even provocative and controversial opinions and urge you to respect that Canadian tradition while on our campus. Hopefully, you will understand and agree that what may, at first glance, seem like unnecessary restrictions to freedom of expression do, in fact, lead not only to a more civilized discussion, but to a more meaningful, reasoned and intelligent one as well.

 

I hope you will enjoy your stay in our beautiful country, city and campus.

 

Sincerely,

 

Francois Houle,

 

LINK

[carlfense]

Regardless of my opinion of Ann Coulter . . . she should have the right to speak her mind.

 

Freedom of speech in the United States is still one thing that we can all point to and say "Here's one thing that I am proud of as a United States citizen."

[Manhattan]

Regardless of my opinion of Ann Coulter . . . she should have the right to speak her mind.

 

Freedom of speech in the United States is still one thing that we can all point to and say "Here's one thing that I am proud of as a United States citizen."

 

This.

 

If the Canadians are telling her that she could be in trouble for "stepping over the line" in her speech, then she is correct in asserting the free speech is not as strong in Canada as in America. You can say the most ridiculous hateful things in America and nobody can do anything about it - so long as it doesn't directly threaten or endanger anyone specifically. She is her own best example of this, unfortunately for the rest of us.

[Husker_x]

Regardless of my opinion of Ann Coulter . . . she should have the right to speak her mind.

 

Freedom of speech in the United States is still one thing that we can all point to and say "Here's one thing that I am proud of as a United States citizen."

 

Agreed.

 

Though one of the things that concerns me––and this was especially true in college––is the self-imposed yoke of something that's deemed 'offensive.' I have certain views on religion and politics that you could attach labels to. People can, and often do, say derogatory things about both. Yet nowhere in my belief system do I consider myself free to silence in any way someone I think has offended me, with one exception. And that's with superior argument, which I'm happy to provide if the situation calls for it.

 

You can draw a corollary with the anti-smoking crowd. Though I have seen no evidence that offers statistically significant damage caused by second-hand smoke (with the exception of an already debunked 1993 EPA study), some feel that they have the right to tell private restaurant owners that because they don't like the smell of smoke during their meal that they're going lobby the government to force their preferences on everyone else. Apparently it's not enough that there other restaurants that have a self-induced smoking ban, or that restaurant owners would nix smoking in an instant if their cliental was bothered by it.

 

A lesson on freedom. You have the right to be offended, but not to impose your will on everyone else because you don't like what someone says or does.

[carlfense]

Regardless of my opinion of Ann Coulter . . . she should have the right to speak her mind.

 

Freedom of speech in the United States is still one thing that we can all point to and say "Here's one thing that I am proud of as a United States citizen."

 

This.

 

If the Canadians are telling her that she could be in trouble for "stepping over the line" in her speech, then she is correct in asserting the free speech is not as strong in Canada as in America. You can say the most ridiculous hateful things in America and nobody can do anything about it - so long as it doesn't directly threaten or endanger anyone specifically. She is her own best example of this, unfortunately for the rest of us.

 

Actually the bold section is not quite true. If you switch "nobody" to "US government actor" it would be closer to correct. The Bill of Rights does not protect you from censorship by private parties.

 

I agree with the rest of what you said.

[Manhattan]

Regardless of my opinion of Ann Coulter . . . she should have the right to speak her mind.

 

Freedom of speech in the United States is still one thing that we can all point to and say "Here's one thing that I am proud of as a United States citizen."

 

This.

 

If the Canadians are telling her that she could be in trouble for "stepping over the line" in her speech, then she is correct in asserting the free speech is not as strong in Canada as in America. You can say the most ridiculous hateful things in America and nobody can do anything about it - so long as it doesn't directly threaten or endanger anyone specifically. She is her own best example of this, unfortunately for the rest of us.

 

Actually the bold section is not quite true. If you switch "nobody" to "US government actor" it would be closer to correct. The Bill of Rights does not protect you from censorship by private parties.

 

I agree with the rest of what you said.

 

Right. I was implying public speech. Had a person where I work complain that my boss was infringing on her freedom of speech rights because my boss - a black woman - forbade this black person from saying ******. My boss laughed at her, and then fired her.