Ann Coulter is in Canada to eat your babies. No, seriously.
Canadians are now able to bear witness to the typical political spectacle normally reserved for our American friends.
If you haven’t heard by now, American conservative ‘pundit’ Ann Coulter has been on a speaking tour in Canada and she ran into some opposition at the University of Ottawa.
Coulter is known for pushing the limits of free speech and, ironically, is claiming she may file a human rights complaint after a letter from a University of Ottawa provost Francis Houle reminding Coulter about Canada’s laws on hate speech.
This came after her speech at the University of Ontario where Coulter told one Muslim student who questioned her about past remarks about Muslims that if they didn’t like being denied a flight they could “ride a camel” or a magic carpet.
The whole thing feels like it’s been scripted. Coincidentally, Ezra Lavant, not one to shy away from confrontation or attacking human rights commissions, was present for the festivities as master of ceremonies. How apropos. (I read this after I wrote this blog post. I think Neil MacDonald did a great job and it really reinforces the thought I had that this whole thing seems scripted. It’s not the first time Ezra ‘Chicken Little’ Lavant’s been up to this.)
I’m all for free speech, and think that people should be able to push things a little further than maybe our human rights commissions may be comfortable with. Coulter is well aware of the reactions to the kinds of things she says. She’s trying to evoke that reaction in audiences.
Ann Coulter has a truckload of t-shirts to sell. Get'em before they're gone!
Of course Coulter’s friends and fans are trying to frame the issue as a violent riot and that Coulter was scared (kind of like Democrats have been threatened in the US). One random, unverified comment on the Small Dead Animals blog apparently about huge Egyptian student union/club member overturning a table gets turned into ‘they were throwing tables.’
Somehow the pulling of a fire alarm is equated to yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre. Well, it’s a theatre alright; the theatre of the absurd
Coulter’s fans are also trying to frame her opponents as being opposed to free speech, ironically while exercising their own right to free speech.
The absurd theatre will continue at the University of Calgary but, now that she’s really whipped everyone into a frenzy about the apparent lack of free speech in Canada and crazed left-wing mobs, comes the real reason for her visit. I heard it from one source that she has a semi-trailer full of Obama Joker t-shirts and she’ll be selling them at her speech in Calgary.
She’s got so much attention here now that everyone will want a memento from her speech. Well, it’s either that or she is trying to get some free healthcare while she’s here in Canada, sort of like Rush Limbaugh did when he was in Hawaii. Oh, wait, no. Apparently everyone can get healthcare in the U.S. now. Forget it.
What Ann Coulter has done with her bit of performance art is to remind us that Canada is not at all like the USA in its political discourse. Thank you Ann.
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4 comments
Max says:
Mar 25, 2010
The more I look, the more Ann Coulter looks like an afghan hound.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v401/Mega-Pimp/Anncoulter.jpg
Kris Darch says:
Apr 16, 2010
Down here we have a first amendment to protect speech you don’t agree with. In Canada, you have the right I guess to stop free speech. Personally Alain, your bullshit picture you posted trying to associate it with Ann Coulter’s views is more offensive than anything she might ever say. She has never sold such shirts! You my friend, who try to portray yourself as moderate in your views, are nothing more than a left wing hack listening to one side of an argument. I listen to all sides. I remember from before all the sources you posted for your facts – every last one of them was from a leftest source.
I garantee you I watch a lot more of MSNBC than you ever watch of Fox News…
I watched the whole thing unfold in Ottawa, and your description of the course of events leaves much to be desired. Have fun in your mother state, oh and please remember to only smell the flowers that your government allows you to. Freedom, yeah sure, a security blanket is more of what you are looking for.
Alain Saffel says:
Apr 17, 2010
Evidently you missed the joke about the t-shirts. :)
It’s funny how Americans tend to stereotype Canadians as living under a nanny state reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984.
As for being a moderate, I don’t consider myself a moderate. My views are pretty middle of the road. That being said, my views run across the spectrum, depending on the issue. This is similar to many people. I get my news from many sources also, whether labelled left or right. My preference is for news sources that present both sides of the issue and let the viewer/reader make the judgment.
Funny also that you call Canada a mother state when your country doesn’t allow its residents the same freedoms we do here. Why should the state make the decision on who marries and who doesn’t? Patriot Act anyone?
Kris Darch says:
Apr 17, 2010
We don’t stereotype much of anything. We hardly ever even talk about Canada down here. It is you that is constantly talking about US and what we need to fix. Why don’t you work on cleaning up your own house before you tell your neighbors how to mop their floors?
How many times have I brought up Canada except in a rebuttal to a comment you have mad about what we are doing wrong?
You don’t consider yourself a moderate, your views are pretty much middle of the road. Okay, well maybe I need someone to redefine what moderate means, but I thought it meant someone pretty much not taking extremes on either side, otherwise known and being in the middle somewhere.
Freedom? You country is also telling Churches that they HAVE to marry people they don’t wish to marry and which goes against their religion. I was reading a story about it last month. Why does your country restrict the freedom of people to own firearms much more than ours? Why does your country not allow you to purchase a beer at 7-Eleven? Why does your country not allow and protect what you call “hate speech”?
We are different countries. We have freedoms that you don’t have and visa-versa. I like being different and not a carbon copy of another state or system. You seem to want the United States to be like you. I don’t get that. I don’t see why if you are so happy with your system, that you want to see ours change? I like differences, that is why I love to travel. If every country was the same, then there wouldn’t be much reason to go anywhere.
I don’t see too many news sources that do give both sides of an issue fair play. Most are biased one way or another. That is why I look to several sources. I believe it is the responsibility of the citizens to seek out and inform themselves. Yes, Fox news is biased towards the right on most of their commentary, but they are not somehow further right than CNN or MSNBC is to the left. It used to be nice to sit down and watch CBS news in the 60′s and 70′s and feel like you were actually getting the news and not someones spin on the news. Times have changed. Everyone is more polarized.
Here is a group I belong to that might interest you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCq9gUnNToo