Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Cure for Hate Speech is More and Better Speech

I have been thinking about this story for a few days now. 

A Quebec broadcaster let someone on his show and "Maria" proceeded to call Israelis dogs, and talk about how the Holocaust was the best thing to have ever happened, and say all kinds of other things about Jews.

The host warned her that one must be careful about saying things about Jews because the conversation can easily get shut down, that's it's a sensitive topic.

And then the Official Jews got involved.

“Generally speaking, we’re satisfied with the quick and thoughtful response of the station,” Rabbi Reuben Poupko, board member of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said. Steven Slimovitch, national legal counsel for B’nai Brith, called the punishment “incredibly severe.”

"But both men were disappointed by the written apology Mr. Fabi released through his employer, Cogeco Diffusion."

Here are my feelings on the subject.

Someone hates Jews and was given a platform to spout off about Jews, on the radio.

SO WHAT? 

Both official Jews are "disappointed" that the broadcaster didn't sufficiently grovel after having been punished in an "incredibly severe" manner (their words, not mine).

TOO BAD. 

As Kathy points out, if Jews do not want to be accused of controlling the media, maybe they should actually stop trying to control the media? 

Seriously, who cares what one antisemitic Quebec woman says about the Holocaust? The broadcaster's employer is a private company that can decide if they want him on board or not. They decided to punish him-and they can fire him if they want.

If it was a public broadcaster, funded by taxpayers, then public outrage would be more warranted. Canadians would not want public funds to be used as a platform for airing antisemitic views. That is what civilized people would choose. 
 
Once again, thin-skinned Jews are perpetuating terrible stereotypes and the official Jews are making it seem like we are the most easily offended group in Canada. It also makes it seem like we have nothing better to talk about, worry about, or spend community dollars on.

Unfortunately, the CIJA establishment is full of not-so-smart Jews who push well intentioned Jews into saying and publishing the kind of nincompoop tripe that only Official Jews are capable of vomiting up

And as usual, the true lede of the story is buried at the end of the well-intentioned article written by Graeme Hamilton of the National Post.

Here's the real point, and why being wolf-crying, sky-is-falling Jews is ultimately self-defeating and completely unnecessary in Canada today:

"More encouraging is the public denunciation he has faced in the province where he had been something of a radio institution. Such fellow broadcasters as Jeff Fillion and Dominic Maurais were quick to rip into him, and columnists in La Presse and Le Journal de Montréal have been equally harsh."

See?!?!

Mainstream Quebec publications took care of this make-work problem on their own. 

No Jewish thought police were necessary for regular people to understand that the language used was offensive, that it was not welcome in the everyday public discourse of Quebec media and not reflective of the average person. 

Who cares that some anonymous crumb-bum woman in Quebec hates Jews? She can seriously KMZT: kiss my Zionist tuches. Who cares if some "King of the Night" in Quebec finds Jews annoying? I find Quebec annoying, what's the big deal?

I'm more worried about Hamas re-arming, than about Maria of Quebec.

But what do I know?