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Entry: Gag Order Link: http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/gag_order#29944 Post contents: I may be unique here; a Canadian citizen, living in Canada and who worked for PJB (New Hampshire, 1996). I am torn. Obviously, the target of odious human rights commissions – staffed by odious left-wing political hacks masquerading a jurists – are conservatives and/or orthodox Christians. I cannot think of any Mohammedan, for instance, who has been dragged before these commissions to account for calling Jews “pigs” or for the stoning of homosexuals. “Canadian” is also correct to point out that in “prosecuting” complaints, justice is perverted. The complainant has all of his expenses paid for by taxpayers. The accused, none. There are no rules of evidence. Due process is – well, you can’t ignore something which doesn’t exist in these instances. Guilt is presumed. The principle of natural justice is totally absent and hundreds of years of common law tradition are ignored. The Canadian Human Rights Commission has a – get this – one hundred per cent record of finding against the accused. I said I was torn. These complaints are all complaints about application. There are perfectly reasonable arguments for limiting free speech. I have nothing against the principle, in fact I support it. Others (W. Kendall, for one) make the argument persuasively: All political societies have a public orthodoxy which must be vigorously defended – its preservation is vital to the survival of the regime – and those who attack, or even question it, should be persecuted (recognizing that persecution can take many forms). The inability or unwillingness to do so is a sign of cultural fatigue and rot. Athens’ condemnation of Socrates was the act, arguably, of a healthy society. I live in a country where the public orthodoxies of equality and multiculturalism have literally been written into our constitution. We accepted it, and now must live with the perfectly logical outcome. Sent at: 2008 12 01