Free Canuckistan has received all sorts of worthwhile info and coverage on the recent Probort shout-down at an Atlantic Canadian University, St. Mary’s in Halifax.
Of note, the politically correct warrior-chants used to try and close down a free gathering of concerned people on an important if controversial issue. As reported by The Atlantic Catholic,
“About a dozen vocal protesters repeatedly accused Ruba, a visible minority, of “hate speech,” sexism and racism.” After some time Ruba resorted to communicating via the overhead projection system where his typed message could be seen. “I can’t be judged to be hateful if I haven’t even spoken,” he writes.
The fascistic tactics of such militant Progs are beyond irony– they view themselves as lonely crusaders for truth, and that the ends justify all means, even if said means are prejudicial, anti-democratic, hateful, and suppressive or real debate and discussion on the issues they supposedly feel so strongly about. It’s political violence, of a sort, and injures civil society, facts and reflection, and is an absolute assumption of rightness and righteousness on the protesters. This is a popular tactic of Jihadists, brownshirts, black shirts, Bolshevik students, ranting 60’s student bullies– not of those who want the free exchange of ideas in pursuit of truth.
But Wait! It Gets Worse
The brave Catholic University jumped to the defence of free speech and high principle… Here’s the university’s disgusting press release. Here’s the local newspaper report (and 91 comments so far). Word has it that Jeff Cusack, the news editor at The SMU Journal, is attempting to interview Bridget Brownlow, Terry Murphy, and Colin Dodds, as well as people who were at the presentation. Let’s hope there’s a good article in this Wednesday’s paper. Here’s a news-link from lifesite.
Combined with the anti-democratic debacle out at the University of Calgary over this same issue, perhaps it is fair to say that free speech and freedom of opinion are not alive and flourishing at all our Canucki Hallowed Halls Of Higher Learning.
The campus police and Halifax Regional Donut Squad should have warned, and thn carted these characters off campus, where they could protest to their heart’s content. Disturbing the peace is still a crime– back in my day as a campus cop, we’d have cleared the protesters out after 15 minutes of having their say, and then called the police on them and filed a complaint leading to arrest– and the next morning, they’d be under academic discipline. Ah, the more things change, the more they change for the worse. Now, our sensitivity-trained peace offices are inclusive facilitators of a caring and sharing open and honest dialogue about how everybody is feeling about the situation.
As in any circumstance like theis, the Proborts can hold their own event, or protest outside the event to make their feelings clear, handing out brochures with more info to further inform the wrong-headed people headed into an event. The mistake here is to allow them to control the gathering– like a tantrum gone postal– thereby not actually protesting, but preventing the open and free exchange of facts and ideas about abortion that– GASP!– might actually challenge the leftist, media and cultural elite status quo of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Question’ about the 100 000+ little boys and girls we send to medical incinerators in Canada every year.
There were ghosts in that room, too: roughly 30 000 little Nova Scotians have been lost in the 18-20 years that those university students grew up.. presumably some of them would have even attended SMU.
One Final Fascistical Trick
The protesters have learned bully opponents and to game the system well, however–
“As the Atlantic Catholic went to print other media sources reported that a pro-abortion group was considering launching a human rights complaint against the St. Mary’s University chaplain.”
We predict Father Kelly will be found not guilty, after a $75 000.00 Human Rights Tribunal under the supervision of NS-HRC Honcho Krista “Utopia Now!” Daley.
Here’s more on this situation by NS Scott, noted freespeechist agitator: SMU officials decided beforehand not to defend free speech. And Human rights complaint considered against pro-life speech. He sums it up well:
“What is SMU going to do to protect academic freedom on campus? The university’s reputation has already taken a beating” in this area. If it doesn’t denounce the hooligans and discipline any SMU students in the mob of little fascists, its credibility as an institution of higher learning will be in tatters.
To contact St. Mary’s University:
Dr. J. Colin Dodds, President
McNally Main 118A
923 Robie Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3H 3C3 Canada
(902) 420-5401
president@smu.ca
Binks & Contributed Links & Comment
A Swift Sunrise 
As an alumnus of St. Mary’s, I wish I could say this was a surprise. However, given my own experiences at that school I must admit it was completely predictable.
About 5 years ago I was attending St. Mary’s. One afternoon the school had some “visitors” from the “National Action Committee for the Status of Women” The two representatives were your stereotypical feminists of today. They both had crew cuts, no makeup, dirty clothes and very strident voices. Their arguments were predictable as well, and consisted mainly of these two “womyn” describing how 90% of women were going to be sexually assaulted before they were 30, that marriage is society’s way of legalizing the rape of women, and that the only true love a woman could find in today’s world was from…you guessed it…other women.
I started to ask some questions (aka heckling) “Where did you get those numbers from?” What constitutes sexual assault” “How much money do you get from the sexual-assaulters…in the form of taxes?” (you get the idea)
After ignoring my questions for a short time, one of the “ladies” directed her attack at me. She explained that ANYTHING a male said that was deemed offensive or derogatory could be considered sexual assault. Hmmm. I guess telling a blonde joke is just as offensive to these “womyn” as rape. I started to dispute her points and they both tried to shout me down. Several of the female students present told the two reps to let me speak, but many more were giving me dirty looks. Finally, after realizing I wasn’t going anywhere, the more mannish of the two finally asked me what my opinion was with regards to women. I told the truth. I said I loved women. As often as the opportunity presented itself. (they had NO sense of humour….though many of the students got a chuckle out of it)
They finally tired of my interuptions and asked me point blank if I knew anything about the NAC on the status of Women. I told them that as far as I was concerned, the National Action Committee for the Status of Women was nothing more than a government funded recruiting drive for Lesbians.
Oh boy….that got them going. Needless to say, I barely made it out of there intact. By the way…the Lesbian wearing the “wife beater”…looked like she had two midgets in a headlock. Gaia doesn’t approve of shaving one’s pits it seems.
On another point, with regards to the safety of various presenters, you can be sure that the violence would have come from the anti-semites that infest that University. I still remember the students from a certain religiouss background who wore shirts or had decals celebrating such glorious moments such as 9-11, or the bombing of the Cole.
The University Administration isn’t looking out for free speech or their students. They’re trying to avoid the FATWA. Oh…and foreign students bring so much more money in.
Pity.
Censorship is the new tool for the progressives, the loony left can’t debate or rebut their opinion so they silence those that oppose them. The NSHRC would be extremely stupid to accept a complaint against the Chaplin, I for one would attend a rally outside their workplace handing out leaflets out lining the Canadian wide abuse of said agencies.
If they want some free bad press, let’s give it to the fascists.
The current economic crisis is serving as a wake-up call to several generations of Canadians nurtured on self esteem and suffering from an inflated sense of entitlement as a consequence. THEY are not going to forget “these times” and the shenanigans on campuses at present.
Do you think people in a position to hire will regard a degree issued by York University in the 2008-09 academic year as being “on a par” with that of a comparable institution that didn’t go through an over-two-months-long strike action? Think again.
Business and industry need employees who can THINK, not just blindly follow. There will be a paucity of such Canadians in the employment pool. Who knows? Perhaps business and industry will turn to new immigrants and the USA for “crucial” hires, but they WON’T settle for less than they need.
Ideological conformism has its risks. Too bad it is the very young – those with the least knowledge and therefore those with the least ability to protect/defend themselves against it – who are likeliest to find ideological conformity so very seductive. Once the young are in the clutches of ideological conformists, their growth STOPS. they will always be compromised or slightly broken people at best. Unfortunately, this is what Canadian universities have been producing for DECADES.
What to do? If you are in a position to influence a young person (or pay/help pay for their education), encourage them to look beyond Canada’s borders. Indeed, if one wants a credential which is respected beyond Canada’s broders, then a Canadian university education is almost out of the question.
The Czech Republic and Poland still offer genuine university educations. Hungarian universities are very demanding, but the “product line” is all the better for it and it shows. Anyway, it’s something to consider if you don’t want to end up a “prisioner of Canada.” At least, that is, until things change.
As a parent paying tuition at SMU, I can only say I’m disgusted by the University’s response. We are not paying so that our son can be taught that Canadians have no voice, bullies always win, and the only way to ‘get ahead’ is to keep your head down! He’s been raised to speak up!
We suggested SMU to Joseph because its in Halifax, where my family of 10 siblings is still based, and several of his uncles attended SMU successfully. SMU, unfortunately, is the best of a bad lot in Halifax, as far as politically correct repression goes. I guess its time to look farther from family for Joseph’s remaining 6 siblings!
Halifax is not exactly a bastion of brave encounters with PC bullies. The universities, apparantly, are planning to keep it nice and quiet.
Canada, the home of the ‘not so brave’….
This is sad that St Mary’s has gotten to this point. A place of education founded by the Jesuits(never heard of a Non-Christian founded University) must be some out there though. Yeah, reading James H and I westin really makes you think. I was so happy a few years ago when my child announced she was going to St Mary’s. Thank God, she’s not there anymore, but I guess this sutle teaching was going five years ago and maybe longer. They can teach feminism, man hating and lesbianism, but not Pro-life????????? To let a child live(and if he or she not wanted, there are many, many childless couples who would give the child a good home.) This is not hate or unjustified or racist, it is love as is our Christian way of life. Too bad, St Mary’s is getting a bad name for itself. The poor young people enrolled there. They need to know that the killing is not right and is hurting our beloved country. I Talked to a person who graduated from there to tell her what was happening and she said” I wish I didn’t know, those students who protested are giving the University a bad name and I’m ashamed to have been a former student.’