I got a response from Rebekah of The Miss Marprelate Tracts to my last email about the Free Speech and Liberty Symposium in Ottawa in early December.
She writes regarding the accuracy of her liveblog (which I didn't doubt, I just wanted clarification on a few points):
My liveblog, although not a word for word transcript, is substantially accurate on all or most of the main points and solutions offered by speakers. If I didn't mention something it is probably because it was not covered or at least not covered in any substantial way.And in response to my question about free speech as it relates to Muslim groups, this is what she had to say:
I am, however, reasonably certain that most free speechers would place the chief, and most disturbing, blame for the current situation on the system which enables and submits to radical agendas rather than on those who would themselves seek to advance such a radical agenda. The world will always have people, of varied stripes, who seek to subvert or take advantage of the justice system. It is for the justice system to ensure that they do not succeed. That is why there is a tendency to focus on legal and political challenges to hate speech laws and public education on the issue.I responded:
You write:
The world will always have people, of varied stripes, who seek to subvert or take advantage of the justice system.Until now, no group of people has tried so radically to take advantage of existing Canadian laws and systems in order to aggressively advance itself within the country as have done the Muslims.The very public incidents such as the Maclean's HRCs case, and the one against Ezra Levant for publishing the Mohammed cartoons, have allowed us to see what we're up against. Muslims, I believe, are now the biggest threat to freedoms of all kinds (speech, expression, of the press, etc.).
I thought that someone like Bjorn Larsen, who has been involved personally with many counter-jihad groups and individuals, would have brought this insight (or relationship) in his presentation. He did mention Muslims, but didn't tie all this together. I think that hate speech laws, in and of themselves, should be fought against, but what they have exposed in terms of Muslims (and multiculturalism, in general) should also be the focus.
