We reported earlier this week (see previous posts here, here, and here) on an aborted attempt to hold a free speech event on International Draw Mohammed Day (May 20) on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. It did not specifically involve Mohammed cartoons — it was officially known as “Draw Whatever You Want”, and referenced prosecutions for illustration depicting the Buddha wearing headphones, and the Pope’s statement about responding violently to anyone who insulted his mother.
Alexandra Belaire, who blogs at Xanthippa’s Chamberpot, was the organizer of the event. At the last minute — less than 24 hours before her event was scheduled to take place — Heritage Canada informed Ms. Belaire that the permit for the event had been denied, due to “security concerns”. It’s quite possible that the authorities never actually received any “specific, credible threats” against the proposed event. The intelligence boffins at the RCMP are not daft — they know what’s likely to happen to any event which features images of Mohammed PBUH. “Security concerns”, indeed!
The Kafkaesque nightmare into which Ms. Belaire was thrust precludes any organizers of any Motoon-themed occasion from ever successfully staging their event. At the last minute a permit is likely to be denied — with no specific reason being given. That’s just the way it goes in Modern Multicultural Canada.
In the following interview, Alexandra Belaire — who emigrated to Canada from Czechoslovakia back when it was still behind the Iron Curtain — recounts the details of her dealings with Heritage Canada. Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video:
This is a superb interview and thank God there are people like Alexandra who actually do something to defend free speech. Canada behaves shamefully by failing to support her. Unfortunately, here in England we have also sold our souls to the devil.
I visited this lady’s website and saw dozens and dozens of images of Mohammed so evidently this “ban” on drawing him is quite recent (relatively speaking).
She is right in discovering that ‘permitted speech is not free speech’. That’s where most of the western world is now.
Thank you, very much, for all your kind words!
It is, indeed, time for us all to throw off this Kafkaesque regulation and storm the proverbial ‘Castle’!
I do hope to hold something in late June – but I will do better than try to pretend that ‘bureaucrat-approved speech’ is ‘free speech’ and that begging to getting a ‘permit’ for a few citizens to get together is ‘exercising’ the constitutionally guaranteed ‘freedom of assembly’…
This episode illustrates very strongly the danger of socialism, or government sponsorship of media and public spaces.
If you have separate, competing sources of revenue and separate, private territories, such as shopping centers, halls, and the like, it will be quite likely to find some sort of venue to hold almost any event. There might be events we don’t like, but that’s the price of freedom.
Similarly, for sponsorship of the press. It might be easier, in the beginning, to get government funding for broadcasting. After all, William Buckley’s Firing Line was on public radio for many years. But, eventually the government and bureaucracy will be captured, and all opposing points of view will get shut down non-violently. Like Belaire, who was simply denied a permit with no explanation, no appeal.
This is obviously the intent behind the “network neutrality” rulings of the FCC. The concept appeals to the socialists and freeloaders, who always want the government to give them more than they pay for. Once the FCC gets its feet wet, and establishes the principle of being able to regulate internet traffic minutiae, they will put more onerous regulations into effect. These regulations will be voluminous, opaque, and largely incomprehensible to anyone but a specialist lawyer, driving out the small bloggers or non-mainstream news and commentary. Any private, non-mainstream website that tries to persist will be hit with expensive nuisance lawsuits and perhaps criminal charges.
I am on your side and I will support you online. Your “defeat” will become a victory against those in government who seek to oppress you.
1) I am a Buddhist scholar.
If you want to do comics depicting Sakyamuni Buddha wearing headphones or smoking a cigarette or kissing a girl, that is perfectly fine with me and with Buddhist teachers generally .
2) I like the Canadians and like hanging out in Canada.
3) You are articulate and effective in your communication and responsible in your “performance art”.
4) You were yanked around and stabbed in the back by the government when you are supporting basic civic values in a very calm and reasonable manner.
5) This denial does look like a definite step towards government fascism. Heritage Canada sabotaged you. You were told that the permit would be granted.
6) This “defeat” is not final. As Martin Luther King said,
“History is a long story of the fact that goodness ‘defeated’ is stronger than evil ‘triumphant’ “. The government bureaucracy that oppresses you is cowardly, dishonest in this case and in effect collaborationist. They are working for the other side.
7) I will let many people ( thousands ) know about this online. That is the next step.
8) You have a next step.
8a) Contact Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch and send him this link. ( This incident is not referenced in his blog. )
8b) Contact Pamela Geller and send her this link. ( I do not think this news item is in her blog. )
Both will be very glad to hear from you. If you do not get word back, try them again.
Both Spencer and Geller will respect and support you.
You could even contact Geert Wilders at the Dutch Parliament.
9) Nothing is more important than free speech. And Canada is a major country we must keep free. Canadians must rally to your support. So must others.
10 ) I have already done work in this area in support of free speech and counter-jihad.
11) We must all support each other at every turn to save free speech, democracy, and civilization. The key is free speech and equality under the law.
12) Those who work against free speech and equality are traitors to the West. They must be investigated and where possible, voted out of public office.
Thank you for what you have done. Keep the faith. We will turn this around together.