Quotable: Özlem Sensoy on the Coultergeist/freedom-of-speech canards

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Sabina Becker

“When the ‘free speech’ card is played (by those whose speech aligns with power structures, like Coulter), it is a defensive response to their perspectives and power being challenged. The ‘free speech’ discourse protects power and privilege by acting as a shield against such challenges. If you dare challenge free speech as a normal social value, you dare challenge the founding ideals of Western-style democracy.”

–Özlem Sensoy, in the Vancouver Sun

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2 Responses to Quotable: Özlem Sensoy on the Coultergeist/freedom-of-speech canards

  1. Jim Hadstate says:
    March 26, 2010 at 8:07 AM

    The best part of all this is, that no one ever challenged her free speech right. She made it up herself. Talk about your manufactured martyrdom! Does Canada even have a free speech clause in its Constitution (Honestly, I hate to wear my ignorance so openly, but I really don’t know.)? Canada obviously views its free speech right more closely circumscribed than the US does, because it’s hate speech law has been upheld, whereas our wingnut Supreme Court has struck down all of the hate speech laws.
    If she is trying to claim that the student protesters denied her right to free speech, again, I’m not sure of Canada, but in the US, only government entities can deny free speech. Fellow citizens may shout you down, bludgeon you with verbal and written statements and even taunt you ’til you run from the podium crying. But they can’t deny you your free speech rights.
    Ann is simply too afraid to face an audience who will not stand for her unintelligent grunting and spewing bile with no basis to it.

  2. Sabina Becker says:
    March 26, 2010 at 10:13 AM

    Jim, we recognize (rightly, IMO) that hate speech is not “free”, it’s oppressive. We’ve chosen to free ourselves from that and focus on upholding the basic human rights that matter: peace, order and (until recently, anyway) good government. Single-payer healthcare, a long-gun registry, etc., all plays into that freedom agenda. We like being free from the worry about medical bills, mad gunmen going postal, etc. And we’re sorry that the US just hasn’t cottoned onto all of that yet. The people have, I think, but the government is still lagging behind.
    I think I may do a post on our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, outlining its provisions, so people remember that we’re NOT the Iron Curtain dictatorship the Coultergeist and her little ass-barnacle, Ezra Levant, are trying to make us out to be.

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