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No doubt: Watching head Ontario Human Right Commissar Barbara Hall on Steve
Paikin’s show The Agenda last night, I was reminded of Sister Aloysius, the nun who
presides over the Catholic school in the movie Doubt. Although there is no physical
resemblance between Hall and Meryl Steep, the actress who plays Sister Al, and
although Sister Al spends most of the movie scowling and grimacing, whereas Hall
spent her half hour with Steve with a faux-affable grin plastered on her shiny face
(doesn’t TVO have the budget to buy face powder?), the two share something in
common: They are both members of a religious order—Sister Al, obviously, a Catholic
nun; Hall a curate of the Church of Human Rights—and both have no doubt that they
are the guardian of all that is good and true, Sister Al for her school, Mother Superior
Hall for her province. So where Sister Al ensures her charges toe the line by terrifying
them into compliance and thwacking kids on the back of the head should they dare to
doze off during Father Flynn’s Sunday sermon, Mother Superior Hall ensures Ontarians
toe the line—i.e. pay obeisance to the orthodoxy of political correctness—by chastising
those, such as Mark Steyn and Maclean’s magazine, who dare to step out of line.
Paikin’s show The Agenda last night, I was reminded of Sister Aloysius, the nun who
presides over the Catholic school in the movie Doubt. Although there is no physical
resemblance between Hall and Meryl Steep, the actress who plays Sister Al, and
although Sister Al spends most of the movie scowling and grimacing, whereas Hall
spent her half hour with Steve with a faux-affable grin plastered on her shiny face
(doesn’t TVO have the budget to buy face powder?), the two share something in
common: They are both members of a religious order—Sister Al, obviously, a Catholic
nun; Hall a curate of the Church of Human Rights—and both have no doubt that they
are the guardian of all that is good and true, Sister Al for her school, Mother Superior
Hall for her province. So where Sister Al ensures her charges toe the line by terrifying
them into compliance and thwacking kids on the back of the head should they dare to
doze off during Father Flynn’s Sunday sermon, Mother Superior Hall ensures Ontarians
toe the line—i.e. pay obeisance to the orthodoxy of political correctness—by chastising
those, such as Mark Steyn and Maclean’s magazine, who dare to step out of line.
And, to take the Doubt analogy even further, one could say that what Father Flynn,
the character played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, is for Sister Al, Mark Steyn is for
Mother Superior Hall. Sister Al despises Father Flynn because he is different. His nails
are too long; he likes three lumps of sugar in his tea; he is genial. Most threatening of all,
he wants to take the church in a different direction and Sister Al, having no doubt that
it’s the wrong direction, is determined to thwart him. In much the same way, Mark
Steyn is different, and thus represents a threat to Mother Superior Hall. Steyn is smart,
Conservative and, quel horreur!, funny, deploying his devastating wit on a variety of
sacred cows, including multiculturalism, leftist cant, and the “religion of peace”.
Mother’s not having any of that. Mother, even though she admits to having no
jurisdiction over the matter, decided to pass judgement on the case of Elmo’s sock
thingies vs. Maclean’s, and to convict the plaintiff of blatant and socially unacceptable
“Islamophobia”. Of course, Mother claims she did so in order to “spark debate”.
But read her words:
the character played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, is for Sister Al, Mark Steyn is for
Mother Superior Hall. Sister Al despises Father Flynn because he is different. His nails
are too long; he likes three lumps of sugar in his tea; he is genial. Most threatening of all,
he wants to take the church in a different direction and Sister Al, having no doubt that
it’s the wrong direction, is determined to thwart him. In much the same way, Mark
Steyn is different, and thus represents a threat to Mother Superior Hall. Steyn is smart,
Conservative and, quel horreur!, funny, deploying his devastating wit on a variety of
sacred cows, including multiculturalism, leftist cant, and the “religion of peace”.
Mother’s not having any of that. Mother, even though she admits to having no
jurisdiction over the matter, decided to pass judgement on the case of Elmo’s sock
thingies vs. Maclean’s, and to convict the plaintiff of blatant and socially unacceptable
“Islamophobia”. Of course, Mother claims she did so in order to “spark debate”.
But read her words:
While freedom of expression must be recognized as a cornerstone of a functioning democracy, the Commission strongly condemns the Islamophobic portrayal of Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and indeed any racialized community in the media, such as the Maclean's article and others like them, as being inconsistent with the values enshrined in our human rights codes. And, while we all recognize and promote the inherent value of freedom of expression, it should also be possible to challenge any institution that contributes to the dissemination of destructive, xenophobic opinions.
Does that sound like a debate-starter? Or a debate-stopper? Far more like the latter,
I’d say, since it’s evident that when Mother speaks of wanting people to “debate” these
issues, what she really means is that she wants everyone to stop having opinions that
don’t jibe with hers. Mother wants all her students to straighten up and fly right, to not
give her any sass or backtalk, and, above all, to not say anything, if we haven’t
anything nice to say.
I’d say, since it’s evident that when Mother speaks of wanting people to “debate” these
issues, what she really means is that she wants everyone to stop having opinions that
don’t jibe with hers. Mother wants all her students to straighten up and fly right, to not
give her any sass or backtalk, and, above all, to not say anything, if we haven’t
anything nice to say.
And starting the first of the year, Mother has a whole new set of powers. Now,
instead of deciding which cases should and should not be considered by the province’s
Human Rights Tribunal—what she calls being a “gatekeeper”—Mother’s going to let
the Tribunal act as its own gatekeeper. Since she and minions will no longer have to
sweat the small stuff, so to speak, their time will be freed up to tackle the big stuff,
in Mother’s lingo, to “work on systemic issues…the bigger issues” so as to
“prevent discrimination before it starts.” How so? Well, as Mother explains, say
the landlord of an apartment building wants it to be “adults only,” and someone who
has a kid complains about it. And say it appears there are other landlords who have
a similar policy. Should that be the case, it would be Mother’s job to assemble the
landlords, tell them where they’ve gone wrong and endeavour to “change their
behaviour”.
instead of deciding which cases should and should not be considered by the province’s
Human Rights Tribunal—what she calls being a “gatekeeper”—Mother’s going to let
the Tribunal act as its own gatekeeper. Since she and minions will no longer have to
sweat the small stuff, so to speak, their time will be freed up to tackle the big stuff,
in Mother’s lingo, to “work on systemic issues…the bigger issues” so as to
“prevent discrimination before it starts.” How so? Well, as Mother explains, say
the landlord of an apartment building wants it to be “adults only,” and someone who
has a kid complains about it. And say it appears there are other landlords who have
a similar policy. Should that be the case, it would be Mother’s job to assemble the
landlords, tell them where they’ve gone wrong and endeavour to “change their
behaviour”.
Of course, that “adults only” thing doesn’t seem to be a problem at the moment.
And the only real example of a “systemic issue” she could cite were those
Asian “fishers” who caught heck for poaching fish (and who, as poachers, would have
caught heck no matter what their ethnicity, but, hey, good thing they were Asian, eh?,
so Mother could work on changing the behaviour of those who object to having their
fish pinched). Aside from that, the only other “systemic” example I can think of are the
two strippers who complained that they were fired from their jobs because their
employers were “ageist”. Mother didn’t mention whether she’s planning to gather
the province’s strip club owners in order to “change their behaviour” and compel them
to hire menopausal peelers, but given her mandate to go out into the community and
pre-empt discrimination, such an effort is definitely not outside the realm of possibility.
And the only real example of a “systemic issue” she could cite were those
Asian “fishers” who caught heck for poaching fish (and who, as poachers, would have
caught heck no matter what their ethnicity, but, hey, good thing they were Asian, eh?,
so Mother could work on changing the behaviour of those who object to having their
fish pinched). Aside from that, the only other “systemic” example I can think of are the
two strippers who complained that they were fired from their jobs because their
employers were “ageist”. Mother didn’t mention whether she’s planning to gather
the province’s strip club owners in order to “change their behaviour” and compel them
to hire menopausal peelers, but given her mandate to go out into the community and
pre-empt discrimination, such an effort is definitely not outside the realm of possibility.
Mother seems most concerned about one specific group of students: the Muslims. Ever
since 9/11, says Mother, they’ve been picked on and “stereotyped”—and if there’s one
thing Mother cannot abide, in the same way that Sister Al couldn't stand Father Flynn’s
longish fingernails—it’s “stereotyping”. That Maclean’s article by Father Flynn, er,
Mark Steyn—that was chock full of the kind of “stereotyping” Mother deplores.
And Mother wants us all to resolve to knock it off with such “stereotyping”. On the
subject of jihad, Islamic supremacism, creeping sharia and “stereotypes” of non-Muslims
espoused by the Perfect Man in the Perfect Text, Mother, of course, has nothing to say
(not that she was queried about it by Paikin).
since 9/11, says Mother, they’ve been picked on and “stereotyped”—and if there’s one
thing Mother cannot abide, in the same way that Sister Al couldn't stand Father Flynn’s
longish fingernails—it’s “stereotyping”. That Maclean’s article by Father Flynn, er,
Mark Steyn—that was chock full of the kind of “stereotyping” Mother deplores.
And Mother wants us all to resolve to knock it off with such “stereotyping”. On the
subject of jihad, Islamic supremacism, creeping sharia and “stereotypes” of non-Muslims
espoused by the Perfect Man in the Perfect Text, Mother, of course, has nothing to say
(not that she was queried about it by Paikin).
At one point Mother, who unlike Sister Al, really wants us to like her, said, “If I’m saying
something that has a harmful impact on someone, I want to know it.” Well, Ms. Hall, the
idea that I or any other Ontarian needs you and your merry band of apparatchiks to
“change” our behaviour or to be the playground monitor who ensures that all we kids
mind our p's and q's and play nice during recess does have a harmful impact on us.
A dreadful impact. It juvenilizes us, treats grown-ups like children, forces us to comply
with one set of rules—your rules. Ontarians don’t need you to “change” our behaviour
or to tell us how to think and what to say. In fact, we’d all be much, much better off were
we to finally come to our senses and dispense with you and your “behaviour changing”
services entirely.
something that has a harmful impact on someone, I want to know it.” Well, Ms. Hall, the
idea that I or any other Ontarian needs you and your merry band of apparatchiks to
“change” our behaviour or to be the playground monitor who ensures that all we kids
mind our p's and q's and play nice during recess does have a harmful impact on us.
A dreadful impact. It juvenilizes us, treats grown-ups like children, forces us to comply
with one set of rules—your rules. Ontarians don’t need you to “change” our behaviour
or to tell us how to think and what to say. In fact, we’d all be much, much better off were
we to finally come to our senses and dispense with you and your “behaviour changing”
services entirely.
Posted by: scaramouche at 13:01 |
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