Story Time with E 01.17.08: Charge of the Tolerance Brigade

Posted by Enrique on 01.17.2008

This week, we examine two cases – one from the UK and one from Canada – of political correctness gone awry. As usual, decent people with good intentions are helping bring about the downfall of Western civilization. I hate you, good intentions. And incidentally, the Green Bay Packers rule.

Dear Terrell Owens,

There are only two times a male American human is allowed to cry – when an immediate family member dies, and during the season finale of Doctor Who. Man up.

Cheers,

E

I love you, Green Bay Packers. You gave me a good scare when you went down 0-14 in the first four minutes on Saturday, but I didn't lose faith. And, unlike God, you justified my faith by committing statutory homicide against the Seattle Seahawks in the subsequent 56 minutes. The last time I enjoyed watching a gruesome killing that much, it was the cell phone video of Saddam's execution. And if that wasn't enough, the Cowboys kindly choked the very next day, giving Green Bay home field for the NFC Championship game. It reminds me of when Dallas lost to Carolina in the divisional round of the playoffs in January 1997. The Packers then defeated the Panthers in the NFC Championship game, and went on to win Super Bowl XXXI by beating – the New England Patriots. And so history shall repeat. Everyone thinks the Patriots of 2007-2008 are unstoppable, and maybe they are. But they haven't played the Packers. Just sayin'.

But let's forget that nonsense and turn now to our story for this week, another cautionary tale of how well-meaning people acting in good faith are laying the groundwork for the collapse of all we hold dear.

The story so far…



Consider the plight of this man, British police officer Arshad Mahmood. During this past holiday season, Mahmood participated in the Secret Santa gift exchange at work. Mahmood's Secret Santa was fellow policeman Rob Murrie, who made a joke by giving Mahmood a bottle of wine and a packet of bacon. You see, pork and alcohol are no-no's for Muslims. For a rib, it's arguably a little below the belt – but as we all know, this kind of teasing is a longstanding male-bonding tradition. I dish vicious insults at my male friends constantly, they dish it back, and we all laugh and have a beer. This is nothing new, but apparently someone thought Murrie's joke went over The Line. Murrie was reported to his superiors for racism, and resigned when he couldn't take the heat. Murrie's resignation was apparently voluntary, although it's certainly standard practice to "structure" a firing as a resignation for PR reasons. Not that I want you to draw any conclusions or anything. In any case, Mahmood sure
must have been angry at Murrie to have reported him for racism:

Yesterday, the target of the joke, 31-year-old Arshad Mahmood, said he still regarded PC Murrie as "a good officer and a good friend," while Muslim community leaders accused police chiefs of "overreacting" to the incident at Luton police station…

"I told [my sergeant] I knew it was meant as a joke and did not want to make a formal complaint. I just took it on the chin. But someone else in the room must have thought it was a racist incident, and reported it."

He didn't care. Mahmood wasn't even the one who reported Murrie. Mahmood is apparently a cool bloke who didn't mind a gag between lads, but nevertheless the Tolerance Brigade took swift action to amend his nonexistent grievance. I think we can all agree that police departments should have policies to address accusations of racist behavior, but it's a little much to force a person to resign for NOT offending his colleague. When the government has gotten so politically correct that's it's assuaging feelings before they're hurt, ANARCHY WILL SURELY FOLLOW. (A gag between lads?)

On the other hand, maybe the end isn't nigh. This incident cost a man his career, but really, it's just one of the innumerable, petty injustices that humanity endures on a daily basis. Murrie will find a new job, and eventually land on his feet. It's not as if the fundamental concept of freedom has been mortally wounded. For the complete annihilation of freedom, you have to go to Canada. I know, I'm as shocked as you that Canada has turned against freedom, especially under Stephen Harper. However, Canada has these things called "human rights commissions," which have the official duty of investigating hurt feelings. Bear witness to the tale of Ezra Levant, who has run afoul of Canadian human rights authorities for committing an outrageously outrageous sin. Two years ago, as publisher of the Western Standard, Levant ran some cartoons. You could probably guess which cartoons those would be.


I'm outraged!

Yes, Levant published the infamous "Danish Mohammed cartoons." As a result of this outrageousness, a complaint was lodged with the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission by none other than the President of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, one Syed Badiuddin Soharwardy. You can read the complaint here, and I assure you it's actually not as tedious as you'd expect. This Soharwardy character snivels worse than Terrell Owens four days ago. (Man, I hope that never gets old.)

Mind you, Ezra Levant is not taking this on the chin. Much to the delight of those of us who believe in the dangerous concept of freedom, Levant has been talking primo shinola on his blog this past week. Example:

I have read the past few years' worth of decisions from this commission, and it is clear that it has become a dump for the junk that gets rejected from the real legal system. I read one case where a male hair salon student complained that he was called a "loser" by the girls in the class. The commission actually had a hearing about this. Another case was a kitchen manager with Hepatitis-C, who complained that it was against her rights to be fired. The commission actually agreed with her, and forced the restaurant to pay her $4,900. In other words, the commission is a joke – it's the Alberta equivalent of a U.S. television pseudo-court like Judge Judy – except that Judge Judy actually was a judge, whereas none of the commission's panelists are judges, and some aren't even lawyers. And, unlike the commission, Judge Judy believes in freedom of speech.

Oh, talk dirty to me some more! I love you, Ezra Levant. Not only is Levant doing us all a favor by standing up for the right to offend religious authorities, he's kept a video log of the whole affair. Apparently these Commission interrogations hearings aren't open to the media, but Levant had the good sense to insist on recording the session. All of the clips are on his blog, but this is his closing argument, which he posted just three days ago. I think it speaks for all of us, don't you?



NEXT WEEK: We'll either have a round of gratuitous Favre-worship, or we'll be blaming the officials for several misguided calls. Tune in!