Ann Coulter In Canada, but Not Welcomed By Some      by Ray Wegner

Anne Coulter's March 25th Calgary Meeting                Ray's Take on Political Correctness

Ann Coulter's scheduled speech at the University of Ottawa on Tuesday March 23 was cancelled by her organizers and security people, due to concerns for Coulter's and the spectators safety. This was because of the protesters who were posing a potential threat of violence to the peaceful assembly. This has been a huge embarrassment for a lot of Canadians. 

There are various interpretations of what happened, and you can go to other web sites for the details, and the various perspectives of the players involved. There are two sides to every story.

It comes down to the sorry state of freedom in Canada. I have been warning readers on my web sites for years and years about how Freedom is Dying in Canada, and have had a web site - since around the year 2001.  However, few seem to listen, and few take me seriously. What I have been trying to get across to Canadians regarding  lose of freedom and over regulation is not just a hobby horse of mine, or just an axe to grind. It is the truth, and the consequences are very serious for Canadians.  This is a very serious matter - it is not a joke. 

Well if Canadians won't take one of their own like me seriously, perhaps they will listen to a foreigner like Ann Coulter. Maybe that is what it takes to knock smug, complacent Canadians off their conceited, hypocritical, proud high horse - and finally admit the truth that freedom in Canada in 2010 is a joke. 

Our freedoms and rights are useless, if we cannot exercise them. They are not just fancy window dressings in the Constitution. They are for me and you to use, but especially when we need them. If we keep being thwarted and discouraged from utilizing these freedoms in our everyday lives like at work, at school, at meetings, in the church, in the community - in the home - then these rights and freedoms are useless. The problem in Canada comes when we citizens actually need to use our rights and freedoms - then we hit too many obstacles. The problem is the lack of an atmosphere of freedom here in Canada - instead we must live in an over regulated, over governed, stifling, oppressive, socialist nanny state - that seems to value security over freedom.  A social environment polluted with and  run by too many control freaks (control freak Harper the Prime Minister is an example), rather than run by freedom fighters, and lovers of freedom. 

Now we have many freedoms, and they are guaranteed to us under the Charter, but they are not unconditional in nature.  

Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms and Fundamental Freedoms (from the Canadian Constitution) " The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association. "

Notice the words  " subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. "  So these freedoms are not granted to us under the Charter unconditionally, and without caveats attached at times. 

You may be aware of one favorite example often given regarding freedom of speech. We have freedom of speech in Canada, but this does not give you the right to scream fire in a crowded dark theatre - if there is no fire, thus senselessly sparking a stampede.  Freedom of speech does not give you the right to threaten passengers on a plane, by claiming you have a bomb in your bag. There are numerous other examples. 

Ann Coulter has now found out how weak and anemic freedom of speech is in Canada. She is just a visitor, and only has to put up with this for a short while, but this is my home, and I have to put up with this shit constantly. 

Coulter's Speech at the University of Calgary - Thursday March 25, 2010

I and my daughter registered for the event and will go over there at 7:00 PM on Thursday, and see if we can participate, but am not 100 % assured of a ticket, and if the cost is too high I may decline. Initially had wanted to go, but changed my mind, because of the cancer, and am undergoing chemotherapy, and feel weak. However, when I heard about the Ottawa speech being cancelled this upset me, so I changed my mind and registered. My motive is to support Coulter's right to speak, and especially to support free speech here in Alberta. 

If I do get in - will post comments about how things went later on, and my impressions of Ann Coulter.  I do not want to prejudge Ann Coulter, except I know already that she is a real character, and a clever shit disturber. But that doesn't  mean she should be shut down and not allowed to speak.  Just because you may disagree with someone's opinions and beliefs, doesn't mean you have the authority to deny them their right to speak.  Naturally as long as what they are doing and saying is legal.

I live in Southern Alberta here in Calgary.  This is the west of the west. We must never allow freedom to die out here.

Political Correctness

I just want to inject my own view here regarding political correctness. I am opposed to political correctness - period. I am not politically correct, and instead believe in being honest and fair in my dealing with others. Political correctness is a two edged sword. Both left and right practice it and are involved in this game. Coulter is on the right politically, and she is a political person, so naturally she attacks the politically correct games being played by the liberal left. The left attack her. 

For me I believe in being fair and honest. So I am not involved in politics. I am not a politician. I believe in supporting what is fair, honest and just. If conservatives are on the side of truth and justice on a particular issue - then I will support them on that point. If Liberals are on the side of fairness and truth on an issue - again I will support them on that point. 

I am a big supporter of the free exchange of ideas, and also the right to protest peacefully, and am also a big supporter of free speech. I am deeply opposed to how the protesters tried to shut down Ann Coulter. I feel Ann Coulter makes a lot of good solid, honest, truthful points - concerning the unfair and unjust tactics of the Liberal left. No side - either left or right has a monopoly on the truth. If the Liberal left is being unfair - this needs to be exposed, and I am glad Ann Coulter is doing her part to expose the hypocrisy and lies. 

March 26, 2010  (this was written one day after the meeting on Friday Mar,26/10) 

Comments on the Ann Coulter Speech  - March 25th - Red and White Club, Calgary Alberta

I and my daughter got in fine, and the cost was only $ 10.00 per person - a bargain. There was a line up, but we got there early, and the few protestors who gathered in front of the main entrance never bothered me. 

The crowd that took in her speech was overwhelmingly white, or Caucasian. Very few visible minorities present among the audience that heard her speech. 

There was plenty of room in the Red and White Club, and we got a good seat, close to the front. The crowd almost filled the place - around 900 or so. There were maybe around 50 protestors outside. The crowd inside was overwhelmingly supportive of her, and most thoroughly enjoyed the evening. There was a positive feedback from the crowd, and a very warm good feeling, and an atmosphere of acceptance and enjoyment of having Ann Coulter speak here in Calgary.  There was very little animosity detected towards Coulter among the crowd that this writer could detect. Mostly just warm and enthusiastic acceptance. 

There was some minor delays before the program began - a little late at about 8:00 PM.  There was some words from the organizers of the event, and then finally from Ezra Levant, who introduced Ann Coulter. 

Anne Coulter

My impression of her is that she is a very bright, intelligent, educated, witty, entertaining, strongly outspoken, a political and conservative leaning person, with a very lively sense of humor with a sharp edge to it. She is a tall slim attractive person, with long flowing blond hair and in her late 40's. I was laughing a lot during her whole presentation. I never detected anything hateful in what she said last night. 

The theses of her speech was Political Correctness, and how in her judgment it is all about power.

She said that   " There is one standard for Liberals, and a completely different standard for everyone else. "   

She also said that in politically correct America  " Liberals always have pure hearts, but conservatives don't, "     and    " the only cure for racism is to call yourself a Liberal. " 

Some specific examples she used to illustrate political correctness gone hog wild in the States, and the hypocrisy of the left in America were - Gloria Stienam and the feminist movement and Bill Clinton, David Letterman, illegal immigration and Obama. 

Illegal immigration - She said that in the USA if you  " want to enforce the border - you are called a bigot. "  She also mocked the so-called sanctuary cities in the USA, where illegal immigrants are apparently sheltered. 

Obama - Any opposition to Obama is too often labeled racism by the Liberal left. 

Her jokes are many, and often very sharp, but they make you laugh - at least they made me laugh. I appreciate a good sense of humour. There are some people who are kind of slow, and dense, and maybe can't seem to catch on when she is joking. So they may take some of her jokes out of context and seriously - like with her joke to the Muslim lady about the jet traveling ban she would like to impose on Muslims, so if the Muslim lady couldn't take her magic carpet - she could instead ride a camel. Some people actually took this seriously !! 

I never saw anything hateful about her sense of humour. The jokes are often used as colourful, entertaining illustrations for her to make an important point. There is an underlying important point being made - this is serious stuff - like where her theses is that political correctness is about power. You have to keep the joke within the context of the speech, and not isolate and take it out of context - like much of the media did with the Camel joke. 

Questions From the Audience

This is part of the program, and I found it very interesting. I feel this is very generous on the part of Ann Coulter to take so much time dealing directly with her audience. It also gives her opportunities to exercise her sharp wit, and think on her feet, and blast her opponents. But it also gives her opponents the chance to score points too, and this is fair and honest.  I found that last night there were a good number of rather foolish questions coming from the audience. 

Coulter made a snap joke regarding the questioners last night that they   " only get one quote taken out of context per person. " 

One man said that a number of his pro-life speeches were shut down by protestors, who shouted him down and disrupted his speech. Coulter said that   " if your pro-life meetings are being shut down - you are a victim of a hate crime. " 

I had a huge laugh when one lady student from the University of Calgary told Coulter that there were people going around the U of C saying Jesus Christ is a Muslim.  And the student asked Ann Coulter what she thought about this.    " Damnest question. "    Coulter answered that  " Jesus Christ was the Son of God - the Alpha and Omega and not a Muslim. "   

I find this intriguing since the Koran teaches clearly that Jesus Christ was not the Son of God, and that Allah does not have any children or Sons. Islam denies that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Interestingly Islam also denies the central theme of the Bible, which is Christ dying for our sins on the cross, being dead in the grave and being resurrected. Muhammad and the Koran claim someone else died in the place of Christ on the cross (someone who looked like Him) , and so Christ never died, and so never was resurrected from the dead, and they teach Christ escaped his persecutors - the mob intent on killing Him -  and never died but was caught to heaven. Islam is therefore one of the Antichrists. 

In Summary

Ann Coulter's message and theses last night here in Calgary was a serious one - that political correctness is all about power. She used many excellent examples to illustrate the double standard that exists, and naturally she is a conservative, so she had some political hay to make, and I feel much of this is honest hay. She make her points intelligently and in an entertaining often humorous fashion. 

Some of the protestors were banging on the doors and windows while Coulter was speaking, and so the ones involved were not protesting peacefully and respectfully. They were trying to use intimidation and  bullying tactics to shut the meeting down. This is shameful and disgusting and a very childish display, and it did not work, because there were not enough violent protestors present, and too many supporters inside. So the thugs and anti-free speech goons did not get their way. I have respect for those who came out and demonstrated peacefully, and who took the time to make signs and exercise their democratic rights. I have zero respect for the thugs and goons who were banging and hammering on the walls and doors and windows. 

My motive for going to the meeting last night with Ann Coulter was to support her right to speak, and to support free speech.  Mission accomplished. 

Calgary and Alberta are not Bush League

Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms and Fundamental Freedoms (from the Canadian Constitution) " The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association. "

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