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Originally Posted by taco.vidal
This is scary stuff.
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Only for people actively promoting hatred against Muslims. And even for them, not really.
Amount of free speech doesn't change. Advocating hate has been a crime in Canada and will continue to be. This doesn't change any laws. At all.
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Criticism of Islam will be a crime.
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No, it won't. Criticism and hate speech have and always will be two different things. Watch this: Sharia Law is discriminatory and has no place in Canadian society and goes not only against Canadian laws but Canadian values. Zionism is an awful justification of serious crimes against the Palestinian people. Catholicism has a serious problem with self-accountability. The United Church is really wishy-washy in its theological beliefs.
Guess what, nobody's coming to knock on my door and arrest me. Name a group and I'll criticize them without fear of reprisal.
No, it's really not. This is a motion. It is non-binding and symbolic. Not surprising that certain groups are using it as a rallying cry, but seriously, that Trumpian "I know not her motives, but other commentators are wondering, why Islam?" rhetoric has no place in Canadian political or cultural discourse. Of course you have to say that 'it's just the start' in order to create the argument that even though there's nothing of any real significance or impact in this motion, something terrifying and ominous and unspecified is coming!
This is a person who has experienced discrimination first-hand growing up as an immigrant in Canada, and just saw several of her religion gunned down out of hate. She's one of the few muslim politicians at the federal level, and so it's not unexpected or inappropriate that she would feel the need to take a stand on this, even if only symbolic in nature.
Get beyond the rhetoric, tell us what you actually fear would happen from this motion? Do you think it gives any agency in government any additional power? Do you think that new laws will be created as a result? In what way does this prevent criticism of Islam?