When I heard Ann Coulter was coming to town, I immediately knew that my conservative roommate and socialist neighbour would be at each other's throats leading up to her arrival. After the events that unfolded at her presentation I read some articles and wrote a note on Facebook. As a somewhat liberal political science student at Carleton, I am all for free speech but I believe in revoking it if a person uses it to hurt or insult individuals or their community. I understand that people feel as though Canada has shamed itself. However, if a person wants to take a tour of this great country, run her mouth and verbally attack many of the things that make us who we are (like multiculturalism, immigration and an overall kind-hearted demeanor), then she deserves to be met with protest — another opportunity I take a lot of pride in.
Prior to last night I had remained on the outside of this debate, but after hearing that people protested her and forced her to leave I figured I should take a look at her track record. After reading a few articles and interviews, she has presented herself as a hate-filled racist who prides herself on attacking minorities and attempting to destroy the achievements of every civil rights movement in recent history. I have a lot of Muslim, Jewish, atheist, liberal and even conservative friends who agree with me. I am all for debate and I can admit when I'm wrong; however, I do not think that a person like this should be taken seriously. Grouping her with the day-to-day conservatives is a mistake as she stands for something entirely different from what any good Canadian or American should.
It is my opinion that if a left-wing radical had come to make a speech at a university in Ottawa, there would have been similar resistance by the members of the right. This is the beauty of our country, not free speech but the freedom to protest and combat opposing views. I hope that whoever invited Coulter realizes why she was so heavily rejected. Coulter is a person who's sole purpose is to use our love of free speech against us to discriminate and divide us. People who use free speech for hatred, violence and anger don't deserve free speech regardless of whether they vote Democrat or Republican.
I am proud to say that I'm Canadian as we took a stand against bigotry and hope people realize that the free speech of Canadians is more important than the free speech of hate spewing racists like Coulter. Within 24 hours of the event March 23, she publicly attacked the intellectual capabilities of every student at the University of Ottawa and openly criticized the quality of education people are receiving here in Canada. If she doesn't like it, she can get out. If a person decides they are going to visit our country and spend the entire time attacking us and our government, they should leave. Just as if I went to the States and made presentations against George W. Bush during his reign of terror. It is not our responsibility to criticize and manipulate American politics, just as we should be free of their influence. Last night we showed that we know what kind of language we do and don't want in our country.
If revoking one woman's free speech saves hundreds if not thousands of Canadians from being attacked or insulted by her antics then so be it. That's what I hope Canada should stand for, defending its people.
A close friend of mine replied to my post saying that she hadn't said anything racist at this event yet she was protested and was unable to speak. This is true and she deserves the benefit of the doubt and the right to speak. However, Coulter has made a career of racism and bigotry, which makes it hard to believe that she would divert from her ways for one night in Ottawa. If she spoke about her conservative beliefs and values without racism and hatred then there wouldn't be a problem. It is people like her who have caused the right to be labelled as racist and bigotted, which is something that needs to be looked at by both sides of the political spectrum.
In closing, it's unfortunate that she was unable to speak and that the situation escalated to the level of anger that it did. However, it is important to remember that it is these confrontations that define free speech, not the ability to speak ill of a minority or race.