From the Canadian Human Rights Act:
3.(1) For all purposes of this Act, the prohibited grounds of discrimination are race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability and conviction for which a pardon has been granted.
Disability is a prohibited ground of discrimination - and disability includes the ‘invisible’ disabilities such as autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.
Section13.1 of the Human Rights Act is well known in the blogosphere. This allows individuals to file claims against people for things such as blog posts “that [are] likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt”.
So to be clear, if you use explosive or derisive language against the developmentally delayed, and you do this in an on-line publication, you may be in violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act. You may think this language is ok - calling someone a ‘retard’ - but it is the equivalent of calling someone a nigger, a chink, a paki etc… it is out of bounds.
Do people who use these terms know how hateful they are? Do they understand the contempt they are heaping on their fellow Canadians? Or if confronted, would they try to defend their words, laugh them off - tell you to get a sense of humour?
Let’s see. Here are some quotes from four of Canada’s largest blogs.
So if you get an unfamiliar retard threatening to fink you out to the CHRC, or linking you back to FD, that’s how they found you.
Violent Christian Retards
Dear Matthew: Fuck you, you insufferable retard.
Suzie All-Caps: Being a retard for God.
etc… etc…
The Right Wing ‘Retard-o-Sphere‘ Will Be Turning ON All Their Lights At 8:00 Tonight
Swap the words: ‘an unfamiliar chink’, ‘violent christian niggers’, ‘an insufferable faggot’ … not one of those is acceptable and not one is any less harsh than the real quotes.
I would encourage all of us bloggers to look through what we’ve written, and if we find that we are spreading such hate - that we post an apology, and commit to not using that language in the future. And if people such as BigCityLib, can’t, or won’t, then let them take their chances with CHRC and be damned with their fellow hate-mongers at Stormfront.
Gosh…no mention of Ezra Levant’s vicious attack on blind people? How…even-handed of you.
The title “Violent Christian Retards” is in response to Kathy Shaidle titling one of her posts “Violent Arab Retards”. But thanks for playing the moral equivalence game. Unfortunately you lose and we don’t have any parting gifts for you.
And when you said this: “53.1% OF CANADIANS ARE RETARDED” that was reaction to…? and this: “Violent Republican Retards“, and this: “Coulter is a violent retard too” and this… “Violent Retards” …
It is not excusable. Is your defence that your opponents said it first? So you repeat it again and again and again … well, you’re not insulting your opponents, you’re making life that much harder for people with legitimate mental disabilities. If you won’t apologize and stop it, then you’re a shameful hate monger.
And yes, people with mental disabilities are morally equivalent to black people, Jewish people, Muslims, women, gays and everyone else. And your insult to them is the same as every slur you can think of for the others.
White washing for Kate’s smalldeadanimals again, I see??? Ah well …
you’re making life that much harder for people with legitimate mental disabilities.
You’re retarded. Now unless you are actually mentally disabled–which is debatable–I’m not guilty of anything other than insulting you.
If I tell somebody that they ‘jewed’ me out of my fair share of something - am I just saying that that person is cheap or am I making a racial slur against Jews?
If you say that someone is ‘retarded’ are you only insulting them, or are you contributing to a climate of intolerance toward the mentally disabled?
We need more creative insults, ones that don’t disparage genitals, or mental capacity, or ethnicity. Shitty, is actually a fairly benign insult come to think of it. It’s much more proper than calling someone a “dick”, or a “retard”, or a “gay”, or a “jew” which are all insults that should be banished to the past..
My, my, my….
I JUST had this talk with my 9-year old (2-3 days ago)… the insult ‘retard’ entered our home with some friends of his. And you know what? He understood!
Why is it that some of these other people do not ‘get’ it???