Hate Speech and Gay Pride violence

Vincent J. Curtis

17 June 2019

Hamilton held a gay pride event at the enormous Gage Park.  People opposed to gay pride also attended and carried signs some of which read, " The wicked shall be cast into hell." and   "Liberal commies and homo fascists are destroying Canada and our children." In addition to bitter words, some push and shoving went on.  All to the displeasure of Hamilton's mayor, Fred Eisenberger, who said that hate speech and violence have no place in Hamilton.

When Mayor Eisenberger says that hate speech and violence have no place in Hamilton, he is only half right.  The Charter protects hate speech.

Hate speech is in the ear of the beholder.  What constitutes hate speech is a matter of opinion.  The Spectator reported word for word in quotes the alleged hate speech, but nobody is accusing the Spectator of engaging in hate speech by reporting it.  And if the words themselves don’t constitute hate speech, then what does?  The flair with which they are spoken?

It is regrettable that the city is caught in the middle of violence that occurred at the gay pride event, but it is a case of reaping what you sow.  Over the strenuous objections of then-Mayor Bob Morrow the city caved to the pressure of the gay lobby and consented to supporting officially the normalization of gay pride.  The lesson taught is that violence and the threat of violence work politically.  If the gay pride event is the product of political pressure, then putting an end to it will require pressure and violence.  The city should have followed Mayor Morrow’s instincts and stayed out of it.

Gay pride will always be controversial because it amounts to an effort to normalize the un-normalizable.  You don’t celebrate the normal, you celebrate something that’s different.  Gay pride events are proof that gays admit to themselves that they are not normal.  Thrusting a lie into the faces of people is inviting trouble.
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