Stupid, stupid, stupid. What else can we say about two men who came to a hallowe'en party in Campbellford Ontario dressed as a Ku Klux Clan member and the black man he was pulling around with a noose. It was crass and racist, although probably inadvertently so. It's hard to imagine that these two men didn't get how offensive this might be, but they sure know now.
Hateful, hateful, hateful. Two brothers have been convicted of a hate crime in Nova Scotia, the burning of a cross, Ku Klux Clan style, on the lawn of a mixed race couple. How sad that the cross, the symbol of suffering love has been commandeered for such a despicable purpose.
The brothers' lawyer tried to get them off on mischief charges but the judge wasn't buying it. The second brother was convicted yesterday, and they will be sentenced soon.
Are you surprised that incidents such as these have occurred in Canada? Do you think harsh sentences should be meted out for hate crime conviction?
Hateful, hateful, hateful. Two brothers have been convicted of a hate crime in Nova Scotia, the burning of a cross, Ku Klux Clan style, on the lawn of a mixed race couple. How sad that the cross, the symbol of suffering love has been commandeered for such a despicable purpose.
The brothers' lawyer tried to get them off on mischief charges but the judge wasn't buying it. The second brother was convicted yesterday, and they will be sentenced soon.
Are you surprised that incidents such as these have occurred in Canada? Do you think harsh sentences should be meted out for hate crime conviction?
5 comments:
I think both incidents are absolutely appalling.
What were those idiots who dressed up like that at the Legion thinking? Also, why on earth were they not kicked out of the place? Those people at the Legion were condoning their actions by not doing so. I have almost as much anger towards the "bystanders" at the Legion as those two brainless morons.
The incident out east makes my blood boil just as much, if not more.
The book should be thrown at all involved. How very sad.
The worst part, from my point of view, is that the Campbellford duo won 'best costume' at the party! Insane.
I wonder how many Canadians dimiss the outcry over the Campbellford issue as just the angst and handwringing of the over-sensitized; or the academic? I heard a caller on Toronto talk radio not long after saying to the program host that "things are just different out here. This isn't Toronto."
Maybe he was implying that Campbellford's sense of humor is decidedly different than Toronto's?
I guess the bottom line is that these kinds of people exist, and it's up to the rest of us to red flag them and stand against their point of view.
Bad judgement, Bad Taste. You are all right. There really shouldn't be incidents like this anymore.
I work in a more rural setting sometimes going as far as Campbellford. I do ignore very racists comments from people in casual conversation from time to time. Usually from the older generation.
The world has changed for the better in this respect over the past 60 years, but some of the people are changing at a slower pace.
Interesting observations gentlemen. Thank you.
This summer at fiddle camp, I saw a skit where people pretended to be the hosts of American Idol and one came out in black face as Randy Jackson. I was shocked. What's worse he proceeded to mock the way he person talked. It was horrendous. But there were those afterwards who explained that this wasn't appropriate and pleaded with people to not put it on YouTube for the sake of the camp. Those who had been a part of the skit felt very ashamed and said they didn't realize.
Then, this fall, in my theatre group, someone talked again about doing black face for a Bob Marley character. No one seemed appalled by it, so the second time we brought it up, I said, "Can we not?" And then we had a little discussion about why not.
I don't know if it is because there is less exposure in rural places to diversity, other than different shades of white, but I agree that the bystanders are just as guilty. If the people doing the act really don't know that they are doing something wrong, those who do need to speak up.
And burning a cross on someone's lawn! How can you not know that is wrong and hurtful!?
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