Some People May be Offended (Seriously)

Hoo boy. This sure ain't gonna make me popular.

I'm here to argue in defence of the right to offend; to express views others find offensive; to do perfectly legal things that others may be offended by; even to be an obnoxious, stupid, loutish human being as long as you don't actually hurt anybody else.

I don't advocate doing it gratuitously; I just think that giving offence is not, and should not be, a crime.

Some recent cases have caused a global media feeding frenzy around the issue. One was the plan by some Muslims to build an Islamic centre a few blocks from Ground Zero. Another was the antics of Florida lunatic Terry Jones with his on again, off again plans to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States by burning a Qur'an.

But unless you live in my neck of the woods, you probably haven't heard of this one: a group of extreme anti-abortion protesters lined a major thoroughfare in my hometown recently, displaying large photos of aborted fetuses. The graphic nature of the images upset a lot of people and the local council has directed township staff to see if there isn't some legal way to prevent them from doing it again.

Well, regardless of whether I think these activities are objectionable or even offensive, I have to say the Muslims, Mr. Jones, and the anti-abortion protesters should be allowed to do as they please.

Setting aside the American examples, our Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees Canadians "freedom ... of expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication" (section 2, subsection b). Subsection c. guarantees us "freedom of peaceful assembly".

Now either these fundamental rights, entrenched in our constitution, mean something, or they don't. They aren't conditional on us finding the views expressed agreeable and inoffensive. They're there precisely to protect the rights of those with unpopular views.

As those of you who know me will readily attest, I'm easily offended. Lord knows there's plenty of human folly and wickedness to keep me outraged a good part of my waking hours. But I don't expect the government to pass laws making such activities illegal. I wish it would, but I'm not holding my breath (chiefly because it's frequently various levels of government that have incurred my ire).

No, what I do is, I try to get on with my day. If that doesn't work, I blog. It's cheaper than therapy.

I don't wish to be insensitive. I acknowledge that such images are disturbing, and yes, offensive to many people. And I do believe that freedom of expression is not absolute. For example, we do have provisions in the criminal law of Canada against hate speech. And that seems to me a sensible, if not always easily discernable place to draw the line.

But the case of the anti-abortion protesters in Port Perry is not about that. These are people with an extreme view expressing it in an extreme way. That offends many other people. But that shouldn't be a crime.