Speech by Columnist Christie Blatchford Sparks Protest
“Our goal was to not let her speak, we accomplished that.”- Tallula Marigold, Media Representative from the Gang of Five
If by ‘fascism’ you mean ‘suppression of opposition through terror and censorship’, then you must be speaking of the small group of individuals who shut down Christie Blatchford’s speech at the University of Waterloo.
This small group believed they had a right to deny Christie Blatchford a public forum to discuss her book Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us and in this, they were ironically aided and abetted by authorities who allowed the bullies to have their way rather than defending the rights of the speaker and those who had assembled to hear her speak.
Ironic, since this abdication of responsibility to uphold the rights of the lawful against the bullying tactics of the lawless, is precisely what Christie’s book “Helpless”, addresses.
We have seen this twisted application of the law all too frequently lately and can only hope that Christie Blatchford’s book will be an impetus for the change needed to realign the collective spines of those who are charged with defending the rights of law abiding citizens.
IFPS-Canada
http://www.thecord.ca/articles/37575
by Alanna Wallace
The Cord
What was scheduled as a speech by Globe and Mail columnist Christie Blatchford turned sour tonight as protesters opposing the journalist’s new book Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us took over the stage.
Three protesters locked themselves together at the centre of the stage where Blatchford was meant to speak at the University of Waterloo’s (UW) Humanities Theatre in Hagey Hall, with another individual acting as their “negotiator”. A fifth, Tallula Marigold, acted as the group’s media representative.
“We don’t want people who are really, really racist teaching [the people we love],” said Marigold of Blatchford. “And we don’t want that person to have a public forum because it makes it dangerous for others in the public forum.”
Despite a crowd that acted unfavourably towards the group that took over the stage, assistant director of media relations for UW Michael Strickland addressed the audience about an hour after Blatchford was meant to start her talk to inform them that the event would be rescheduled.
“Unfortunately there is a small minority that felt that they would win if they’d just sit on the stage and yell ‘racist, racist, racist’,” said Strickland. “We made a determination that since she wasn’t going to get a word in, in any sort of respectful fashion, there would be no point in bringing her out and having her subjected to that.”
A group of individuals had organized a teach-in two hours before Blatchford’s speech, held in a room across the hall from where the event was to take place. There, a group of about 30 individuals engaged in a critical discussion of the journalist’s articles and the issues surrounding what some deemed racist, xenophobic and anti-native. In sharp contrast, yelling and cursing occurred between audience members and those on stage only hours later.
Although Blatchford’s event will be rescheduled, there was a general feel in the audience of distaste for what had transpired. Among those saddened by the events were Waterloo resident Pauline Campbell and former Wilfrid Laurier University student Jacob Pries.
“The people who were on stage were expressing some very real ideas that I to a degree agree with but they weren’t backing them up with any facts and that made it hard for people to listen,” said Pries.
“That wasn’t the night I came out to hear and I mean just it’s a load of garbage, calling people Nazis, it was very unpleasant,” said Campbell.
With the event cancelled and Blatchford returning back to Toronto, Marigold expressed her contentment with the events that had transpired.
“Our goal was to not let her speak, we accomplished that.”
Comments
By thief on November 15th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
It appears the majority of this article is stolen from the Wilfred Laurier student newspaper and has not been properly credited. I’ll agree the link is correct but it seems that almost all of this article is cut and paste and credited to “admin”. Nice work if you can get it.
By admin on November 15th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Thanks for the notice – refer to the link within the article.
By Mohammed Shouman on November 16th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
The university has issued an apology:
http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2010/nov/16tu.html
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Apology after author is silenced
University officials issued a statement yesterday in the wake of a Friday night incident in which Globe and Mail columnist Christie Blatchford was prevented from speaking at a scheduled event in the Humanities Theatre.
A group of protesters took exception to what they called the “racist” attitude of her book Helpless, which deals with the four-year standoff over native land claims in the village of Caledonia in Ontario’s Haldimand County. Blatchford had been invited to campus by the university bookstore to speak about her book. After some time, it was announced that her talk would be rescheduled.
The events of the evening were live-blogged by the Wilfrid Laurier University student newspaper The Cord, and got some media attention yesterday.
Says the statement that was issued by the university yesterday: “The University of Waterloo was disappointed that a guest invited to share a particular perspective on a topic of importance to Canadians was silenced by protesters. Globe and Mail columnist Christie Blatchford was scheduled to appear at the university on Friday night to discuss her new book Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us. Due to safety issues, the university decided to reschedule the event.
“The university considers Friday’s events as an attack on its presence as a place where issues are explored, discussed and at times debated. The freedom to speak and to learn is fundamental to the institution. Waterloo’s ethical behaviour policy states: ‘The University is an autonomous community which exists to further the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge and understanding through scholarship and teaching. The University aims to ensure an environment of tolerance and respect and believes that the right of individuals to advance their views openly must be upheld throughout the University.’ To ensure there is no doubt of the university’s convictions, Waterloo President Feridun Hamdullahpur apologized to Ms. Blatchford, on behalf of the university community, for Friday night’s disruption. He has asked the community to begin planning for a safe, open and respectful dialogue featuring Ms. Blatchford and her book.”
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By granny on November 29th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Freedom of expression is for everyone, protesters too. If the presence of protesters discourages people from attending, or venues from holding events, so be it. If Blatchford really doesn’t know how her book is racist, maybe she’ll stop and think about it. My main concern is that Blatchford paints herself as an expert on the “rule of law” and perhaps she does know a lot about the Criminal Code, but the Constitution and Charter take precedence and the police uphold Aboriginal rights too. Blatchford never addresses that at all. Instead she defends a drunk driver whom she thinks shouldn’t have spent the night in jail. She aligns herself with Gary McHale who provoked trouble and drew white supremacists to Caledonia. Most people were relieved when he was banned from town.
I think she blew it championing these losers, and she’s now seeing the consequences. Life’s like that!
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