Hate Speech on Trial in Canada
Filed By Mercedes Allen | October 14, 2011 11:00 AM
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/10/hate_speech_on_trial_in_canada.phpGavel.jpgIf you lived in certain parts of Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Toronto over the past decade, there's a chance you've encountered or at least heard about fliers distributed by Bill Whatcott. These fliers are typically peppered with photos of naked or half-naked gay men kissing (or, in at least one instance, engaging in oral sex), with face photos of political opponents or "villains" placed strategically to cover genitalia or buttocks. Some of the photos are from Pride events, putting Whatcott in a class with "Porno" Peter LaBarbera, but with a dash of Martin "poo porn" Ssempa thrown in. Perhaps the comparison is more appropriate than it first seems: LaBarbera has defended attempts in Uganda to make homosexuality punishable by death, while Ssempa has used exactly this kind of sentiment to whip up the nation's population to support the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
In Edmonton, Whatcott borrowed a tactic from cigarette packaging and distributed a flier that attempted to portray homosexuality as a public health emergency that needed stamping out, complete with graphic photos of anal warts (from whence his nickname on my blog derives). A 2009 flier included a rendition of "Kill the Homosexuals," a rewrite of a song entitled "Kill the Christians" by Decide on their album, Off the Cross - which was, ironically but appropriately, also the subject of a 2003 human rights complaint.
