At this point it seems certain that Trent Lott will be forced to relinquish the Senate Majority Leader and, with any luck, he’ll follow through on his private threats and quit the Senate altogether. Some Republicans seem to think that would be a disaster, because Democrats would likely persuade at least one Republican Senator to cross the aisle and regain control of the Senate. But I’d prefer to see Lott leave altogether to send a message that such views are not tolerable in the U.S. Senate (and Robert Byrd would join him if the Democrats were actually serious about this sort of thing).
Contrast that with how Lott’s comments might be handled in a country such as Canada. David Ahenakew, described by Reuters as “a Canadian native elder,” recently offered up praise for Adolf Hitler’s murder of millions of Jews. As with Lott, Ahenakew and his views should be shunned.
But in Canada — and many other parts of the world — the state takes things one step further and makes it possible to charge people such as Ahenakew with crimes for saying such despicable things.
Chris Axworthy, a Saskatchewan attorney general, told Reuters that he has already asked police to investigate whether or not Ahenakew can be charged with a hate crime.
Making speech criminal in that matter is far more objectionable than anything Lott or Ahenakew said.
Source:
Canada Native Leader Faces Probe Over Hitler Praise. Roberta Rampton, December 16, 2002.