Sunday, August 02, 2009

Only 500 years behind the times.


Blogging Tory Jonathon Narvey has a plan:

When it comes to “honour killings”, there should be no hesitation about tackling the root of the problem: medieval attitudes towards females. This phenomenon is essentially a recent cultural import to Canada by those who want the benefits of living in this country without adopting Western values.

Good thinking, Jonathon -- better nip that kind of thinking in the bud. Otherwise, people here in the civilized world might think it's acceptable to treat women like chattel. And God knows we don't want that kind of misogyny to establish a toehold anywhere we white Christian folks hang out.

Rest easy, ladies -- Jonathon's on the case.

AFTERSNARK: Poor Jonathon, in response to Balby, aims carefully and blows off his own foot:

Honor killings defined as hate crimes would help judges determine more appropriate sentencing in these cases.

"Hate crimes?" How curious. I thought conservatives were adamantly opposed to the idea of classifying anything as a "hate crime." You know -- like when gays are assaulted or beaten to death, how dare anyone suggest that was anything but a regular old run-of-the-mill assault. All of a sudden, though, that whole "hate crime" thing is looking so much better, is that it, Jonathon?

Apparently, context is everything.

4 comments:

Rev.Paperboy said...

CC, its not a hate crime if its someone they hate, only if its committed by someone they hate.

CC said...

Ah, quite so. I stand corrected. I can be such a dickmullet sometimes.

Jonathon Narvey said...

Not sure what your confusion is, CC, or how I "blew off my own foot". My response to Balby was merely a reiteration of what I'd already stated in the content and TITLE of the post.

I'm also merely quoting our existing criminal code and applying it to the phenomenon of "honour killings". You can debate that if you want.

In case you missed it, here's the passage:

"The courts may define the motivations of hate, bias or prejudice as aggravating factors when sentencing an offender for other offences, such as assault, damage to property, threatening, or harassment. The result is usually a more severe punishment".

Are "honour killings" hate crimes against women? I think so. If you disagree, say so.

By the way, the analogy with hate crimes against homosexuals is only apt because I agree that such crimes should be subject to heavier sentencing.

Do you disagree with our current hate crime legislation, or only feel that women who are the exclusive victims of "honour killings" and related domestic violence do not deserve its protection?

Balbulican said...

Jonathan then draws careful aim and blows off his other foot. Read the rest of the thread.

"I didn't say anything about deterrence. Oh, I did? Well, it's YOUR fault for misunderstanding me."

Is there a weekly Raphael Award for "Best Imitation of Logic That Breaks Down Immediately Under Scrutiny"? Because I think we have our winner...