Posted on 02/20/2006 4:26:03 PM PST by NYer
By John-Henry Westen
TORONTO, February 20, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The University of Toronto's Victoria College student newspaper The Strand, has used the controversy surrounding the cartoons ridiculing Islam to bash Christianity and Islam simultaneously. Accompanying an article on the cartoon controversy, the paper published a cartoon of its own depicting Jesus smooching with Mohammed in the "Tolerance Tunnel".
"The cartoon is a sort of Canadian statement on religious tolerance," Nick Ragaz, managing editor of The Strand, the student newspaper of Victoria University at U of T told the Toronto Star. "This is not an act of hate," he said. "It's controversial, yes, but it's no attack," said Ragaz.
The University is backing the controversial piece. Paul Gooch, president of Victoria University said "The editorial in this issue of The Strand provokes and invites discussion, not intolerance." The Strand editorial cartoon, "however offensive to some members of our community, could not be characterized as a violation of the Human Rights Code, the Criminal Code, or the applicable University policies at Vic or U of T," the Star reports Gooch having wriiten.
However, the University of Toronto tends to be selective when it comes to freedom of speech.
In 2004, a pro-life club at the university wanted to present a pictorial display which graphically compared abortion to historically recognized genocides. The University of Toronto obstructed the free speech rights of its pro-life students. The university insisted that the display be erected in an open-sided tent with most of the posters facing inwards, making it virtually impossible for the signs to be seen from outside the tent. (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/mar/04032405.html )
The University seems to be particularly sensitive when it comes to homosexuality. When internationally renowned Catholic philosopher Peter Kreeft delivered a talk at the university in 2003 which expounded Catholic teaching on homosexuality, the Student administrative council passed a resolution to declare the talk as hate and demanded an official hate-speech investigation. (coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/feb/030214a.html )
Finally, the university has been openly discriminating in hiring practices against those not sharing its left-leaning ideology. In 1999, an ad for a tenure-track professorship at the University of Toronto appeared in the August bulletin of the Canadian Association of University Teachers saying that only candidates with a "feminist and anti-racist perspective" need apply. At the time, University of Toronto Professor Thomas Pangle, said that the ad "makes explicit what I had thought was usually only implicit, namely, that ideological conformity was the chief prerequisite for such a position at our university." (coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/1999/oct/99102205.html )
I bet there'll be allot of Christians rioting and chanting outside all the mosques..... /sarcasm
Ping!
Does that mean as a Christian I should go out and destroy and kill people since I am insulted?
I have to question this. Why would Jesus want to kiss a weasel like Mohammed?
Yeah, I bet that will generate tolerance from the Muslims! Let's put it in all the newspapers ASAP!!!!
Now that just DISGUSTS me.
But they have the right (and should have) to publish it.
The guy that drew that cartoon better hold on to his head, it's going to be a swift ride on the edge of something sharp for a while.
Any bets on the number of Canadian embassies that get torched over this new cartoon?
Mohammed wouldn't bother with kissing, but get right down to the rape.
How come Buddah's not hooking up with anyone?
Doesn't matter who gets more upset. It only matters who becomes more threatening and violent.
Considering Buddhas a fatty... I better not go there...
I'll bet all the 'sort of' Canadians think this is a profound statement.
Paul W. Gooch, President of Victoria College
paul.gooch@utoronto.ca
The Strand is a student newspaper funded by and reporting to Victoria College student government, not Victoria University or the University of Toronto. It has editorial freedom. Vic and U of T support the freedoms of expression and debate within the laws of the country. We decry expressions of hatred and intolerance, and endeavour to inculcate the virtue of civil and respectful debate.
The editorial in this issue of the Strand provokes and invites discussion, not intolerance. The editorial was accompanied by a cartoon that some might see, on one level, as a satirical but positive statement on inter-faith tolerance, but that others, on another level, might view as disturbing or even deeply offensive. These levels each have their own legitimacy, and it is precisely in their interaction that informed and respectful debate must take place.
The Strand editors and staff have faced criticism from others, including their peers, for their decision to publish the cartoon. They will determine how best to handle these criticisms, and to exercise freedom with appropriate responsibility. For its part, the administration’s initial assessment is that the editorial cartoon, however offensive to some members of our community, could not be characterized as a violation of the Human Rights Code, the Criminal Code, or the applicable University policies at Vic or U of T.
Victoria University and the University of Toronto will continue to uphold the freedoms of the academy, including the freedom of expression. Equally important is our continued resolve to advance mutual understanding and respect among people of differing commitments, and to balance freedom with responsibility.
P.W. Gooch
President
Victoria University in the
University of Toronto
L. Ron Hubbard can roll Buddah in flour and look for the wet spot.
Drawings of dead guys are causing living people to kill other living people. I guess this civilization has finally evolved to its final point. Carry on.
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