February 27, 2010

 

Reader comments from the Toronto Sun article Bad word banned: Legislature passes Tory MPP’s condemnation of ‘apartheid’.

 

Linda
It is really interesting to note that this vote is being declared unanimous when only 30 of 107 MPPs were present for the vote. If that is a normal turnout in the legislature we have a many faceted problem here. 1) 30 MPs suppressing freedom of speech in the interest of a foreign state engaged in ethnic cleansing and genocide, 2) over 60% of MPs not showing up for work, or 3) MPPs so spineless and so controlled by the Israel lobby that they fail to show up to vote against this Orwellian motion.

Abe
What's next Mr Shurman we need to burn all books with a reference to apartheid or whatever else you seem to find offensive?

Gordon Pratt
How about banning the word 'anti-Semite'? It is an ugly, inaccurate word whose only purpose is to silence people.

As to the claim Israel has equal rights for all its citizens: Israel began in 1948 by driving out 400,000 Palestinians which people and their descendents now live in West Bank, Gaza and refugee camps abroad. These people have every bit as much right to be citizens of Israel as the Pharisees who came from Europe. Denying the victims of ethnic cleansing their rights certainly qualifies Israel as 'Apartheid.'

The claim all citizens of Israel have equal rights qualifies as a Big Lie. Endlessly repeated it is easily dismissed by mountains of evidence as close as your search engine.

lovedrone
Of course the real problem is what's happening, not the language.
Like saying that the Germans didn't start a war, it was just an incursion.
How about "terrorist israel week"?

Otis
OK, how about, "ethnic cleansing?"

A K
Finally...
The word "Apartheid" is simply not relevant to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. In S.Africa, rights were given only to White inhabitants. In Israel, *all* citizens are given equal rights.

This includes the Arabs, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Druze, Bahai, and many others. How can Israel be an apartheid state when there is arab representation in the Parliment (Knesset)? How can Israel be accused of segregation when there are Arabs sitting on the Israeli High Court of Justice?

The Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza are *not* Israeli Citizens. That is why they are "Palestinians" and not "Israelis". They have their own government, and elections. They have no claim to Israeli rights. some of the comments here disgust me

robertsgt40
Yeah, let's ban the word "aparteid". Then we can ban tortue, usury, greed, communism, fascism, CIA/Mossad/MI6, conspiracy, genocide, Gaza, occupied territory and on and on. Let's ban all those "bad" words that point out what's wrong in the world. Orwell has to be spinning in his grave.

Lee
When Isreal does it we cant call it aparthied. When Isreal does it we cant call it terrorism. When Isreal does it we cat call it genocide. When Isreal does it we cant call it murder. When Isreal does it we cant call it theft. When Isreal does it we cant call it agression. When Isreal does it we cant call it collective punishment. Shall I go on? Stop trying to give us this illusion of trating all equally. Isreal has its own set of rules above us.


Nicks
Nothing progressive about Peter Shurman. How about oppressive conservative.
What a putz.
OK, let's change it to Zionist evildoers.
That should do it.

johnny ban a word ?
ban a word ? it's a word, what's next, ban a thought ?

APARTHEID.
The crime of apartheid is defined by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as inhumane acts of a character similar to other crimes against humanity "committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime."

WHO'S LAND WHERE ISRAEL IS NOW, WAS IT BEFORE WW2...
i'm just asking

bottle rocket's & datsun pickup's vs apache gun ships, and abrams tanks
i guess it's whoever has the biggest stick


Kreejia Bondoola
An official policy of racial segregation involving political, legal, and economic discrimination .
A policy or practice of separating or segregating groups.
This word is very very dangerous.
You may end up in Room 101.

lovedrone
Why is it that (according to our government) apartheid itself is OK, but speaking against it isn't????
Amazing - given I'm re-reading 1984 just now.
I agree with a previous post though, let's make a longer list of "bad" words we don't want to hear any more.
holocaust and anti-semitic come quickly to mind.

Leon MacIntyre
Civil rights movements in the past exposed ugly truths by naming the injustice. It is part of the analysis of a conflict. Even the Israeli Defence minister Ehud Barak warned that without the creation of a Palestinian state Israel will be an apartheid state.

P.R. Jr.
Henceforth the word 'apartheid' shall be replaced with the word 'evil'.

Problem solved.

JimmyTee
Israel isn't being persecuted, it's simply reaping the fruits of the bad seeds it has cast upon land stolen from Palestinians; Ethnic cleansing, apartheid, racism, theft and lies . Bitter fruits indeed upon which I sincerely wish they choke. Apartheid israel has noone to blame than themselves. Canadian politicians are spineless and intellectual cowards for having supported this B.S. !

Dan Roper
Let's call it Racism then.

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