A
Canadian talk show episode on the gender pronoun use debate offers some insights
into Leftist totalitarianism.
"Basically,
it's not correct that there's such a thing as biological sex," University of
Toronto instructor Nicholas Matte said at the 11:26 mark on the Oct. 26 episode
of "The Agenda with Steve Paikin." (See below.)
Matte, a Ph.D.
candidate who teaches "Intro to Trans Students" in the Mark S. Bonham Centre
for Sexual Diversity Studies, is obviously delusional to believe there is no
such thing as biological sex. If all he were asking for was the freedom to
express and teach his delusion, it wouldn't be much of a problem. Instead, as
the episode continues you realize that he expects everyone else to go along with
his delusion. Worse still, he supports using government force against those who
refuse to go along with his delusion, a step the Canadian government seems
poised to make.
The
panelists were debating Canada's Bill C-16, which, if passed will add "gender
identity" and "gender expression" to the country's list of prohibited forms of
discrimination.
University
of Toronto students protested when professor Jordan Peterson, also on the panel,
said in reaction to the bill that he would not abide by government prescribed
pronoun use, such as "ze" or "hir," for students who don't identify with either
gender. Throughout the 55-minute discussion, Peterson makes clear that his
primary grievance is the government requiring what speech he must use. Peterson
doesn't appear to be a conservative, but a classical liberal defending freedom
of speech.
The
most telling part of the show is how the Leftists opposed to Peterson seemed
oblivious to their own authoritarianism. The show begins with the progressive
side claiming that Peterson's fears are overblown, that gender identity
discrimination laws won't lead to a loss of personal freedom, but they spend the
rest of the show confirming everything Peterson warned about. It's surreal.
The
other panelists included: Mary Rogan, a transgender male writer who appeared
sympathetic to Peterson's free speech argument but at the end came down on
Matte's side; Theryn Meyer, a transgender female pundit who defended Peterson;
and Kyle Kirkup, a University of Ottawa law professor who tried to make the
argument that the new gender identity discrimination provisions are not a danger
to freedom of speech.
"It's
a common misconception about bill C-16, that it's somehow going to make pronoun
use into hate speech ... we're talking about very minor amendments," Kirkup
said.
"We
have to add some reasonableness to this discussion," he added.
If
you're an American and think this is just some crazy Canadian thing you won't
have to worry about, note that Kirkup defended his assertion by claiming C-16
isn't as restrictive as a law already in place in New York City.
Paikin
pointed out that the law doesn't specifically prescribe a jail sentence for
those who resist.
"Jordan,
you're not going to jail if you keep this up," he said.
To
which Peterson replied, "What if I don't pay the fine?"
The
question was followed by an eerie silence. No one had an answer to this
important question, not even the law professor claiming Peterson's fears were
exaggerated.
While
Kirkup sought to reassure that government mandated pronoun use will not amount
to defining certain pronoun usage as hate speech, later in the show Matte said
Peterson was engaging in hate speech.
Matte
also claimed that Peterson's refusal to use government mandated pronouns would
contribute to "assaults" on transgender students, to which Peterson pointed out
that "social justice warriors" had engaged in
actual physical assaults at a free speech rally on his campus.
When
Paikin asked Matte if Peterson's actions amount to "abuse" of his students,
Matte replied, "absolutely."
"How
about violence, is it tantamount to violence?" Peterson asked.
"Yes,"
Matte answered.
"How
about hate speech?" Peterson asked.
"Yes,
of course," Matte answered, "it's hate speech to tell someone, you won't refer
[to them] in a way that recognizes their humanity and dignity."
Early
in the show, Peterson pointed out that the law could lead to a situation in
which it would be illegal to even be having the debate they were having at that
moment. Then later in the show Paikin read a letter from a person who declined
to be on the show, claiming that even having that debate amounted to
"transphobia," to which Kirkup added that pronoun usage for transgender people
"is not up for debate."
.jpeg)