No hate to be had here...

We went, we saw and we listened.  Mikey, myself and my eldest boy who (I am proud to say) is beginning to take an avid interest in a subject that most people twice his age take for granted and never spare a thought for.

Aside from the treat of adding two more books to my collection of things I'm dying to read -- and have no time for -- I also had the pleasure of putting faces to a few names I have bumped into over the years, and never had the pleasure of meeting.

Brian picked me out of the crowd first, followed by Wendy, who actually recognized Mikey first!  After the forum, Dr. Roy pulled me aside to prove that there is in fact a more rabid Wonder Woman fan than I...I am humbled ;)  Winston, who i have heard so much about from Wendy, was also there.  Of course, I had to finagle a picture with Ezra!

It really was a pleasure.

The subject at hand was The Human Rights Commissions and whether or not they have outlived their usefulness.  The most interesting avenue of discussion centered on the assertion that a government bureaucracy, who's sole purpose is to police human interaction, is not necessarily a bad thing but that this particular bureaucracy has gotten out of hand.

But I agree with Kathy's stance that the very premise of having an agency with a mandate to enforce equality, is a tangible example of an oxymoron in practical terms.  How can you enforce equality for one, without infringing on the equality rights of another?  A person who is not treated equally cannot take equality from someone who is unwilling to give it.  When they try, by means of state-sponsored force, it does not make them equal but instead, it makes them reviled and marginalized more.  And when the mission statement of this equality enforcement agency outlines specific groups as deserving of more equality than others, that marginalization and stigmatization extends not just to each person who utilizes the enforcers, but to the entire group of the affected they claim to advocate on behalf of.

That is why the very concept behind the Human Rights Commission is antithetical to it's own stated purpose.  It is a contradiction that cannot be reconciled and as contradictions go, Ayn Rand said it best...

Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.

Comments

[mikey]

It was an excellent event. I was pleased to see the theatre packed to the rafters with all sorts of people. While our hooligan was probably the youngest, the number of university students in attendance was heartening. I know it was just a miniscule fraction of London's student population, and some of them were highly sceptical of the panel, but it's good to see the engagement in the early 20-somethings anyway.

At the opposite end of the scale, there was an extremely frail and elderly couple a few rows ahead of us. It was moving to see people who have survived so much, taking the HRC encroachments on our civil liberties seriously. It reinforces my feeling that this is no small matter, but a dangerous threat.

It was fun to meet up with Wendy, Winston, Dr. Roy and Brian. The cherry on top of the whole thing was the choice of Dr. Christopher Essex, co-author of "Taken By Storm: The Troubled Science, Policy, and Politics of Global Warming" as moderator. There's a man who has dealt with the repercussions of holding an unpopular opinion... he's a DENIALIST!!!!!

All in all, a fantastic evening.

[pete in Midland]

I've always been a HUGE fan of the various Human Remains (uhmmm ... rights) Commissions ... since I have read extensively of the founding organization of that concept. The German Nazi Party.

Removing rights from one group by force of law and giving them, unearned, to another group certainly doesn't advance civilization, it simply creates MORE hate groups.

[winston]

it was nice meeting you!

[Russ Campbell]

Nights like this and Ezra's and Kathy's books shine the bright light of truth on the HRCs exposing them for the dark force they are.

We can only hope the PM will finally take action to rein in these people. Actually its probably too late to rein them in as the rot has spread out of control--they must be disbanded.

[Texas Canuck]

What does a guy have to do to get a picture with Wonder Woman?

[mikey]

TC, you wouldn't believe what it took to be allowed into those ones on the left sidebar! ;)

[Texas Canuck]

Yeah Mikey, probably your heart & soul for the rest of your life...