THIS WEEK’S TOPICS
DIETER KAHL, R.I.P.
Dieter played at CAFE meetings in Toronto and at Paul Fromm’s annual “too-late-for-Christmas-too-early-for-New-Years” Party for the past 20 years. He’d been playing accordion since his teen years. His iconic Die Gedanken sind Frei (“Thoughts Are Free”) was a standby at CAFE meetings. Dieter Heinrich Kahl was 80. He was born in Bremen, Germany on October 24, 1939. He worked for five years in South Africa and came to Canada in 1969. He was an avid gardener and sportsman and a passionate supporter of free speech.
Replying to a Lying, Libellous Smear Piece in the Hamilton Spectator Demonizing Immigration Reform Protesters & Paul Fromm
Dear Jeff Mahoney:
How does that saying go? All it takes for hatred to triumph is for good people to … not show up at Hamilton city hall on Saturdays and oppose bigotry, by singing out their love; love louder than loathing.
Fortunately for this city, there’s no chance of people like Anna Wilson and Nicole Smith not showing up. Not as long as there are “hate” buses climbing the curb, white supremacists like Paul Fromm spewing garbage on the forecourt, Yellow Vesters blocking light, or the Soldiers of Odin generally trying to intimidate.
And not as long as Maxime Bernier gets scheduled to appear at Mohawk College. The Love In The Hammer choir will be there too, at Mohawk College, singing in counter measure.
They will be singing — as they do — songs of acceptance, affirmation and protest. Songs like “Lead With Love and Resilience”, from the Justice Choir songbook. They will be singing to expose, by contrast to their music and informed voices, the utter noise, nonsense and disgusting drivel that passes for free speech among the far right and hate groups; expose it for what it is.
It was Anna Wilson’s experience of that viciousness, in word and behaviour, by the “haters” who appear at city hall, that inspired her to start the Love in the Hammer choir in the first place. The “hate” bus was the trip wire.
“Not a hundred feet from me this school bus, driven by a Yellow Vest supporter wearing military fatigues, was driven up onto the city hall forecourt toward a crowd of residents celebrating diversity,” she recalls. “It was like it was happening in slow motion.”
Frustrated at the challenge of channeling the feelings and anxieties produced by the confrontational nature of what was happening at the rallies, Wilson hit on the idea. Collective song.
And so started the Love In The Hammer choir. They’ve been meeting and singing at the rallies every Saturday since late August. And their popularity is growing, a way to sing back at the fear.
And the fear is there. After the hate bus, there were the Soldiers of Odin. And Fromm. People who aren’t at city hall at the Saturday anti-hate rallies often don’t see how bad the fascists are, says Wilson.
“No one feels safe,” agrees choir member and community advocate Nicole Smith. “They (the haters) use dogwhistle tactics, outward shows of patriotism,” like wearing seemingly innocent I Am Canadian T-shirts to create a semblance of normalcy but then sew conflict, hatred and aggressiveness at the gatherings. Smith adds she’s patriotic herself but would never use patriotism as a code for hating others.
And so people who are there protesting, rallying or simply celebrating diversity have been joining in the singing, adding their voices to the swell. Some are too shy or uncomfortable to join the chorus but nonetheless express their support and thumbs up for the positive feeling the singing brings to the weekly gatherings.
“How do we respond to the meat grinder of horrible ideas (and behaviours of the hate groups)?” asks Wilson. “Is there another vision (aside from direct confrontation)?”
Yes, they decided, and that vision is song, music and choral togetherness. “We wanted a space for something positive, something against the negativity,” says choir member Rachel Cuthill.
“Some people are asking why they don’t see as many children at the rallies as there used to be. The children were asking, ‘Why are those people yelling? Why are they (the hate groups) so mean?” There were also reports of one of the fascists spitting on the heads of one of the anti-hate rallier’s children. Cuthill herself says she heard a hate group threaten to “break the necks” of an LBGTQ+ woman and her child.
The choir members say they hope the music will help create a climate more hospitable not only to children, who can learn important values at such events, but others concerned about safety. Says Cuthill, “singing is something different from chanting. It implies caring.”
But, aside from that, the choir, with its many voices and instruments, can also create volume, against megaphones and hate speech.
“So we literally ‘deploy’ the choir,” says Jason Allen. He sings and plays guitar and mandolin with the group. And “deployed” they will be on Sept. 29 at Mohawk College, responding to Bernier’s controversial presence there.
The singing can also be exhausting, says Wilson, for they’re singing loudly, joyously and also for a long time. Often, they say, the offensive groups try to wait out the ralliers and show up at 12:30 or 1.
“It feels good to counter toxic messaging with songs of love. Our voices are stronger together. We will not let the hate go unopposed,” says Wilson.
And what about you?
jmahoney@thespec.com
905-526-3306
An Alberta Supporter Blasts Hamilton City Council for Not Letting Paul Fromm Speak
Dear mayor and council members
Paul Fromm Complains About Anti-Racist Canada Cyber Thuggery & Doxing of Canadian Nationalist Party Members
Canadian Association for Free Expression
Box 332,
Rexdale, Ontario, M9W 5L3
Ph: 905-289-674-4455; FAX: 289-674-4820;
Website http://cafe.nfshost.com
Paul Fromm, B.Ed, M.A. Director
September 16, 2019
Elections Canada.
Dear Sirs:
On July 15, I spoke to a “Michael” in your office and filed a formal complaint asking for an investigation of threats made by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network to publicize the names of persons who joined the Canadian Nationalist Party in order for them to receive certification by Elections Canada as a recognized political party. I warned that these threats were being circulated on the Internet to intimidate those who had signed in the hopes that they would withdraw their signatures.
I had been advised that such use of public information was illegal. The names of signators were to be used “for election purposes” — that is, to challenge their validity — not for doxing or intimidation purposes. These threats, I warned, constituted voter intimidation and cyberspace thuggery.
It has now been three months since my complaint and I have received no acknowledgement, let alone any response.
I phoned Elections Canada again today seeking to speak to your legal department. I was told they were unavailable. I explained the newest development and again wish to lodge a formal complaint.
On Sunday, September 15, the threats became reality. The Canadian Nationalist Party is now a duly registered Canadian political party. A website, Anti Racist Canada,blogspot.com, http://anti-racistcanada.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-cnp-eligible-for-official-party.html whose cowardly authors are, of course, anonymous posted the first two of 250 names of those who had signed up as members. They stated:
“The next article will contain a list of names and cities/towns of individuals who signed the forms that allowed the registration of the far-right Canadian Nationalist Party; we won’t publish the addresses however. .. . These are public documents that every citizen can access and Canadians do have a right to know who in their community has supported the registration of this far-right party.
I won’t be posting many images of the forms in the upcoming article but as a bit of a preview I will post these two. Readers won’t be surprised by what they see.”
The “I” in this article is anonymous. The first two names published were mine and a gentleman from Saskatchewan.
I again ask for an investigation and determination whether this clear effort to target people for exercizing their democratic rights for election purposes violates the Canada Elections Act.
Sincerely yours,
Paul Fromm
Director
Canadian Association for Free Expression
p.s. I enclose my original complaint for your reference.
Canadian Association for Free Expression
Box 332,
Rexdale, Ontario, M9W 5L3
Ph: 905-289-674-4455; FAX: 289-674-4820;
Website http://cafe.nfshost.com
Paul Fromm, B.Ed, M.A. Director
July 15, 2019
Elections Canada.
Dear Sirs:
Today I filed a verbal complaint with one of your employees, Michael by name. I now wish to make this a formal complaint.
It has come to our attention that a group calling itself the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, with a website by the same name, has declared its intention to widely publicize the names and address of the 250 who will have signed as members of the Canadian Nationalist Party, when it obtains formal registration as a political party
In their July 10 statement this group of anti-democratic fanatics stated: “The Canadian Anti-Hate Network will publish the names of 250 members of the neo-Nazi Canadian Nationalist Party if they are successful in becoming a registered political party. We plan to publish these names and their cities of residence as soon as they become public, and will encourage local media to run stories naming neo-Nazi supporters in their communities. … This kind of naming and shaming is part of our mandate of exposing hate groups to make sure communities are well-informed, and to ensure that there are significant, nonviolent social consequences for supporting hate groups.”
This ugly bullying threat is libellous, as well. We have studied the platform of the Canadian Nationalist Party and found that the group would more accurately be described as traditional Canadians and populists, not National Socialist wannabees. CAHN, who boasts longtime anti-free speech campaigners like Bernie Farber and Richard Warman as board members, seeks to intimidate citizens from their right to vote as they choose. Furthermore, even if the aims of the party were national socialist in nature, they still have every right to exist and campaign.
Canadian Anti-Hate Network Board member Evan Balgord, a former assistant to Toronto’s Mayor John Tory, enthused: “Employer concerns are a natural consequence of supporting a neo-Nazi party. Practically, however, we won’t have the time to research 250 individuals. Local media might. I’d note they can avoid that consequence by emailing Elections Canada and withdrawing their support. – Evan”
Then, as a further step to interfere with the secret ballot and the right of citizens to freely choose the party they prefer, the CAHN offers a carrot: “If any of members of the Canadian Nationalist Party want to avoid being named and facing the social consequences of supporting a neo-Nazi party, they can email Elections Canada at info@elections.ca to withdraw their support.”
The threatening tactics of the CAHN are no different than posting goons armed with clubs outside polling stations reminding voters not to vote the “wrong” way.
We call upon Elections Canada to investigate the campaign by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network to intimidate voters and further to take all available action against the goons of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. We may have reason to fear foreign interference in the Canadian election process but it is clear that there are some domestic forces seeking to do the same thing.
Sincerely yours,
Paul Fromm
Director
SUPPORT POURS IN FROM ACROSS ONTARIO FOR PAUL FROMM’S APPEARANCE AT HAMILTON CITY COUNCIL
Letter to the Editor
Hamilton Spectator
To the Editor:
Your article advocating that the Canadian Association for Free Expression be denied the opportunity to submit a brief to Hamilton council is ironic, to say the least. In today’s editorial you stated: “Governments at all levels and of all stripes need to be very careful that they don’t abuse their positions of trust, including their commitment to be open, responsive and accessible to citizens. That’s central to their commitment to the democratic process and civic engagement”. If that isn’t doublespeak I don’t know what is. Let everyone’s opinion hit the table. Even Paul Fromm’s. If council or the public don’t agree with an opinion then argue it or ignore it. On the other hand, perhaps everyone’s point of view is essential to a robust dialogue on any issue at hand. What skin does the Spectator have in the game to deny a Canadian’s right to express themselves? Is it to control public opinion? Sounds like it.
Helen Kmera
Belleville ON
Former Hamilton Mayoralty Candidate Edward Graydon Comes to Paul Fromm’s Defence
