LETTER TO EDITOR OF THE FITZHUGH, SUPPORTING MONIKA SCHAEFER
Canadian Association for Free Expression
Box 332,
Rexdale, Ontario, M9W 5L3
Ph: 905-566-4455; FAX: 905-566-4820;
Website http://cafe.nfshost.com
Paul Fromm, B.Ed, M.A. Director
Paul Clarke, Editor of The Fitzhugh
Jasper Alberta
July 20, 2016
RE: MONIKA SCHAEFER — FOR PUBLICATION
Dear Sirs:
I was disappointed to read the article “Video Denying Holocaust Causes Uproar” about Monika Schaefer in trhe current issue of The Fitzhugh.
I was especially saddened to see that the Ken Kuzminski, head of the local Legion, is leading a campaign against Miss Schaefer for her having posted a very personal You Tube explaining why she doubts some of the details in the much publicized stories of the holocaust. He’s banned her from the local branch? Is that legal? Banned her for her views? What other views are banned, I wonder?
Furthermore, he’s reported her to the Alberta Human Rights Commission, the RCMP and the German Embassy. He is clearly trying to damage this woman simply for the non-violent expression of her views, however controversial. I’ve defended victims hauled before human rights tribunals for their opinions. These are kangaroo courts where truth is no defence. Google Ezra Levant’s famous confrontation, available on You Tube, with the thought police of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. It’s a shocker.
Frankly, Mr. Kuzminski is a disgrace to a generation who fought for freedoms. My parents both fought for Canada in WW II — my father in the Royal Canadian Navy and my mother as a nurse in the Canadian Army. They both believed, in the language of the day, that they were fighting for ‘King and Country and democracy’ and democratic rights. They’d be horrified to see a woman punished for the non-violent expression of her views. Wasn’t that the sort of tactics of the dictators they thought they were fighting against?
Mr. Kuzminski claims “he’s heard from several young people in town that they no longer feel safe.” Really? Because a gentle, middle aged violin teacher posts her views on WW II on the Internet. Have we really become that feminized and wussified as a nation that dissenting opinions make young people feel unsafe. Whatever happened to all the cherishing of “diversity”? Shouldn’t that also mean diversity of opinion?
I wonder whether it’s relevant that Mr. Kuzminski was an NDP candidate in 2006 and 2008. The NDP is often a bitter opponent of the Greens for votes on the left. He has, so to speak, a horse in this race.
Paul Fromm, B.A., B.Ed., M.A.
Director
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION