Rebel News Podcast - EZRA LEVANT ｜ The Smithsonian Institute is going woke

00:00:00.000 Tonight, why is it that the uber-progressive cancel culture mob, you know, the ones who

00:00:21.340 are telling us to follow the COVID-19 science, are going to war against real science?

00:00:28.480 Yes. It's Tuesday, April 12, 2022. I'm David Menzies, and this is the Ezra LeVent Show.

00:00:37.640 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?

00:00:41.460 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.

00:00:45.540 The only thing I have to say to the government about why I publish it is because it's my

00:00:50.120 bloody right to do so.

00:00:51.380 Houston, we have a problem. Namely, even science-based organizations are being targeted

00:01:03.900 by the cancel culture mob as progressives embrace wokeism and, of course, the radical transgender

00:01:11.540 movement. Folks, fasten your seatbelts, take your protein pills, and put your helmets on.

00:01:17.760 This just in, the Smithsonian Institute is, alas and alack, becoming increasingly woke.

00:01:25.900 And there is pressure afoot by the usual suspects, of course, to get the National Aeronautics and

00:01:32.160 Space Administration, aka NASA, to also get more PC and less, you know, science-y.

00:01:41.720 I know what you're thinking, folks. If any organization should be immune from the epidemic

00:01:46.440 of political correctness, wokeism, and cancel culture, it is surely the Smithsonian and NASA.

00:01:52.840 Just consider the mission statement for the Smithsonian, quote, our mission is to promote understanding

00:01:59.940 of the natural world and our place in it. The museum's collections tell the history of the planet

00:02:05.800 and are a record of human interaction with the environment and one another, end quote.

00:02:11.640 Now, here's the NASA mission statement, quote, to drive advances in science, technology, aeronautics,

00:02:18.860 and space exploration, to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality,

00:02:26.680 and stewardship of Earth, end quote. Well, I guess that was then, and this is now.

00:02:32.260 For starters, according to the Washington Compost, the Smithsonian has just launched a brand new

00:02:38.760 podcast called, wait for it, Queer Space. Queer Space is devoted to aviation, space, and of course,

00:02:47.940 gender identity. Fascinating. So, instead of covering real achievements in the realms of aviation

00:02:55.580 and aerospace, I speak of the Wright brothers or Neil Armstrong. We are being served up such

00:03:02.400 scintillating subjects as, how did gay male flight attendants fare in the early days of air travel?

00:03:10.880 Well, can science fiction with LGBTQ plus characters make space more inclusive?

00:03:20.140 And what are the Air Force and Space Force doing to address LGBTQ plus issues?

00:03:29.700 Yikes. Four, three, two, one. Please exit the capsule, Major Tom, and make way for Leah Thomas to take control

00:03:38.160 of the cockpit. Evidently, the topics and subjects covered in Queer Space, in the words of the podcast's

00:03:47.820 introduction, have, quote, been historically and intentionally ignored in the intersection of

00:03:54.820 aviation, space, and LGBTQ plus history and culture, end quote.

00:04:01.440 I'm a surgeon, not a psychiatrist. Gee, I guess we better get around to reimagining one of the most

00:04:09.840 profound speeches of the 20th century, you know, so that we don't insult the ever-tolerant members of

00:04:16.220 the LGBTQ plus community, at least when it comes to space travel. I speak of those 11 words Neil

00:04:23.840 Armstrong uttered as he set foot upon the Sea of Tranquility on July 20th, 1969.

00:04:33.060 That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

00:04:42.020 Okay, granted, Mr. Armstrong flubbed the line. He meant to say a man as opposed to man. But more than a

00:04:50.420 half century later, the bone of contention would seem to be that Armstrong had the utter temerity to

00:04:55.880 say man in the first place. Excuse me, it's man. It is man.

00:05:02.520 Oh, by the way, the Smithsonian Institute aside, there is growing pressure for NASA to get woke and

00:05:08.900 embrace cancel culture too. I speak of the ongoing manufactured controversy over the name given to

00:05:16.400 the most powerful telescope in the solar system, the James Webb Space Telescope, which was named after

00:05:23.360 a former head honcho at NASA. According to Scientific American, quote, during his time at NASA, Webb oversaw

00:05:31.940 the legendary Apollo program that landed humans on the moon, but also fostered the agency's focus on

00:05:40.120 science, end quote. Wait a second here. By using the word but, is Scientific American implying that Webb's

00:05:48.380 commitment to science was somehow a negative? That Webb should have ensured that the agency was committed

00:05:56.860 to what? Social justice? Regardless, Webb, who passed away in 1992, allegedly didn't like homosexuals

00:06:05.820 during his tenure at NASA. Now, while the space agency has been resisting the cancel culture mob

00:06:12.500 to rename the telescope due to a lack of evidence that Webb was anti-gay, nevertheless, the heat is on

00:06:20.640 by the alphabet soup community and their useful idiots in the mainstream media to get NASA to rebrand

00:06:27.860 the James Webb Space Telescope. Gee, taking inspiration from those who topple statues these days, why don't we

00:06:36.940 all together skip the renaming process and just blow this homophobic telescope right out of the sky?

00:06:49.340 Wow. You know, it used to be that NASA and NASA's fans, well, they were all about recruiting the greatest

00:06:56.440 minds in the world so that this agency could, you know, venture out into the final frontier and maybe

00:07:03.240 one day discover strange new worlds. And yes, their bailiwick is indeed all about rocket science.

00:07:12.220 But today, well, the pressure on NASA isn't about, say, having a manned mission touching down on Mars.

00:07:19.120 No, these days it's all about gender pronouns and bending the knee to witch hunts carried out

00:07:26.360 by the spirit unicorn mafia. And what's next for NASA being forced to embrace critical race theory?

00:07:35.040 You know, I think that might be a good thing, actually, folks. I mean, why are the spacesuits

00:07:39.900 and rocket ships always white in color? Obviously, we got a bunch of white supremacists running the show

00:07:47.460 at mission command. And say, when will the climate change mob come for their pound of flesh? I mean,

00:07:55.620 just look at the carbon footprint created by those rockets upon liftoff. Surely, somewhere,

00:08:03.140 a certain Swedish teenage girl with mental issues weeps.

00:08:08.580 How dare you!

00:08:09.680 So, you might ask, why should we care? Well, here's why, folks.

00:08:13.360 The inexplicable war on science and scientific institutions is also affecting your children.

00:08:20.160 Case in point, a TV Ontario article. And by the way, why does the province have its own TV station?

00:08:27.820 Noted that in June 2021, the province revealed a new de-streamed grade nine math curriculum

00:08:35.560 containing a preamble that stated, quote, mathematics has been used to normalize racism

00:08:43.720 and marginalization of non-Eurocentric mathematical knowledge, end quote.

00:08:51.660 Claudette Rutherford lauded the addition, said Rutherford, quote,

00:08:55.960 with respect to anti-racism, anti-colonial language being added to the curriculum,

00:09:02.220 it felt like there was an understanding of our experiences, end quote.

00:09:07.760 Rutherford, by the way, is the co-founder of something called Parents of Black Children,

00:09:13.480 a Toronto-based advocacy organization.

00:09:16.540 Now, I have read and reread her quote.

00:09:19.240 I have no idea what the hell she is talking about, folks.

00:09:23.060 Indeed, how can something so definitive, something so exact as mathematics be labeled as racist and

00:09:33.960 colonialist? One plus one equals two. It always has, and it always will.

00:09:41.040 Are the anti-racism folk suggesting that sometimes one plus one can equal three or maybe four or five?

00:09:50.020 After all, a multitude of answers, as opposed to just one concrete answer, albeit the correct answer,

00:09:57.180 is diverse. And these modern-day Marxists promote that diversity is our strength, no matter what,

00:10:04.880 even when it comes to mathematics, which exclusively deals in absolutes.

00:10:11.620 It's downright disturbing. Assuming you are someone who embraces academic excellence,

00:10:17.820 to see that the math and sciences classes are becoming more like, well, the English classes these days.

00:10:25.780 You know, grammar is a forgotten art form, and spelling doesn't count anymore,

00:10:31.500 and nobody fails, of course.

00:10:33.740 Even if little Johnny or little Janie can't spell cat,

00:10:37.380 if you spotted them the C and the T,

00:10:40.320 don't want to hurt their self-esteem or their feelings, after all.

00:10:44.200 How odd, especially since this anti-science claptrap comes from the same people, I imagine,

00:10:53.120 who have admonished us to, quote,

00:10:55.820 follow the science, end quote,

00:10:58.160 when it comes to COVID-19 protocols these past two years.

00:11:02.400 You know, wear useless non-medical masks,

00:11:05.140 get jabbed with an experimental vaccine,

00:11:07.780 stay two meters away from one another, etc., etc.

00:11:10.580 Yet, when it comes to long-established science,

00:11:14.800 it appears that even proven ancient equations

00:11:18.680 can be deemed racist and or colonialist.

00:11:24.180 Is this a joke?

00:11:25.760 You know, once upon a time,

00:11:27.640 we could tell the people preaching this hot garbage

00:11:31.540 to take a long walk off a short pier

00:11:34.180 or to kindly check themselves into the local insane asylum.

00:11:38.380 But today, that too would be considered racist or colonialist

00:11:43.420 or transphobic or something.

00:11:45.420 So instead, we listen to this deranged mob

00:11:49.140 and we even act on their demands

00:11:52.100 so as not to be seen as insensitive.

00:11:57.160 But as we continue to cave to these Marxist maniacs

00:12:00.960 hell-bent on social engineering,

00:12:03.880 wokeism, and cancel culture,

00:12:05.860 we do ourselves and society a great disservice.

00:12:11.340 The world is an increasingly competitive playing field.

00:12:15.460 Put another way, do you think kids in China are being told

00:12:18.400 there are multiple correct answers for one plus one?

00:12:22.820 Or that aviation and space travel

00:12:25.640 needs to conform to an LGBTQ plus narrative?

00:12:30.320 Indeed, when we cozy up to the preposterous idea

00:12:34.660 that one plus one can equal anything other than two,

00:12:39.620 we are increasingly becoming,

00:12:41.720 in the words of John Kennedy Toole,

00:12:44.720 a confederacy of dunces.

00:12:47.400 Well, the thing about freedom of speech,

00:12:58.260 it's funny that way.

00:12:59.460 If you want it for yourself,

00:13:01.260 you have to give it to your worst opponent,

00:13:04.300 the person you most detest.

00:13:06.940 It's funny that way.

00:13:08.540 And that's the only way freedom of speech works.

00:13:11.300 You don't need freedom of speech

00:13:13.000 when it's for something innocuous,

00:13:14.620 like the weather or sports,

00:13:17.300 something about which, you know,

00:13:18.800 you're not going to deeply offend someone.

00:13:20.820 Freedom of speech only counts

00:13:22.360 when it trumps other dear values.

00:13:26.120 Values like not offending people,

00:13:28.540 like not being cruel to people.

00:13:30.740 If we say in advance

00:13:32.660 that those values are more important,

00:13:34.420 then the speech is not free.

00:13:36.200 Free from what?

00:13:38.180 Free from the imposition of other values.

00:13:40.640 That's why it's tough being a free speech advocate.

00:13:44.160 It's tough being a free speech absolutist,

00:13:46.920 because by definition,

00:13:48.880 the only cases people come to you about

00:13:50.920 are the most atrocious things said.

00:13:53.860 Joining us now to talk about one such case

00:13:55.880 is our friend, Andrew Lawton,

00:13:57.560 host of the Andrew Lawton Show on TNC.news,

00:14:00.760 and a good friend of ours, Andrew.

00:14:02.520 Great to see you again.

00:14:03.560 And you've got your own Substack now too,

00:14:05.540 don't you?

00:14:06.760 Yes, over at andrewlawton.substack.com.

00:14:09.660 Very creatively titled, I know.

00:14:11.440 Well, and Substack, for folks who don't know,

00:14:13.640 it's a website, but it also emails it to you.

00:14:16.640 So it's just, it's a great,

00:14:17.800 and they have a real emphasis on free speech.

00:14:19.780 I just wanted to say that

00:14:20.840 for folks who are curious what Substack is.

00:14:23.040 Andrew, it's nice to see you.

00:14:24.580 Your latest item is entitled,

00:14:27.400 Holocaust denial is atrocious,

00:14:30.380 but it isn't a crime.

00:14:32.200 And I would tweak that

00:14:33.660 and say it shouldn't be a crime,

00:14:36.440 because of course it has been treated

00:14:37.780 like a crime in Germany.

00:14:39.500 And you can understand

00:14:40.360 there's some historical reasons for that.

00:14:42.440 But now comes a statement

00:14:44.160 in our liberal government's budget

00:14:46.780 saying that they will make

00:14:49.760 Holocaust denial a crime.

00:14:52.900 And funny enough,

00:14:53.560 they said a private member's bill

00:14:55.160 originally drafted by a conservative MP.

00:14:58.760 Tell me a little bit about

00:14:59.860 this censorship provision

00:15:02.360 sort of tucked away in a weird place

00:15:04.560 in a budget, which is normally

00:15:06.200 about dollars and cents.

00:15:07.160 Tell me a little bit

00:15:07.680 about this liberal plan.

00:15:09.800 Yeah, and I think you're right

00:15:10.860 to point out the budget aspect of it.

00:15:13.260 One of the things that I raised alarm about

00:15:15.360 when the liberals and NDP announced

00:15:17.100 they were getting into bed

00:15:18.100 on budgetary matters

00:15:20.160 is that if the NDP is agreeing

00:15:22.260 to support any liberal budget,

00:15:24.620 what this actually means

00:15:25.640 is that anything that the liberals

00:15:26.740 want to get done,

00:15:27.640 they can just slip into a spending bill

00:15:29.340 and the NDP will have to go along with it.

00:15:32.300 And I said that not realizing

00:15:34.100 how right I would be.

00:15:35.840 I don't believe government

00:15:36.920 should be in the censoring business at all,

00:15:39.220 but certainly not if you're doing so

00:15:41.680 to do it in a way

00:15:42.500 where you aren't actually going to have

00:15:43.880 the scrutiny and debate

00:15:44.980 as if they were to just come right out

00:15:46.880 and do what they're doing here,

00:15:48.000 which is a bill that will make it

00:15:49.160 a criminal offense

00:15:50.160 to deny the Holocaust,

00:15:52.320 except for in private conversation.

00:15:54.360 They'll let people privately deny

00:15:56.040 the Holocaust,

00:15:56.780 but not in any public way.

00:15:58.900 Now, of course,

00:15:59.820 I do not deny the Holocaust.

00:16:01.360 I believe that the Holocaust is a fact.

00:16:03.920 In fact, I've led several tours to Israel,

00:16:07.700 and one of the key stops we make every time

00:16:10.920 is to Yad Vashem,

00:16:12.300 which is the Holocaust Memorial

00:16:13.700 and Holocaust Museum.

00:16:15.540 I've been to the Holocaust Museum

00:16:16.800 in Washington, D.C. several times.

00:16:19.160 It's quite impressive, too.

00:16:20.640 I've studied a lot about the Holocaust

00:16:22.220 and about the Second World War in general.

00:16:24.720 I think there is no doubt that it's true.

00:16:27.260 In fact, I'm much more certain

00:16:28.800 that the Holocaust happened

00:16:30.380 than I am, say, of the moon landing,

00:16:31.920 which I also, of course, believe happened.

00:16:34.760 And I think that if someone denies the Holocaust,

00:16:37.080 they're factually wrong.

00:16:38.820 I think if they're denying the Holocaust,

00:16:40.660 there's a good chance they're doing so

00:16:42.260 to undermine Jews

00:16:44.760 and Jewish claims of persecution,

00:16:46.480 perhaps to justify future claims of persecution.

00:16:49.300 As Ron Rosenbaum said,

00:16:50.660 a second Holocaust is more likely

00:16:52.460 than the first one

00:16:53.340 because the first one was so unthinkable.

00:16:55.880 Now it's thinkable.

00:16:57.760 And now the technology

00:16:58.880 is so much more advanced.

00:16:59.900 So I think that if anyone

00:17:01.020 is a Holocaust denier,

00:17:02.760 there's a good chance

00:17:03.760 there's a malign purpose to it.

00:17:05.720 But I also know this, Andrew.

00:17:08.580 If you don't know the story

00:17:10.280 of the Holocaust like I do

00:17:11.600 and like I presume you do,

00:17:13.680 I mean, I was taught it as a child

00:17:15.200 in Jewish school

00:17:16.420 by Holocaust survivors.

00:17:18.460 So I know it in my bones.

00:17:21.180 But if you've never heard of it before,

00:17:23.440 if you're, let's say,

00:17:24.300 a newcomer to Canada from,

00:17:26.300 I don't know,

00:17:26.640 I'm just going to say from Africa

00:17:27.620 or from Southeast Asia,

00:17:29.000 a place that was very far removed

00:17:30.820 historically and ethnically

00:17:34.920 from the European Holocaust.

00:17:37.080 If it's not part of your culture,

00:17:38.520 if it had nothing to do,

00:17:39.500 if you're from Burma,

00:17:40.920 if you're from Ghana,

00:17:43.540 the Holocaust had nothing to do

00:17:44.840 with your country or people.

00:17:46.480 You may have gone to school

00:17:47.300 without hearing about it.

00:17:48.520 You come to Canada

00:17:49.500 and you don't know anything about it

00:17:52.240 and it's this dramatic thing.

00:17:54.540 I think it's okay

00:17:55.200 to ask questions about it,

00:17:56.520 even skeptical questions

00:17:57.560 because you're learning

00:17:58.360 about something

00:17:59.000 and you should be allowed

00:18:00.140 to be skeptical

00:18:00.780 and not everyone knows it

00:18:02.720 in their bones.

00:18:04.020 I think to,

00:18:04.480 I think to in advance say

00:18:07.220 this is something

00:18:08.060 you may not question

00:18:09.520 that is anti-intellectual.

00:18:12.400 I think it's unfair to people

00:18:13.940 who actually have

00:18:14.620 some questions about it.

00:18:16.480 And frankly,

00:18:16.980 it's something Hitler would do.

00:18:19.640 Yeah, I mean,

00:18:20.340 I don't even take the view

00:18:22.160 that there is a practical reason

00:18:25.660 that, you know,

00:18:26.240 Holocaust denial

00:18:27.020 or an innocent reason

00:18:28.060 behind Holocaust denial.

00:18:29.500 I take the view

00:18:30.500 that in no way

00:18:32.040 is censorship

00:18:32.820 ever the answer

00:18:33.660 to a problem.

00:18:35.180 It is the creation

00:18:36.260 of a problem.

00:18:37.220 And in this case,

00:18:37.960 you have governments

00:18:38.620 citing anti-Semitism,

00:18:40.680 which we know is pervasive.

00:18:42.060 Anti-Semitism is always

00:18:43.160 at the very top

00:18:44.140 of hatred,

00:18:45.620 of hate crimes

00:18:46.320 that do come out.

00:18:47.620 If you allow censorship

00:18:49.360 to be a response to that,

00:18:51.080 all you're doing

00:18:52.080 is endorsing unfreedom.

00:18:55.160 You're endorsing this idea

00:18:56.380 that government

00:18:56.960 is the one

00:18:57.500 that gets to decide

00:18:58.380 what people should be

00:18:59.580 allowed to say.

00:19:00.900 And the concern

00:19:01.820 that I raise

00:19:02.400 with this practically

00:19:03.340 in that, you know,

00:19:04.200 all of us could say,

00:19:05.040 yes, anti-Semitism

00:19:05.740 is a bad thing.

00:19:07.100 But to link from that

00:19:08.740 to banning it

00:19:09.840 only endorses government

00:19:11.480 to then ban other things

00:19:12.880 that they assert

00:19:13.700 are bad things.

00:19:14.700 So conservatives

00:19:15.660 were up in arms,

00:19:17.000 rightfully so,

00:19:17.740 about the anti-Islamophobia

00:19:19.260 motion, M103,

00:19:20.780 back in 2017,

00:19:22.260 I think it was.

00:19:23.680 And that didn't actually

00:19:25.080 have a direct criminal

00:19:26.820 sanction on speech

00:19:28.260 like this ban

00:19:29.080 on Holocaust denial does.

00:19:30.540 But you know

00:19:31.240 that this would be used

00:19:32.300 to justify a criminal ban

00:19:34.140 on Islamophobia

00:19:35.420 down the road.

00:19:36.760 You know,

00:19:37.420 I'm trying to remember

00:19:38.440 the name of the person

00:19:40.720 but in the early 2000s

00:19:44.240 there was a Gentile man

00:19:46.020 who as his major hobby

00:19:48.360 had, I think it was called

00:19:50.160 the Nizker Project.

00:19:51.860 His name was Ken.

00:19:52.580 I can't remember

00:19:52.940 his last name.

00:19:53.960 And he basically

00:19:54.860 was a one-man rebuttal machine

00:19:56.760 where he would tackle

00:19:58.520 lies about the Holocaust online.

00:20:00.740 And he was against censorship

00:20:02.080 because he wanted

00:20:04.120 to answer people's skepticism.

00:20:05.880 And that's why I gave

00:20:06.740 the opening comments

00:20:07.560 I did, Andrew.

00:20:08.440 If you say to someone

00:20:11.660 you may not question this

00:20:13.200 and they come up

00:20:14.500 with a question

00:20:15.120 that they believe

00:20:15.940 is based on a valid

00:20:17.600 piece of research

00:20:20.800 or if they have some reason

00:20:22.320 to genuinely be skeptical,

00:20:24.300 the answer is to meet

00:20:25.540 the skepticism

00:20:26.340 with facts and debates

00:20:27.420 and proof and rebuttal.

00:20:29.360 If you then say

00:20:30.520 to this person

00:20:31.320 even asking that question

00:20:34.220 is so offensive

00:20:35.520 it is a crime,

00:20:36.620 you have actually

00:20:38.660 only confirmed for him

00:20:39.960 that it was true

00:20:40.740 and you've actually

00:20:42.440 along the way

00:20:43.200 confirmed that the Jews

00:20:44.360 have this cosmic control

00:20:46.280 over the world

00:20:47.220 that you can't criticize

00:20:49.140 the Jews

00:20:49.960 and that the Jews

00:20:52.240 run the world.

00:20:53.060 Like one of the

00:20:53.560 anti-Semitic troops

00:20:54.420 is the tropes

00:20:55.280 is that the Jews

00:20:56.000 run the governments,

00:20:57.120 the Jews create the wars,

00:20:58.380 the Jews control the banks,

00:20:59.780 the Jews control control control.

00:21:00.960 And if you ask a question

00:21:04.040 and the answer is

00:21:05.160 a Jewish interest controls you,

00:21:07.300 you have confirmed,

00:21:09.020 you have,

00:21:09.520 and I see people

00:21:11.560 and I don't know

00:21:12.300 I'm just telling

00:21:13.100 personal stories here

00:21:14.000 instead of really

00:21:14.500 interviewing you.

00:21:15.800 I have seen people

00:21:17.900 who are omniskeptical,

00:21:20.280 skeptical of everything.

00:21:21.860 It's a personality trait

00:21:23.420 and they ask questions

00:21:25.240 and they indulge in theories

00:21:27.460 and if the one thing

00:21:29.620 they get smashed

00:21:30.660 in the face for

00:21:31.620 is challenging the Holocaust,

00:21:33.760 it's going to turn

00:21:34.780 that omniskepticism

00:21:36.040 into a particular

00:21:37.180 anti-Jewish skepticism.

00:21:39.920 And by the way,

00:21:40.600 I think there's an answer

00:21:41.300 to every question,

00:21:42.200 to every skeptic,

00:21:42.980 to every challenge

00:21:43.560 to the Holocaust.

00:21:44.080 There's an answer.

00:21:45.340 So why not answer that?

00:21:46.520 I just think that

00:21:47.580 this is a fool's errand.

00:21:49.340 It's anti-intellectual.

00:21:51.380 It does what an anti-Semite

00:21:54.080 would expect the Jews to do.

00:21:55.740 And I think also

00:21:57.540 this precedent

00:21:58.920 will be used

00:21:59.640 against the Jews themselves.

00:22:01.400 Don't think that

00:22:02.120 this is where it'll stop.

00:22:04.040 Soon it'll be

00:22:04.700 against the criminal law

00:22:06.540 to be Islamophobic,

00:22:08.380 which will be defined

00:22:09.840 as being skeptical

00:22:11.500 of Islam itself.

00:22:12.960 I don't know.

00:22:13.540 I just think that

00:22:14.120 this is very appalling

00:22:15.020 and I'm especially appalled

00:22:16.320 that it was a conservative MP

00:22:17.420 who came up with the idea.

00:22:19.580 Yeah, and also,

00:22:21.080 I mean, we mentioned

00:22:21.800 the Islamophobia case here,

00:22:23.720 transphobia.

00:22:24.480 In the UK,

00:22:25.280 you have examples

00:22:26.120 of police knocking

00:22:26.980 on people's doors

00:22:28.440 because they tweeted

00:22:29.620 something insanely controversial

00:22:31.460 like, oh, you know,

00:22:32.860 men are biological men

00:22:34.340 or something like that.

00:22:35.220 Women are biological women.

00:22:37.040 So what happens

00:22:37.880 when transphobia

00:22:38.780 becomes something

00:22:39.560 that we have

00:22:40.120 a specific criminal sanction for?

00:22:42.200 All of a sudden,

00:22:43.080 you have this idea

00:22:44.180 that has been licensed

00:22:45.460 to government.

00:22:46.160 Government has a license

00:22:47.080 to censor

00:22:47.840 and purge anything

00:22:49.480 they think are bad thoughts

00:22:51.120 or bad questions

00:22:51.980 from discourse.

00:22:52.900 And there's a political dimension

00:22:55.080 to this too

00:22:55.680 because, like you,

00:22:57.040 I absolutely believe

00:22:58.480 the proof of the Holocaust

00:22:59.780 that six million Jews

00:23:01.060 were killed by the Nazis

00:23:02.080 is irrefutable.

00:23:03.420 I've spent time

00:23:04.100 at the Holocaust Museum

00:23:05.220 in Jerusalem.

00:23:06.580 I've interviewed

00:23:07.180 Holocaust survivors.

00:23:09.280 Holocaust denial

00:23:10.000 is a perfect example

00:23:11.060 of this

00:23:11.420 because I don't believe

00:23:12.620 that Holocaust denial

00:23:13.620 is constructive speech

00:23:14.980 in any way.

00:23:15.500 I don't believe

00:23:15.960 it contributes anything

00:23:17.040 to the marketplace

00:23:18.060 of ideas.

00:23:18.880 but I believe

00:23:19.760 that free speech

00:23:20.740 is inherently good

00:23:21.920 because freedom

00:23:22.780 is inherently good.

00:23:24.580 And what the liberals

00:23:25.480 are doing,

00:23:26.040 we know their favorite

00:23:26.820 pastime is calling

00:23:27.940 everyone Nazis

00:23:28.900 and racists.

00:23:30.040 So, I mean,

00:23:30.620 they're doing this

00:23:31.220 because anyone

00:23:31.720 who opposes it,

00:23:32.600 they'll just say,

00:23:33.020 oh, well,

00:23:33.240 they must be

00:23:33.680 a Holocaust denier.

00:23:35.020 Yeah.

00:23:35.360 You know,

00:23:36.100 I was deeply involved

00:23:37.380 in some of these

00:23:38.000 free speech battles

00:23:38.880 almost 20 years ago

00:23:40.040 when the Western Standard

00:23:41.380 magazine,

00:23:42.200 which at the time

00:23:42.880 was a print publication

00:23:43.720 which I ran,

00:23:44.720 when we published

00:23:45.440 the Danish cartoons,

00:23:46.400 it was a whole

00:23:47.200 big debate.

00:23:48.300 And back then

00:23:48.880 there was still

00:23:49.420 some freedom

00:23:50.260 in the cultural industries.

00:23:52.680 Most journalists

00:23:53.680 were still for freedom

00:23:54.720 back then.

00:23:55.900 The pendulum

00:23:56.640 has swung

00:23:57.240 180 degrees

00:23:59.320 in those 15 years.

00:24:01.540 But I still remember

00:24:02.580 the head of the

00:24:04.260 gay lobby group,

00:24:05.220 EGAL,

00:24:06.220 his name was

00:24:06.800 Gilmar Shilden.

00:24:07.860 And to this day

00:24:08.440 I remember

00:24:09.000 his principled statement

00:24:10.700 because he came out

00:24:11.620 against censorship.

00:24:13.660 And I don't think

00:24:14.380 that the,

00:24:16.040 I mean,

00:24:16.360 you mentioned

00:24:16.640 the trans movement,

00:24:17.620 they're extremely

00:24:18.460 about censorship now.

00:24:20.260 But here's what

00:24:20.680 Gilmar Shilden,

00:24:22.120 the gay activist,

00:24:22.900 said 15 years ago

00:24:24.220 when these issues

00:24:25.980 came up

00:24:26.420 during the battle

00:24:27.260 over the Danish cartoons.

00:24:28.800 He said,

00:24:29.500 here's three reasons,

00:24:30.740 he said,

00:24:31.720 not to ban hate speech.

00:24:33.720 Wow,

00:24:34.160 coming from

00:24:34.700 a gay activist,

00:24:35.620 I'd like to hear this.

00:24:36.320 Well,

00:24:36.400 I remember what they are

00:24:37.340 because it made

00:24:37.960 such an impression on me.

00:24:39.500 The first thing

00:24:40.220 he said is

00:24:40.900 he wants to know

00:24:42.580 who the bigots are.

00:24:44.320 If you ban people

00:24:45.720 from saying mean things

00:24:46.960 about gays,

00:24:47.860 about Jews,

00:24:49.260 well,

00:24:49.600 then they're sort of

00:24:50.600 having it in secret.

00:24:51.720 You haven't changed

00:24:52.180 their mind,

00:24:52.660 you just made them

00:24:53.200 more careful about it.

00:24:54.300 So the first thing

00:24:54.840 is he wanted to know

00:24:55.780 what people thought

00:24:57.100 so he could adjust

00:24:58.360 his behavior accordingly.

00:24:59.380 The second thing,

00:25:01.300 and this is sort of

00:25:02.020 what I was alluding to

00:25:02.900 about someone

00:25:03.400 coming to Canada

00:25:04.180 who doesn't know

00:25:05.200 about the Holocaust

00:25:05.880 for bona fide reasons

00:25:08.800 or someone who grew up

00:25:09.860 and just maybe

00:25:11.240 missed that day in school,

00:25:12.500 like just genuine questions.

00:25:14.080 How do you know

00:25:15.100 it was six million

00:25:15.900 instead of five million

00:25:16.820 or seven million?

00:25:18.440 On the face of it,

00:25:19.260 that's not a malicious question.

00:25:20.540 It's a real question.

00:25:21.440 How did you get,

00:25:22.140 is it six million exactly

00:25:23.280 or 6.1?

00:25:24.800 Did you round down

00:25:25.520 or round up?

00:25:25.960 Like,

00:25:26.220 I know those sound

00:25:26.940 like crazy questions,

00:25:27.940 but they're real questions

00:25:30.160 or they at least could be.

00:25:32.260 And what Gilma Shilden said

00:25:33.960 was every time

00:25:35.460 someone asks a question,

00:25:36.380 that's a moment

00:25:36.840 to educate them,

00:25:37.700 a moment to tell them,

00:25:38.720 a moment to show them.

00:25:40.320 And if someone gets it wrong,

00:25:41.860 instead of smashing them,

00:25:42.960 show the 10 people watching

00:25:44.700 or the million people watching

00:25:45.980 why it's wrong.

00:25:46.780 So reason number one,

00:25:47.580 he wanted to know

00:25:48.160 who the bigots were.

00:25:50.040 Reason number two

00:25:50.960 is every act of, quote,

00:25:52.120 hate is actually

00:25:53.380 a teachable moment

00:25:54.280 and not everyone

00:25:55.220 knows the answers.

00:25:56.760 Why don't we stone gaze

00:25:57.980 to death?

00:25:58.900 Why don't we throw Jews

00:26:01.120 and why is this anti-Semitic

00:26:03.140 about the Holocaust?

00:26:04.540 And then the third reason

00:26:05.640 he said,

00:26:06.060 I think is my favorite.

00:26:08.260 He said,

00:26:09.000 when you criminalize something,

00:26:10.500 you outsource to government,

00:26:13.080 which should really be something

00:26:14.180 that we each do

00:26:14.880 in our own lives,

00:26:15.860 in our own sphere of influence.

00:26:18.320 If someone says something racist

00:26:19.760 or anti-gay or anti-Semitic,

00:26:21.500 the answer is not to rush

00:26:22.640 to the phone

00:26:23.660 and dial 911

00:26:24.500 and start a,

00:26:25.480 like a two-year

00:26:26.360 criminal investigation

00:26:27.400 and prosecution.

00:26:28.280 It's to say,

00:26:29.060 whoa, buddy,

00:26:29.660 we don't tell jokes

00:26:30.480 like that in the office

00:26:31.380 or whoa, that's wrong,

00:26:32.740 we don't talk that way here.

00:26:33.760 It's to personally be involved

00:26:35.640 in setting the customs

00:26:37.620 of politeness and tolerance,

00:26:39.160 whether it's your workplace

00:26:40.000 or your sports team

00:26:41.140 or, you know,

00:26:42.140 a restaurant or whatever,

00:26:43.680 to outsource to the government

00:26:45.500 this personal problem

00:26:48.020 is absurd, unworkable,

00:26:50.880 makes a federal case

00:26:51.780 out of what could be solved locally

00:26:53.060 and it actually relieves you

00:26:54.740 from your own duty.

00:26:56.280 So I just,

00:26:56.840 thank you for giving me a minute.

00:26:57.940 I wanted to remind you

00:26:58.880 those three compelling reasons

00:27:00.260 that were said by Gilmar Sheldon

00:27:02.240 15 years ago

00:27:03.260 for why he was against

00:27:04.360 the censorship

00:27:05.260 of anti-gay commentary.

00:27:06.420 And I adopt

00:27:07.920 completely his arguments

00:27:09.580 for why I would not censor

00:27:11.060 anti-submitted commentary.

00:27:12.880 I'm not saying

00:27:13.300 I would roll over

00:27:13.840 and enjoy it.

00:27:14.980 I want to know

00:27:15.600 who the bigots are.

00:27:16.500 I want to debate them

00:27:17.860 and I don't want to outsource

00:27:19.540 to the government,

00:27:20.340 you know,

00:27:20.880 what's right and wrong.

00:27:23.040 Yeah, you're right

00:27:24.220 that everyone wants

00:27:25.240 to abdicate

00:27:26.540 their own responsibility

00:27:27.680 to government

00:27:28.480 and this is true

00:27:29.600 of cancel culture.

00:27:31.400 I mean,

00:27:31.580 I obviously am

00:27:32.820 vociferously opposed

00:27:33.960 to cancel culture

00:27:34.820 but the absolute

00:27:35.600 worst form

00:27:36.660 is state-mandated

00:27:38.200 cancel culture.

00:27:39.240 So, you know,

00:27:39.940 we can have all the

00:27:40.720 libertarian discussions

00:27:41.840 about, you know,

00:27:42.620 venues that decide

00:27:43.640 I don't want to host

00:27:44.420 this type of speech

00:27:45.320 but we can all agree

00:27:46.680 that the very worst thing

00:27:47.700 is when government

00:27:48.400 says that type of speech

00:27:49.660 is not allowed

00:27:50.540 and a lot of these censors

00:27:52.180 don't just want

00:27:53.060 the free market

00:27:53.760 to operate,

00:27:55.180 they want government

00:27:55.960 to be the censors

00:27:56.840 and cancel culture advocates,

00:27:58.980 most of them would say

00:27:59.760 they actually want

00:28:01.020 the state to be

00:28:01.840 censoring people

00:28:02.580 but it's in the absence

00:28:03.420 of that that they try

00:28:04.380 to go the cancel culture route.

00:28:06.320 So, I think that's true

00:28:07.220 whether you're talking

00:28:07.840 about Holocaust denial,

00:28:09.220 a lot of the Jewish groups

00:28:10.480 that are speaking up

00:28:11.640 that have a very narrow

00:28:12.940 focus on anti-Semitism,

00:28:14.920 understandably,

00:28:16.020 I would tell them

00:28:16.840 to be very cautious

00:28:17.760 about going down the road

00:28:19.000 of endorsing censorship

00:28:20.100 just because you feel

00:28:21.280 it serves that immediate end

00:28:23.100 of getting rid

00:28:23.620 of anti-Semitism.

00:28:24.780 Censorship does not

00:28:26.440 ever, ever

00:28:27.860 purge the underlying thoughts

00:28:29.700 and the underlying bigotries.

00:28:31.060 Yeah, I mean,

00:28:31.940 one of the things

00:28:32.600 a lot of people know

00:28:34.500 is that Hitler himself

00:28:35.520 was prosecuted

00:28:37.440 or the laws

00:28:38.340 of the Weimar Republic

00:28:39.400 had a form

00:28:40.700 of hate speech laws

00:28:41.640 as well

00:28:42.040 and they were censorship laws

00:28:44.060 and they were anti-sedition

00:28:45.220 and anti-incitement laws.

00:28:47.340 Obviously, they didn't work.

00:28:48.140 You know what?

00:28:48.460 When I was still

00:28:50.120 polite company,

00:28:50.880 I was invited

00:28:51.460 to a student conference

00:28:54.700 about censorship

00:28:56.120 and freedom of speech

00:28:57.460 and there was even

00:28:57.940 a Supreme Court judge

00:28:58.900 there at the time

00:28:59.480 and there was a kid

00:29:02.280 in the audience

00:29:02.800 who said he came

00:29:03.640 from Rwanda

00:29:04.340 and I believe him

00:29:05.020 and he talked about

00:29:06.620 the civil war there

00:29:07.840 of the Hutus

00:29:08.540 and the Tutsis

00:29:09.320 and he said to me,

00:29:11.520 you know,

00:29:12.500 the teacher called on

00:29:13.520 people of any ethnicity,

00:29:14.740 put their hand up

00:29:15.400 in the class

00:29:15.980 and there was a demonization

00:29:17.080 and he said,

00:29:18.160 boy, I wish we had

00:29:19.140 anti-hate laws there

00:29:21.280 and I want to tell you

00:29:23.380 what I said to him.

00:29:25.320 I said,

00:29:26.400 if there was

00:29:28.060 an anti-hate law there,

00:29:29.480 who would be enforcing it?

00:29:33.260 It would be the government

00:29:34.340 that would enforce it

00:29:35.340 and they would enforce it

00:29:36.880 against you,

00:29:39.280 not against the teacher.

00:29:40.740 The teacher would be

00:29:41.360 the instrument

00:29:41.800 of the government

00:29:42.360 and if there was

00:29:44.340 an anti-hate law

00:29:45.180 in Germany in 1940,

00:29:47.340 Hitler would use it

00:29:48.260 against the Jews

00:29:48.940 if there was

00:29:49.320 an anti-hate law,

00:29:49.980 like whoever is in power,

00:29:51.700 like you're not going

00:29:52.260 to have an anti-hate law

00:29:53.620 in a dictatorship

00:29:54.460 that's used

00:29:55.620 to protect you

00:29:56.660 from the dictator.

00:29:58.000 It'll just be an excuse

00:29:59.260 that the dictator

00:29:59.940 uses to get you.

00:30:01.820 I mean,

00:30:02.900 everyone thinks

00:30:04.900 that they're going

00:30:05.440 to be holding the whip

00:30:06.360 or the gun

00:30:07.020 when there's censorship,

00:30:08.520 but it is by definition

00:30:09.800 going to be

00:30:10.260 the biggest bully

00:30:10.860 in the room.

00:30:11.360 It's going to be

00:30:11.820 the government,

00:30:12.480 the imposing,

00:30:14.020 punishing,

00:30:14.640 violent government

00:30:15.400 that holds the stick.

00:30:17.200 I don't know.

00:30:17.820 I'm not sure

00:30:18.400 if I convinced him,

00:30:19.300 but I don't think

00:30:19.820 he had ever thought

00:30:20.580 it that way.

00:30:21.440 He thought this piece

00:30:22.760 of paper

00:30:23.140 with these words on it

00:30:24.300 would have stopped

00:30:25.220 the bullets that were

00:30:26.140 being shot at me

00:30:26.940 and my family.

00:30:27.740 Nah, mate.

00:30:28.600 They would have been

00:30:29.160 used by the people

00:30:30.020 with the bullets

00:30:30.660 shooting at you.

00:30:32.020 Andrew, I've talked

00:30:32.600 more than I've listened

00:30:33.340 to this interview,

00:30:34.160 but let me ask you this.

00:30:36.620 How certain is it

00:30:37.660 that this will pass

00:30:38.660 given the coalition

00:30:40.280 between Trudeau

00:30:41.180 and Jagmeet Singh?

00:30:42.000 Is this pretty much

00:30:42.560 a done deal?

00:30:44.140 I fear it is.

00:30:45.140 I mean, it's always possible

00:30:46.260 that once the committee

00:30:47.400 process unfolds

00:30:49.100 that there may be

00:30:50.000 some pushback on this,

00:30:51.160 which is why I think

00:30:52.300 there needs to be

00:30:52.900 a lot of pressure

00:30:53.520 to groups

00:30:54.760 that have been

00:30:55.640 supporting this

00:30:56.340 because they're

00:30:56.840 against anti-Semitism.

00:30:58.060 People like Seja

00:30:59.560 and Erwin Kotler

00:31:00.540 and other voices

00:31:01.280 that I think

00:31:02.080 need to understand

00:31:03.400 that you're not going

00:31:04.440 to prohibit

00:31:05.520 anti-Semitism

00:31:06.280 by prohibiting

00:31:07.120 Holocaust denial.

00:31:08.360 All you're doing

00:31:09.080 is giving government

00:31:10.080 license to further

00:31:11.220 expand over time

00:31:13.040 its creep of censorship,

00:31:14.720 which we know

00:31:15.420 is going to be applied

00:31:16.120 to a lot more people

00:31:17.120 than just those

00:31:18.040 who deny the Holocaust.

00:31:19.100 And the line

00:31:19.800 that I use

00:31:20.560 in my newsletter here,

00:31:22.680 if I can plagiarize myself

00:31:24.120 and share it here,

00:31:24.900 is that it's a very simple point

00:31:26.900 and it's very childish

00:31:27.960 for a reason sounding

00:31:29.220 that if you don't defend

00:31:30.660 the rights of bad people,

00:31:31.660 the rights aren't there

00:31:32.400 when the good people

00:31:33.120 need them.

00:31:34.200 Yeah.

00:31:34.560 Well, let me ask

00:31:35.380 one last question

00:31:36.040 on that note

00:31:36.540 and thanks for sticking around

00:31:37.760 while I yap so much.

00:31:39.680 But, you know,

00:31:40.720 I mean, I just,

00:31:41.280 I've been thinking

00:31:41.720 about these things

00:31:42.780 for really my whole life

00:31:44.580 ever since I was

00:31:45.600 in law school

00:31:46.160 and they tried

00:31:47.100 to throw me out

00:31:47.840 for writing a column

00:31:49.000 in the student newspaper.

00:31:52.380 Are there any

00:31:53.500 people opposing this

00:31:55.740 in the whole country?

00:31:57.900 I mean, 30 years ago,

00:31:59.020 you might see

00:31:59.540 the Canadian Civil Liberties

00:32:00.620 Association against it.

00:32:01.880 I'm sure they're not

00:32:02.520 against it now.

00:32:03.760 30 years ago,

00:32:04.460 you'd probably see

00:32:05.040 some members

00:32:05.500 of the Liberal Party

00:32:06.240 saying,

00:32:06.580 I don't like this,

00:32:07.300 but I'm for free speech.

00:32:08.260 I don't think

00:32:12.080 you're going to see

00:32:12.600 a Conservative Party MP

00:32:13.760 speak out against this

00:32:14.760 because they would be

00:32:15.460 worried about being

00:32:16.440 called a Nazi.

00:32:18.220 Is there a single

00:32:19.140 institution or person

00:32:20.780 in authority or power

00:32:21.840 in this country

00:32:22.420 who will stand up

00:32:23.980 against this

00:32:24.620 and say,

00:32:25.360 obviously,

00:32:26.160 they're not for

00:32:26.960 Holocaust denial,

00:32:28.860 but neither are they

00:32:29.680 for censorship?

00:32:30.440 Is there a single,

00:32:31.980 single person

00:32:33.420 in the country

00:32:33.940 who will be against this?

00:32:35.580 I haven't heard it yet.

00:32:37.160 I'm not saying there isn't,

00:32:38.460 but I haven't heard it yet.

00:32:39.880 Yeah.

00:32:41.240 Well, Andrew,

00:32:42.080 keep up the fight

00:32:42.760 for freedom.

00:32:43.720 You're one of the few

00:32:44.480 and the brave.

00:32:45.100 Great to see you again.

00:32:46.520 And likewise.

00:32:47.280 There he is,

00:32:48.080 Andrew Lawton.

00:32:49.200 Sign up for his sub stack

00:32:50.220 if you don't know

00:32:50.620 what that is.

00:32:51.240 That's basically a blog

00:32:52.280 that gets emailed to you.

00:32:53.280 It's great.

00:32:53.800 And they believe

00:32:54.360 in free speech still,

00:32:55.680 thank goodness.

00:32:57.020 And of course,

00:32:57.520 you can see Andrew

00:32:58.200 at tnc.news.

00:32:59.560 Stay with us.

00:33:00.040 More ahead.

00:33:05.160 Well, folks,

00:33:14.540 lots of feedback

00:33:15.360 regarding last night's monologue

00:33:17.400 by the big boss man,

00:33:19.100 Ezra Levent.

00:33:20.100 Michael Carrera writes,

00:33:21.420 Rebel is one

00:33:22.540 of very few places

00:33:24.000 left in Canada

00:33:24.940 when you can get the truth

00:33:26.980 about what's happening

00:33:28.200 in our country.

00:33:29.720 Well, thank you very much

00:33:30.720 for that, Michael.

00:33:31.480 And isn't it funny

00:33:32.440 there are forces afoot?

00:33:33.740 Yeah, Justin Trudeau,

00:33:34.980 I'm talking about you

00:33:36.120 that are enacting legislation

00:33:38.680 so that we can't get

00:33:40.880 the truth out.

00:33:42.420 Little wonder,

00:33:43.640 seven years ago,

00:33:44.640 Justin Trudeau said

00:33:46.180 he has admiration

00:33:47.520 for the basic dictatorship

00:33:49.240 that is China.

00:33:51.080 He's trying to turn Canada

00:33:53.080 more into a China

00:33:55.120 than what Canada

00:33:56.500 really is and should be.

00:33:59.940 Wokeness is nothing more

00:34:01.400 than an excuse

00:34:02.320 to give people a shield

00:34:03.700 to be mean and cruel

00:34:05.100 to each other.

00:34:07.260 Armor for false virtues.

00:34:10.360 Who said this,

00:34:11.160 you may ask?

00:34:12.300 It was Elon Musk.

00:34:14.160 Indeed, you know,

00:34:15.040 I think Elon Musk

00:34:16.060 is becoming a champion

00:34:17.320 for free speech these days.

00:34:19.760 He has almost 10% of Twitter.

00:34:22.100 I hope he gets more.

00:34:23.540 I hope he gets control

00:34:24.940 of that company

00:34:25.780 and reverses

00:34:27.120 the outrageous censorship

00:34:28.760 we have seen

00:34:30.020 on that platform

00:34:30.980 in the last few years.

00:34:33.640 Europe Europe writes,

00:34:35.200 how can Trudeau do it

00:34:36.700 without agreement

00:34:37.700 of parliament?

00:34:39.380 Trudeau wants a dictatorship,

00:34:41.640 not a democracy.

00:34:43.760 Well, one of the factors,

00:34:44.980 of course,

00:34:45.540 is Jagmeet Singh

00:34:47.120 endlessly propping up

00:34:48.760 the prime minister

00:34:50.000 who would be dictator.

00:34:51.400 But as much as

00:34:53.360 Justin Trudeau

00:34:54.280 has an ambition

00:34:55.180 to make Canada

00:34:56.320 more, you know,

00:34:57.480 China-like,

00:34:58.700 well, we still have

00:34:59.620 the courts.

00:35:00.640 We will still challenge

00:35:01.960 outrageous and egregious

00:35:03.640 decisions by this government

00:35:05.060 all the way up

00:35:06.500 to the Supreme Court

00:35:08.000 if need be.

00:35:09.880 Well, folks,

00:35:10.620 thank you so much

00:35:11.200 for tuning in.

00:35:12.400 Ezra Levent

00:35:12.940 will be back

00:35:13.760 in this chair tomorrow.

00:35:15.360 In the meantime,

00:35:16.480 as always,

00:35:17.180 stay sane.

00:35:21.400 We'll see you next time.

Rebel News Podcast - April 13, 2022

EZRA LEVANT ｜ The Smithsonian Institute is going woke

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