Pursuing Holiness

Stories like the goth park murder are part of why I get so outraged by the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s attacks on “intolerant” people like Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn who voice opinions critical to Islam and try to define such things as “hate crimes.” (In fact, the HRC is a corrupt and undemocratic scam. But that’s another story.)

This, on the other hand, is an actual crime stemming from intolerance of a different culture: A young goth couple was attacked in a park by a group of teenagers who had been drinking - apparently for no other reason than the way they looked. While I reject the concept of “hate crimes” in general - a crime is a crime, and I don’t believe what you might have been thinking should affect the penalty for your actions - expressing a critical opinion in no way rises to the level of crime. That the HRC is attempting to conflate the two is deplorable.

In a statement released after the verdict, Sylvia Lancaster said her daughter’s death was a tragedy to both the family and wider society. She said: “First, obviously, I have lost an adoring and adorable daughter. She was intelligent, brave, courageous and had a social conscience beyond her years.

“Her death has also ruined the lives of those responsible as well as the lives of their families.

“On a wider scale, it is a tragedy for a society which, in the past, has prided itself on its tolerance.

“I am convinced Sophie was killed simply because of the way she looked. She did not necessarily conform to the ideals of those who took her life.”

written by Laura