g-rh@cca.UUCP (Richard Harter) (03/22/86)
[.... This line was censored by the line eater ....] Recently there has been a bit of argument back and forth about freedom of speech and the Zundel case. Here are some thoughts on the matter. Suppose that some individual, whom we will call Z, publishes a series of pamphlets attacking some group and that these pamplets are hate-filled, defamatory, and provocative. What is to be done about this, and who is to do it? The Canadian solution seems to be to have a law against this sort of thing. The objection is raised that this is censorship. Now if Z were attacking me as an individual, I would have, in principle, recourse. I could sue him, or I could get an injunction. I note as a practical matter that I might not be able to do this; if I were poor and ignorant and Z were wealthy I might not be able to afford the associated legal costs. Now suppose that Z is attacking a class of people and that I happen to be a member of that class. I, as an individual, might be hard pressed to display damages. On the other hand my class of people might suffer considerable damage collectively. Again, in principle, someone could enter a class action suit against Z. But who is this someone? By what right do they enter a suit against Z? If there is an organization devoted to defending the interests of my class, then they might act. But what if there is no such organization? The whole matter is fraught with difficulties. Now a possible solution is to have an agency that acts for groups being defamed that are not in a position to act for themselves. This seems to be what the Canadian law is an approximation of. When Z publishes his slurs, agency X gets an injunction against him. This solution is far from ideal; we are relying on agency X but agency X might not be all that reliable. They are now in the position of judging who should be protected and who should not. It has been said that freedom of speech is paramount, that in a free interchange of ideas lies will be exposed for what they are. I submit that this is not the issue. The issue is one of recourse. If you defame me as an individual, I have recourse. If Zundel had attacked an individual in the way that he attacked the Jews, that individual would have had recourse. But when someone attacks a group, where is the recourse? Richard Harter, SMDS Inc.