The Not-So-Freedom Report

Good morning.

Way, way back into the mists if history, like a couple of weeks ago, I published a blog post about the Omar Khadr settlement.  At the end of it was a Bonus Round add-on portion concerning Your Fat Friend..,

Ta da!

...an author and genuinely good person on Twitter that is an absolutely phenomenal resource for coming to terms with your own weight and others, and how there's a real, living breathing person there and also how we should all treat each other with understanding.  A recent string of tweets concerning her, and many, many others' experiences at airlines has garnered a lot of publicity and was even mentioned on the Today Show on the 25th.  That's really sweet!  Couldn't have happened to a nicer person.  Please check her out at the Twitter @yrfatfriend.  You'll be glad you did.

Well, anyhow, something that was said on Your Fat Friend's Twitter feed as I was writing about Omar Khadr resonated with me.  The gist of it was that if you see someone getting discriminated against, made fun of, casually or otherwise, and you don't do anything about it, you're complacent.  That hit home with me, so I decided to do something about it.

So, on the evening of July 18th while I was in Calgary on business, I peered into the depths of...

...THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY...

Oh wow.  Remember way back when mice had coiled wires on them like that?

Ugh.

Does that ever make me feel old.

And but so I took to Google and started poking around for a good example good old fashioned internet trolling.  I tell you what, there was lots to choose from, unfortunately.  I came across the videos that...

Mr. Kevin J. Johnston

...had made made concerning now CBC Parliamentary reporter...

...Katie Simpson.

Perfect!  I had seen Katie on the news from time to time, but I had never even heard of Kevin J. before.  Around Mississauga, his "journalism" is...

...kind of a big deal..,

...but outside the Toronto area, not so much.  We have our own rabblerousers here out west.

Bill Whatcott, for example.

This guy.

But there was just something so intriguing about Kevin J. that made me decide that I wanted to write a blog about him.  And then I checked out the Freedom Report.  As I said previously..,

What a gold mine!  I mean, I was just interested in the Katie Simpson thing, but there was wall-to-wall material here.  I've always been of the opinion that the best tactic against bigotry, oppression, etc. is comedy.  Nothing skewers a dictator like a good joke.

For example.

So, I got to...

...researching and preparing an informed opinion on the subject.

As I worked on it, though, I had reservations.  If you've seen the Freedom Report, you'd know that this guy is a serious troll.  There's the chance that if I wrote something on him, he might see it, might get cheesed and turn his sights on me.  Wishful thinking, most likely, but there's the chance nevertheless.  Previously when I went after clowns like...

...Senator Boisvenu...

...I knew that it was more or less just for practicing my own creative writing.  It was likely no one would read or care.  But still, what if..?  Then I thought to myself, no.  I'm writing this to take a stand against a bully like I initially said I would and I prepared myself to repel all boarders and continue on.

I was ready to publish for Monday night when I had found out the news at home on Monday at noon hour.

Boom goes the dynamite.

WHAT IN TARNATION?!

They beat me to it!  I mean, I didn't realize or believe that he was going to be charged with anything, so it surprised the hell out of me!  It was then that it dawned on me...

PUBLISH!

PUBLISH NOW!

WE'LL CLEAN UP THE TYPOS THIS EVENING!

And so I did.

But then, the next morning...

...it went back through my mind that I was still surprised that Kevin J. was charged with anything at all.  I wasn't feeling, say...

...vindication.

I was just plain surprised.  But why?  As I went through the Freedom Report, I mused to myself that the whole site may actually just be satire.  It was over-the-top enough I was wondering for a moment if that was indeed the case.  There are many, many photo shopped Hitler mustaches that seemed God awful childish and almost too blunt to be serious.

I think he yellowed their teeth, too.  Not sure...

Almost, but not quite.  It dawned on my that there was too much sincerity in his approach.  Here's a life lesson.  Quote me on this.

Anyone that has to tell you that they are funny is not funny at all.  They have to tell you that they are funny so that they reassure themselves that you will not conclude that they are serious, which, of course, they are.

Is the site intended to be satire?

No.

Is the site intended to be entertainment?

No.

Is the site intended to be informational?

Yes.

The intent of the Freedom Report is not to be an echo chamber for nationalist, chauvinist thought.  Rather it is targeted towards people of a neutral opinion on the topics discussed.  His whole act is designed to shock the neutral viewer out of their neutrality and into a sympathetic stance.
 

Child molesters?!  Everyone hates child molesters!  And they're trying to stop him from reporting on this?!  Shame!

The viewer is intended to say, "That Kevin J. may be a jerk, but he's got a point" or "Why don't those CBC snobs just give this poor clown five minutes?"  By casting himself as an average slob whose way of life is under attack, he is able generate sympathy from other average slobs just need a little guidance to...

...transform shadows into wolves.

Therein lies the justification for the criminal charges.  It is this manipulation that's at the heart of it. Further, he does quite a lot of work railing against high schools, their school boards and even the students themselves.  That's a no-no.  No functioning society exists that wants its children to be used as tools in either the promotion of or as the object of hatred, and it is reasonable to ask Kevin J. to answer for his tactics.

However, there is a danger in this.  By compelling him to answer for his transgressions, you've now greatly increased the size of his soapbox.  Charging Kevin J. with a hate crime may make a free speech martyr out of someone who is already an experienced huckster attempting to squeeze sympathy from the dispassionate.  Why, the very same day, almost immediately after being released from custody, this popped up:

You just knew this was coming.

It's like he was just waiting for this day.  By arresting and charging him you've now amplified his message.  I didn't know he even existed two weeks ago, and I only learned because I was actively looking for an online jackass to write about.  But now his face is plastered on the national news machine for all to see.

 For my part, I think the Freedom Report is, to quote Rex Stout...

"A sad commentary on the pusillanimous nature of your dreams."

It's a cry for help from someone who feels that they're constantly under attack by society.  Against me, it's harmless.  However, for the sake of everyone hurt, bullied. or (worse) persuaded by this man, I seriously hope that the crown has their act together.  I hope for a conviction because anything less will only strengthen and broaden his ability to do damage.

As always, thank you very much for reading.  Until next time!