If students held a protest to say someone shouldn't be allowed to speak, made threats online (admittedly they probably weren't serious, but they were made) and showed up in such numbers that someone's safety couldn't be guaranteed, then that is hardly allowing her to speak. Coulter's people made the call, but it was a response to the danger of the protesters. I'm technically free to open boxes that say CAUTION: HIGH VOLTAGE, but its hardly a decision with a choice.

Peaceful protests don't lead to safety concerns.

@A.Marlowe: I am going to throw a paint can at your head if you go to class at any time next week.

Are you going to class next week? Probably.

Ok... that was stupid. lol.

But seriously, I am not questioning Ann's right to speak, I'm simply indicating that the students have a right to peaceful protest as well. Nothing I have read has indicated that the protest was not peaceful, so I don't see why this is such a huge issue.

I haven't heard anything about online threats. I looked it up but I can't find anything.

I don't get the logic here: So if they showed up and assembled on campus because of their sheer numbers its their personal fault that they due to their numbers became a "safety concern"? Should they have only sent only 100 members(assuming here that the 1500 people were all organized by one party/group) so as to not become a safety concern?

Originally Posted by Kathy2

I haven't heard anything about online threats. I looked it up but I can't find anything.

From a couple of the articles I read, the police/security advised her people against her speaking, due to the mood of the crowd, and threats made. I don't know how true this is, or what threats were made, but it wasn't just her people being paranoid; it was the authorities advising them to cancel. At least according to a couple papers. I stopped looking into it pretty quickly, since I really don't give a shit :p

Originally Posted by huzaifa47

I don't get the logic here: So if they showed up and assembled on campus because of their sheer numbers its their personal fault that they due to their numbers became a "safety concern"? Should they have only sent only 100 members(assuming here that the 1500 people were all organized by one party/group) so as to not become a safety concern?

You can't blame the protesters because they got a lot of people to come out, that part isn't their fault. But large amounts of people = a higher probability that one of those people is a crazy person, and that gets taken into account by security officials. The numbers wouldn't be a safety concern if everyone was peaceful and respectful, but as was stated people were talking on facebook about disrupting her speaking by throwing things at her.

You can blame them for the fact that they were protesting her presence, not her ideas or statements.

Jack, if I did think you were serious, and that you knew my schedule, I probably would avoid going to class. I assume paint cans hurt! :p

Originally Posted by A.Marlowe

Jack, if I did think you were serious, and that you knew my schedule, I probably would avoid going to class. I assume paint cans hurt! :p

Don't worry, I would never do that to someone personally.

But, I do know some people who know some people who throw paint cans at people for the right price (charged on a scale, depending on the person, and whether you want the can to be full or empty).

Then by that logic, shouldn't our "consititutional right" to protest be taken away if there's ALWAYS that one person who's a serious threat?

Originally Posted by A.Marlowe

You can blame them for the fact that they were protesting her presence, not her ideas or statements.

Yes but they were protesting her "presence" because her presence entails her spewing "ideas & statements" that are absolutely nonsense rage triggers and as I mentioned before are intentionally racist. She is also a self proclaimed polemicist and has hardly claimed that she is simply trying to argue on the basis of rational arguments or facts.

At the end of the day she is earning a truckload of money for each talk she does and the more controversy she creates the higher her rate becomes. The reaction of the people in Ottawa & UWO isn't definitely a first, she has had similar reactions in the past and people throw stuff at her(Including a pie). She Knows very well what the reaction to her camels statement would be and it was a calculated attempt to stir up a media storm.

Sadly though she can bank on liberals/libertarians like you to champion her as a the messiah of "free speech" and defend her while she rakes in all the money Its all a rational economic game for her.

If I was there to hear Ann speak, I would be pissed that a bunch of students didn't let her. Because there were people there that wanted to hear her speak! What about their rights? Or wait...are they bad evil people too so they don't have that right?

Keep in mind though, if people hadn't been protesting her speaking, no one would need to defend her, and this whole ordeal wouldn't have brought her back into the limelight.

I think she's entertaining, but I agree that the less influence she has the better. Boosting her popularity by giving her this chance to be a martyr gives no benefits to us, but a big one to her.

I also don't think anyone is calling her the "messiah of free speech", but people who champion freedom of speech tend to believe that right should extend to everyone. That means racists, NAMBLA, and even Ann Coulter.

A recent news story just proves it would seem as if this entire event has degenerated into the issuing of random threats.

This debacle seems to be nothing more than a distraction from the real issue at hand...the utter absence of civil debate between proponents of liberalism and conservatism and socialism.

Leftists need to stop giving people like Coulter attention and seek out intelligent, rational and competent advocates of conservatism to debate.

How much did the university pay to have Coulter show up and speak when, apparently, so many students didn't want her there?

She like anyone else has the right of speech. She is showing what true islam is. If you read the Qur'an (their book of faith) it specifically says that to go to heaven they must kill Christians and Jews and all people that are not Muslim. When muslims show signs that say "Get ready for the Real Holocaust" against Christians nobody says anything. But when someone is speaking against muslims people make it the biggest deal.

People need to educate themselves on what islam truly is and then decide who they should support.

I am a Christian from Iraq and my people have suffered so much hate and crime from muslims. I wrote an opinion article about a month ago to the sil..if anyone wants to read it the link is below.

http://thesil.ca/blog/opinions/iraq%...n-need-of-aid/

-Maryam