Debate Squelched by Canadian School
Canada's Dalhousie University has cancelled a debate between the head of its black history department and an American who describes himself as a "race realist."
Canada's Dalhousie University has cancelled a debate between the head of its black history department and an American who describes himself as a "race realist." The decision came after university officials in Halifax said they had looked further into the background of Jared Taylor, editor of American Renaissance magazine.
Dalhousie officials cited the "controversy surrounding the issue" after newspapers reported that Taylor's January appearance was being publicized on Stormfront, the largest white supremacist web forum in America. Saying that hearing Taylor's views "would not be a useful way to explore the topic," they instead scheduled his erstwhile debating partner, Professor David Divine, to simply give a lecture on "Racial Diversity: North America's Strength or Weakness?"
Taylor, whose Virginia-based magazine specializes in eugenics and the alleged links between race and intelligence, said he was "absolutely astounded."
He was not alone. James Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, told the National Post newspaper that abhorrent speech should not be censored, but instead answered with criticism and debate. "We're always concerned when a university shuts down debate like this," he said.
Taylor is a cosmopolitan racist, shunning epithets and abusive terms in favor of the language of academia. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, however, he was blunt enough, saying the storm showed that "[w]hen blacks are left entirely to their own devices, western civilization — any kind of civilization — disappears."
After his Jan. 15 talk was cancelled, Taylor promised to come to Halifax anyway and hold a public forum the day after Divine's speech. But officials warned that Taylor could be forbidden entry to Canada if he is coming to "spread hatred."
