[Bodah]

Quote:

A Canadian stand-up comedian will face a human rights tribunal hearing after a woman complained she and her friends faced a "tirade of homophobic and sexist comments" while attending one of his shows.

In a decision released this week, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruled there is enough evidence to hear the case of Vancouver woman Lorna Pardy against Toronto comedian Guy Earle. Zesty's Restaurant in Vancouver, where the May 22, 2007, show took place, was also named in the complaint. The restaurant has since closed.

Pardy could not be reached Wednesday for comment. However, the tribunal's decision says she alleges she was discriminated against over her sex and sexual orientation when Earle made public comments "intended to humiliate her." The ruling says Earle and Pardy "have very different versions of who was to blame for the incidents, how it came about and how it escalated." There is also a dispute over what role alcohol played in the incident.

Canadian stand-up comic, Guy Earle, who will face a human rights tribunal hearing in British Columbia after Lorna Pardy, a lesbian, complained she and her friends faced homophobic and sexists insults during one of his shows in Toronto.

Mr. Earle does, however, admit that he used comments which he now regrets," says the tribunal. "Those admitted comments may go to establish discrimination."

Reached Wednesday, Earle said he was the show's MC when Pardy and two of her friends walked in, sat in the booth closest to the stage and began heckling him and other comics.

"Two of them started making out, flipping me the bird and saying I hated lesbians," he said.

Earle was reluctant to repeat the remarks that led to the human rights complaint.

"Everybody wants to know what I said, and I invite people to come see me on stage because you can't take it out of context. And that's exactly what's happened here.

"The reader or the listener or whatever has no feeling for the environment of the comedy show that is triple-X, edgiest-show-in-town, controversial and offensive, so when you walk in there you're making an agreement to be a party to this controversial show."

Earle said Pardy misconstrued some of his remarks and took others out of context.

"You just change one little verb and you take it out of context and all of a sudden it's time for me to drink a glass of hemlock," he said. "They were drunk, they were being jerks and I was very rude and visceral to them because, like I said, if you have a heckler, what you want to do is put them in their place by offending them, so I tried to hit them where it hurts and the only thing I had to key on was the fact that they were lesbians.

"I don't care if they're lesbians, heterosexuals, homosexuals or giraffes."

Earle said the complaint is an attack on comedians' right to perform.

"I would never have expected it would get escalated to a philosophical battle."

He added it's been more than 40 years since controversial U.S. comic Lenny Bruce was jailed for obscenity over his comic material - "and we're still fighting the same battle. I know it's a fight I can never win. But I've got to keep fighting."

Earle is holding a benefit concert on July 19 in Toronto to raise money for his legal fees.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news ... 075a3766e2

Guy Earl's version of events. (warning graphic language)

[Zipperfish]

This ain't new. Sam Kinnison, Andrew Dice Clay--prob'ly a bunch of others ran afoul of the politically correct in their day. Part of what a comic does is to deliberately push the boundaries.

I was in hot water with some human rights groups a few years back regarding a joke--not mine. I, by virtue of my position at the time, had to stand before a tribunal on the issue--a university student court, to be specific. Apparently, our crime was so heinous we were not allowed to have legal representation. They made me read the joke, out loud, to the court (it's an old joke, not very funny, and rascist). No one laughed. I said, "Maybe you had to be there." Boy did I get in trouble for that one! Completely worth it though.

[hwacker]

Canada is fast becoming the laughing stock of the world.

[BartSimpson]

The Human Rights Commissions in Canada have precious little to do with anyone's actual rights.

[Thanos]

Zipperfish wrote:

This ain't new. Sam Kinnison, Andrew Dice Clay--prob'ly a bunch of others ran afoul of the politically correct in their day. Part of what a comic does is to deliberately push the boundaries.

I was in hot water with some human rights groups a few years back regarding a joke--not mine. I, by virtue of my position at the time, had to stand before a tribunal on the issue--a university student court, to be specific. Apparently, our crime was so heinous we were not allowed to have legal representation. They made me read the joke, out loud, to the court (it's an old joke, not very funny, and rascist). No one laughed. I said, "Maybe you had to be there." Boy did I get in trouble for that one! Completely worth it though.

Dice Still Rules! And the sad part of it is that you and your buds even had to show up in front of a kangaroo court in the first place. From what I remember of my first and only year of university is that most of the students were actually, y'know, normal people. So how did it get to the stage that all these humourless reactionary left-wing Puritans ended up in charge of the schools in the first place?

[Tricks]

Haha, we do way worse in our comedy groups at university. This is terrible. HRC is terrible.

[lily]

I'm not a fan of Andrew Dice Clay and others of his ilk.... which would be why I don't go to their shows.

First rule of live comedy... if you sit in the front row and/or heckle the comedian, the gloves are off.

Everyone knows this.

[tritium]

Free speech covers all expression; it does not stop because the speech in question may offend or insult someone.

Canada's Human Rights Commission is being used to target Conservative thinking and free expression.

Human Rights Commission administers the Canadian Human Rights Act, they are not lawyers, or judges. They hold no legal background or education.

If the Human Rights Commission attacks you, sue them. Attack this Liberal sympathizers with a law suit.

http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgu ... andar.html

So this is what is all the fuss about..

[dino_bobba_renno]

Holy christ, does the HRC just go around looking for a bad rep? Man, if you're going to go to a stand up comic and heckle the guy you should be prepared to get thrashed. I guess they're trying to make this into some kind of lesbian Michael Richards thing but it really isn't going to come off like that.

[SprCForr]

It's down to comedians. Who's next?

[dino_bobba_renno]

SprCForr wrote:

It's down to comedians. Who's next?

I was just thinking the same thing. First they went after journalist, then comedians and next? Maybe the Catholic Church, would make sense at the rate their going.

[ridenrain]

Again, read Huxley's brave new world.
Canada dosen't end with a boot on a human face but a whole lot of well meaning people who just want to get along. We want to get along so badly that we surender everything to the government that will promice us a live of leasure and calm. News becomes infotainment and what really matters is scorned or washed away with cynical humor.

[SprCForr]

dino_bobba_renno wrote:

I was just thinking the same thing. First they went after journalist, then comedians and next? Maybe the Catholic Church, would make sense at the rate their going.

I think they've already been pulled in.

[commanderkai]

SprCForr wrote:

dino_bobba_renno wrote:

I was just thinking the same thing. First they went after journalist, then comedians and next? Maybe the Catholic Church, would make sense at the rate their going.

I think they've already been pulled in.

Yeah, they have been. I think true science fiction writers are next for not adding enough blacks or something.

[Thanos]

commanderkai wrote:

SprCForr wrote:

dino_bobba_renno wrote:

I was just thinking the same thing. First they went after journalist, then comedians and next? Maybe the Catholic Church, would make sense at the rate their going.

I think they've already been pulled in.

Yeah, they have been. I think true science fiction writers are next for not adding enough blacks or something.

Fantasy writers first though. They should all get royal shit for not having enough gay hobbits or halflings or boggies or whatever those fuckin' hairy-toed midgets are called.