Free speech bad

I was outraged not only by E.B.'s aggressive comments [Letters, March 27], but especially by the fact that your paper, which I have respect for, has given this guy the space and opportunity to express such garbage!

I am well aware that the Mirror promotes liberty of speech and is not one to censor. On the other hand, the opinions and articles that you publish, whether the readers agree or not on their content, should have a point and should make us think, not want to throw up.

Pussies, queers, jealous cowards, incompetent, miserable failures, inadequate, lowlife, cowardly punks, faggots. These are the terms this man used to so brilliantly tell us off. This language in no way expresses an intelligent opinion worthy of being read. I would wish that you would have the judgement not to sink so low to this level of mediocrity by giving it the privilege of being read. Pure garbage, I say.

And to the author of that letter, I would just like to say that Canada is a peaceful country, and that we wish for the rest of the world the right to peaceful living also. When conflict arises, we don't jump the gun. We discuss: with words, with respect.

And we don't try to impose our values to the rest of the planet as if it all belonged to us. We try to evolve, as a nation but also as human individuals.

If that makes us all faggots, well so be it. I am so damn proud to be a faggot if it means that I respect the rest of human kind. And by the way, the word is gay, not faggot. Oh, and yeah, it's okay to be gay in Canada. So give it a rest.

» Annabelle Dupras

Free speech good

I'm a recent immigrant to this wonderful and peaceful country and concerned about E.B.'s Angry American letter. I think that some people, mostly Americans, behave in this aggressive and sadly bitter way because they live in a desperate, decaying society.

Despite their anti-democratic attitude, though, their thoughts have a place in this great democracy.

» P.D. Esoj

Staff questions

I am in dismay over the Mirror hiring Peter Arnett, a traitor to those who had supported him. You can be against the war - nothing wrong with that sentiment - but to encourage a traitor to the American people by hiring him turns we Americans against anything that you may be associated with, and I for one will pursue a lobbying process against anything you stand for. As the President said, "If you are not for us then you are against us," and we must not allow another 9-11.

» James Adams

[Ed: Wrong Mirror]

Is there any chance that your regular independent contractor and wannabe journalist , Ken "The Putz" Hechtman, is a human shield in Iraq? I sure hope so !

» David Rothschild

[Ed: No, and he's not dead either. See the full story on pg. 5]

Americans not that stupid!

Nice try, Mirror, you can't fool me! You publish that rant by someone who calls himself "E.B., American," and you expect us to believe this was really from someone in the USA? Nonsense, no American could be that stupid, yet capable of writing.

Not only does E.B. use profane and homophobic language, but he is angry about dissent in the country that believes it invented the right to hold and support dissenting opinions. No good American would be that hypocritical would they?

He calls Canadians cowards. Get serious! This is the country that was in two World Wars from the onset, won victories that greater nations couldn't, made the greatest per capita contributions to those wars, and has the balls to stand up to the self-appointed determiner of right and wrong for the entire world, the leader of the only superpower, George W. Bush. Cowards? This guy hasn't the guts to sign his own name!

Then he threatens to invade us and wipe us out. It was tried twice by the USA in 1775 and 1812. Didn't work. This is the thanks we get for helping the USA in most of its recent wars, including Afghanistan, where we were rewarded by having four of our soldiers killed by the U.S. military with barely an apology? What other thanks do we get for our help? Repeated trade embargoes that are contrary to NAFTA and WTO agreements.

No, no, Mirror. This was not a real American. I know Americans. I am often in their country, my sons have dual citizenship, one of my grandmothers was an American. Americans are not this ungrateful, inconsiderate, profane, homophobic and ignorant.

This was really from one of those few Canadians who doesn't just object to some of the things the U.S. government does, he is truly anti-American and wants us to believe that an American wrote such a stupid letter and is representative of the people of that country.

Come on... confess! I'm right aren't I?

» Ken Frankel

Missing body

How come your Alternative Academy Award nominations didn't include Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in the Best Female Bod category for her work (and her body) in Femme Fatale? She's one of the most - if not the most - beautiful woman on the planet.

» François Deslauriers-Lambert

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