NationStates Jolt Archive

Jimmy Swaggart Vs. the CRTC

Jimmy Swaggart doesn't like homosexuals. That's hardly news to anyone even cursorily aware of the American televangelist. But according to an article on the CBC website, Jimmy's professed dislike has crossed the CRTC's line and entered into the realm of hate-crime.

On the subject of bedroom eyes, Jimmy Swaggart sez, "If one (homosexual) ever looks at me like that, I'm going to kill him and tell God he died." Interesting that Swaggart feels that he somehow possesses the power to hoodwink God. Last time I heard, killing is a Sin. I can't imagine that lying to God about it (saying he simply 'died') really balances the Karmic books terribly well.

So the broadcaster involved (Omni 1, a multicultural station) smartly aired a public apology soon after this occurred. I believe that public figures such as Mr. Swaggart should be prosecuted to the full extent the law will allow in a case such as this - call it 'entertainment' all you like, but many people out there may choose to act on the words and opinions of Mr. Swaggart and other televangelists. When human life is held in such open contempt, we as a society must move to prevent tragedy, and stand firm against the dissemination of hate.

Personally, I'd like to see Mr. Swaggart effectively denied a Canadian audience - at least until such time as he and his handlers become more proficient at vetting his pronouncements. And if Swaggart persists, who knows? I might just get my wish! After all, I don't really expect him to police himself...if anything, he might just crank up the hateful rhetoric a notch or two.

Read about it here...

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/06/14/Arts/swaggart050614.html

...or just move your eyes left, right and down. I've cut and pasted the article here.
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Televangelist breached guidelines: ruling
Last Updated Tue, 14 Jun 2005 19:00:44 EDT
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When televangelist Jimmy Swaggart said he would kill a homosexual who looked at him romantically, he violated the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' ethics code, an industry panel has ruled.

Swaggart made the remarks during a discussion of same-sex marriage on a Sept. 12 broadcast that was carried by the Toronto station Omni 1.

"I'm going to be blunt and plain: If one ever looks at me like that, I'm going to kill him and tell God he died," Swaggart said.

Swaggart also said that politicians who are undecided on the issue of same-sex marriage "all oughta have to marry a pig and live with him forever."

The comments prompted a complaint that was filed with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, the arm of the CAB that deals with viewer feedback.

A few days later, Swaggart backtracked, saying the expression was a figurative one. He said he has used the expression "killing someone and telling God he died" in jest thousands of times.

"If it's an insult, I certainly didn't think it was, but if they are offended, then I certainly offer an apology," he told the Associated Press.

The council ruled that Omni 1 was entitled to broadcast Swaggart's views opposing same-sex marriage, as well as his criticism of politicians who take no stand.

But it added that the station breached the CAB's human rights and religious programming clauses "on the basis of Swaggart's suggestion that killing someone would be the proper way for one to respond to homosexuality."

The panel said the debate over same-sex marriage is "more than legitimate" and "democratically essential" but said Swaggart's "negativity" was "visceral."

"The problem of Swaggart's language is, in a sense, exacerbated by the fact that he, as a religious figure, can be presumed to set an example for his community. It would, therefore, be easy for someone to infer that this might be the proper way for a Christian of this sect (or possibly of any sect) to respond to homosexuality," the ruling added.

Omni 1 issued an on-air apology shortly after the broadcast, so it is not required to broadcast the council's decision.

Both the CAB and CBSC are non-governmental organizations.
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I might even make a poll on this one...

Well, Free speech...

[U]Swaggart also said that politicians who are undecided on the issue of same-sex marriage "all oughta have to marry a pig and live with him forever."


The problem with "marry a pig and live with him forever" is that Swaggart is already married (therefore precluding anyone being able to marry him), and that he won't live forever. And for that last part, we can be eternally grateful.

Couldn't we just use the not-withstanding clause to keep douches like him from spreading their message of hate? :p

We allow idiots to get on-air audience here in the US.

Sooner or later, the broadcaster notices that no one is buying advertisement time, and no one is watching their channel.

People exposed to idiots on a regular basis get pretty good at tuning them out.

Well, Free speech...

Maybe in the States, but in Canada 'twas decided upon some time ago now, that Freedom of Speech does not extend to the dissemination of hate. It is, in my opinion, a reasonable limitation.

So, assuming televangelists want to continue broadcasting to Canadian homes, they'll have to check their vitriol at the door.

Works for me.

Maybe in the States, but in Canada 'twas decided upon some time ago now, that Freedom of Speech does not extend to the dissemination of hate. It is, in my opinion, a reasonable limitation.

So, assuming televangelists want to continue broadcasting to Canadian homes, they'll have to check their vitriol at the door.

Works for me.


Define hate. I say let him rant and let the ratings plummet. There's nothing that will convince more people that Swaggart is an idiot. Put him on TV and it does more damage to his reputation than anything we can say.

Define hate. I say let him rant and let the ratings plummet. There's nothing that will convince more people that Swaggart is an idiot. Put him on TV and it does more damage to his reputation than anything we can say.
Yeah...I'm a bit worried about how we go about defining hate.

His words are definately hateful...

...but where do we draw the line?

(In this case, I would consider that comment about "telling God he died" to be a threat of violence)

I'm not too worried. Not at this point in time. Maybe I'd feel differently if there was a concerted effort afoot to subvert our anti-hate legislation, but I'm just not seeing it.

'Til then, I appreciate it - more than I appreciate someone's right to inflict me with oppressive horseshit.

Reminds me a lot of Fred Phelps...

I read about this fellow Phelps in another thread.

Sounds like a really nasty piece of work.

I read about this fellow Phelps in another thread.

Sounds like a really nasty piece of work.

No kidding.

Read, and be disgusted:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church_%28Topeka%29

Fred Phelps is one of the most evil men I have ever seen. He is the epitome of blasphemy.

No kidding.

Fred Phelps is one of the most evil men I have ever seen. He is the epitome of blasphemy.

And makes Swaggart look good by comparison, I must say. I think Phelps especially makes a damn good case for a reasonable limit on "freedom of speech"...no-one should feel entitled to disseminate hateful, socially-destructive messages designed to instill fear, loathing, and a plethora of other negative emotions and values in society.

IIRC hate speech has only resulted in action when it was encouraging violent actions against a group. In that case, it was definitively hate speech. But, as you can see, we took our law with a grain of salt. Nothing was done because the TV station apologized (having realized that the speech went too far). Only repeated offense can trigger some kind of action.

Well, Free speech...

Free speech is free speech, but saying something controversial without a counter-comment can make an audience believe such nonsense is the truth. That's why if neo-nazis hold a protest there wil be counter-protests against them. The ability to counter-protest IS free speech and is pretty much a necessity. You can't have real freedom (speech or otherwise) without objectivity. Look at what happened in China and North Korea when they censor out information regarding democracy and propagandize that the communist government there is all-knowing and superior to all other forms of government to the point of being god-like.

The fact that Canada has arranged its religious programming in a cultural mosaic rather than the system in the US where it seems a religion gets its own channel is something to be admired. It makes it possible to be more critical of an individual's belief instead of being indoctrinated into a single point of view.

'Til then, I appreciate it - more than I appreciate someone's right to inflict me with oppressive horseshit.
Good point.

Swaggart?????

He is still around? I thought he was too busy slappying the monkey with prostitutes. ;)

Only repeated offense can trigger some kind of action.

Which is kinda the beauty of it, from my point of view. I don't expect Mr. Swaggart to be capable of restraining himself in future, not when he's in full blather mode. Besides, if no-one calls him out on his BS Stateside, there's a damn good chance his message of hate will carry through to international broadcasts.

Basically, he can't just thumb his nose at the laws of sovereign nations. If he wants to remain in the game, he has to play by our rules, something I'm really not expecting he'll do. I wonder how many infractions it'll take for his feel-bad vibe to be given the heave-ho by the CRTC?

Which is kinda the beauty of it, from my point of view. I don't expect Mr. Swaggart to be capable of restraining himself in future, not when he's in full blather mode. Besides, if no-one calls him out on his BS Stateside, there's a damn good chance his message of hate will carry through to international broadcasts.

Basically, he can't just thumb his nose at the laws of sovereign nations. If he wants to remain in the game, he has to play by our rules, something I'm really not expecting he'll do. I wonder how many infractions it'll take for his feel-bad vibe to be given the heave-ho by the CRTC?
From what I understood of the article, mr. Swaggart was a guest speaker on an opinion show in a panel about gay marriage. As such, it would be kinda hard for the CRTC to inflict sanctions.

Besides, when the CRTC does give a station the heave-ho, there's a national flak about the right of free speech, such as when they refused the renew the license of a Quebec City radio station. (with good reasons, I might add)

What the Hell, I can't just sit back and let Sinuhue have all of page one of General.

*Bumps*

So it the Bible, Torah and Quran illegal up there in Canada then. Or is hate speech selectively enforced?

So it the Bible, Torah and Quran illegal up there in Canada then. Or is hate speech selectively enforced?

Haven't heard, though I very much doubt it. The Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)doesn't field too many calls from angered readers, though.

Usually it's TV viewers or radio listeners...

Haven't heard, though I very much doubt it. The Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)doesn't field too many calls from angered readers, though.

Usually it's TV viewers or radio listeners...

What has that got to do with hate speech laws?

What has that got to do with hate speech laws?

In the context of this thread, "Jimmy Swaggart Vs. the CRTC", I think it has everything to do with it.

I.e., this is not a thread pertaining to hate speech laws in general. This is a thread pertaining to Mr. Swaggart (and more to the point, Omni 1, the broadcaster) running afoul of the CRTC.

That's what it has to do with it.

What does bringing up the holy books of the Big Three religions have to do with anything?

Some people need a good slap :\ (although I'm so passive I don't think I would ever administer it). I'm fairly sure that if you overlook the fact that I don't believe in god and am not a big fan of the bible I would instantly be a better Christian than Swaggart. I'm also fairly sure that Jesus promoted the love not the killin'. Maybe Mr. Swaggart missed that part of the bible.

What does bringing up the holy books of the Big Three religions have to do with anything?

Only that, in Canada, they are apparently exempt from the hate crimes laws.

(And I think describing them as the "big three" is incredibly euro-centric).

So it the Bible, Torah and Quran illegal up there in Canada then. Or is hate speech selectively enforced?
No they aren't. :rolleyes:

Any message of hate is illegal, whether it is anti-semitic, anti-gay, sexist, racist, anti-any group... However, do NOT take this to mean that yoy can't speak out against any group; you just can't use hatred and fear as a tool, nor can you propogate this through any medium. In other words, we mandate respect.

Individual insults are fine (usually)... I can get away with calling an coloured disabled jew "a stupid asshole" if she/he gets in my way. I can't call them a "stingy money-loving kike" - that would be anti-semitism. That's the kicker; you can insult someone here, but you can't racially or ethnically insult them.... (uh... that makes me sound like such a bitch doesn't it?!)

Only that, in Canada, they are apparently exempt from the hate crimes laws.

(And I think describing them as the "big three" is incredibly euro-centric).

Well, good luck on that. I'm talking about Jimmy Swaggart and the CRTC, though.

I don't think it's particularly 'euro-centric' to refer to Christianity, Judaism and Islam as 'the Big Three' religions. Only one of them has its' spiritual centre in Europe. And all three are worldwide religions.

http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

I don't usually tend to think in hard numbers, but I looked at the listed religions by population, and was surprised to see so few Jews. I'd hoped to be only slightly off the mark by referring to them collectively as 'the Big Three', but it would seem my estimates for the number of practising Jews worldwide were realllllly off. Only 14 million Jews worldwide? Man, that screws everything up.

Okay then: the 'Big Two and their midget buddy'.

Better?

Swaggart also said that politicians who are undecided on the issue of same-sex marriage "all oughta have to marry a pig and live with him forever."

Well, this may sound harsh, but considering the standards he has for his own marriage (http://www.livejournal.com/users/eyeno/211860.html), a pig isn't really such a big leap from what he thinks people are likely to do voluntarily.

Well, Free speech...
no such thing with hate speech or public death threats