CBC personality tossed off network for "kiddie porn" support
Why do people talk without thinking? We are all guilty of it at one time or another, but there are certain areas where I would like to think I would realize to not say something superbly stupid that gets me fired from my job.
Like, for example, supporting "kiddie porn" (which I do NOT support).
Canadian right-wing pundit Tom Flanagan apparently missed that day of school. Flanagan, a mainstay on CBC's Power and Politics show, was fired today after he said that kiddie porn viewers should not be jailed.
A former chief of staff to Stephen Harper, the Canadian Prime Minister, Flanagan spoke last night at the University of Lethbridge, where he said that viewing child pornography is okay, on the grounds of personal liberty (please note: he did not say he views it).
“I certainly have no sympathy for child molesters, but I do have some grave doubts about putting people in jail because of their taste in pictures,” Flanagan said to the stunned crowd. He added that he did not look up the materials, but had received materials from the “National Man-Boy Love Association” as he somehow ended up on their mailing list. He added that the people arrested for child pornography were jailed but “they do not harm another person.”
CBC quickly removed Flanagan.
The CBC, which frequently has Flanagan on air as a political commentator, said it was ending its association.
“While we support and encourage free speech across the country and a diverse range of voices, we believe Mr. Flanagan's comments to have crossed the line and impacted his credibility as a commentator for us,” said Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor in chief at CBC News.
- Thomas Flanagan
Network:
- CBC
Feb 28th, 2013, 6:27 am
Images courtesy of CBC
tinalessia
Wow, I'm pretty liberal about free speech, but this is unimaginable in my book. Nice post msd85. I once downloaded what I thought was an album of the Stones, turned out to be thousands of photos of underage children. Saying that I was disgusted would be an understatement. Unfortunatley this was around 1998, and I couldn't imagine who to report this to, or even where it had come from. The fact that NAMBLA exists makes me just as sick to my stomach. All of these people should be shipped off to a deserted island and let them figure it out between themselves. Inhumane? Yup , sure is, but they're not human anyway, so it doesn't really matter.
msd85
Wow. I hope the TV business never employs this guy again. I mean, where does he think that child porn comes from? The sky? The people looking at the pictures might not be harming a child directly, but they are certainly supporting the sexual and psychcological abuse inflicted on the kids during the creation of said material. Disgusting.
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