George Galloway spoke in Vancouver tonight, and as usual, he brought a whole bunch of controversy with him. The Vancouver event was organized by the StopWar coalition, a group that originally formed to oppose the U.S.-led Iraq invasion. Under this guise, they attracted the support of a number of prominent people in the Vancouver area.
All of which was fine, until StopWar decided to sponsor a hate monger like Galloway. The fiery, often belligerent former British MP last caused a stir in Canada back in March of 2009, when the Border Services Agency denied him entry to the country because of his links to Hamas. Galloway called the ban “idiotic,” despite the fact that earlier that month, he had personally donated 25,000 British pounds to Hamas. Other Galloway highlights include his support for the faux re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his unabashed support for Hezbollah.
As a result, well-meaning people unknowingly had their names associated with him. David Suzuki, an environmental activist, and Vancouver politician Spencer Chandra Herbert are just two who have now asked to be removed from StopWar’s list. In addition, the Senior Minister at St. Andrews-Wesley United Church — the venue for the event — said he was unaware that his church was being used to host such an explosive speaker (for the full statement, click here).
I am sure that all these people share my belief in free speech and open debate. However, Galloway does not foster reasoned discourse, nor does he contribute anything helpful to the challenges facing the Middle East. When it comes to these sensitive issues, there is simply no room for someone who inflames without informing.
