Minneapolis Hate Crime Hotline- Perspective From The Left and Right

Last year Minneapolis, Minnesota- home to many Somali Muslims one of which is newly elected Democratic Rep Ilhan Omar- created a hate-crime/harassment hotline.

"Since the general election, many of us have experienced, witnessed firsthand or heard of actions of: racism, xenophobia, sexism and bigotry directed at people here and in cities across the United States," Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights Director Velma Korbel wrote in a statement posted on the city's website. "In no uncertain terms, hate-motivated speech and actions have no place in Minneapolis nor will they be tolerated."

Not surprisingly, the left and the right have diametrically opposing opinions on what amounts to a snitch hotline for the overly sensitive, accessible through the city's 311 hot line  service. We all know that the only people who become super offended by any criticism of their religion are the Muslims, and it was no doubt created with them in mind, probably spurred on by Council On American Islamic Relations (CAIR).  But the only people who appear to be concerned are those of us who realize that this kind of action will eventually lead to the further erosion of free speech. We are already being censored and censured on social media outlets for even mentioning the word "Shariah". I'm not talking about speech that incites physical violence against anyone, that is an abomination, but criticism is not a hate crime, though it seems to be headed that way if the lefties have their way.

So, if you google, you will find a slew of the usual conservative voices opining about the "Shariah hot line", and then you have the alternative weekly left-leaning rag Minneapolis City Pages calling Shariah Law a "myth", and excoriating those of us who think it's not a myth and potentially the beginning of something dangerous.

Pete Kotz of City Pages wrote in response to Jihad Watch claiming that“This is a helpline for Muslims to report incidents of Islamophobia, including, no doubt, rude remarks that are not criminal, and accurate analysis of the motivating ideology behind jihad terror activity.”:

The hotline, of course, does nothing of the sort. People can still speak freely from the depths of their anal cavity, peddling all the theological nuttery they can slobber. It just can’t rise to the level of a crime. Hence the name “hate crime hotline.” The myth has already been debunked by Snopes and Politifact. But the righteous are not easily deterred by accuracy or cognitive limitations.

It might not now, but no matter how much he mocks those who believe, we don't know for sure what will happen when we lose the ability to freely criticize.

I remember