In case you didn’t yet think that our neighbor to the north has become a bastion of tyranny acting in the name of liberal “tolerance” and “equality”, here’s another story that might make you think so: a Catholic Canadian teen, a mere high schooler, has been suspended from school and arrested because of his religious views.
That would be Josh Alexander, 16 years old, who went to St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Renfrew, Ontario. Then he was suspended for protesting trans bathrooms, with the school telling him, according to the Epoch Times, that his presence would be “detrimental to the physical and mental well-being” of transgender students. Adding more details, the Epoch Times reported that:
He hasn’t attended school since November, when he was first suspended. He had organized a protest against transgender students using the girls’ washrooms. He had also said in class discussions that there are only two, immutable genders.
When his suspension was lifted the beginning of January, he was instead “excluded” by the principal, which has the same effect as suspension but is considered non-disciplinary. He was told this week that he will be excluded for the rest of the school year, and he’s not sure if that will end up extending into the next school year as well.
Commenting on the situation, Mr. Alexander skewered the woke idea of suppression of free speech to stop people from being “offended,” saying that “offence is obviously defined by the offended.” In his words:
“Offence is obviously defined by the offended. I expressed my religious beliefs in class and it spiraled out of control. Not everybody’s going to like that. That doesn’t make me a bully. It doesn’t mean I’m harassing anybody. They express their beliefs and I express mine. Mine obviously don’t fit the narrative.”
Similarly, his lawyer characterized the school’s accusations of bullying as absurd to reasonable people, saying:
“Obviously, he doesn’t actually bully them as that term would be defined by … reasonable people. He’s not going to seek them out and call them names and make fun of them. But he does express his views about what these people say and about what they believe and about what they’re doing. And he expresses them online, and he expresses them in the class.”
The principal of the high school said that he is not able to comment on the case.
Sadly, that’s not even the end of it. The Catholic teen, already persecuted for his faith by his school, was then arrested, as he announced on Twitter, saying “I have just been arrested and charged at my Catholic highschool for attending class after being excluded for indicating my intent to adhere to my religious beliefs.”
I have just been arrested and charged at my Catholic highschool for attending class after being excluded for indicating my intent to adhere to my religious beliefs. pic.twitter.com/vTkaSoTnFp
— Josh Alexander (@officialJosh_A) February 6, 2023
The brave young man plans on fighting his suspension not by backing down and hiding his religious beliefs, but instead by escalating things and appealing his original suspension to the provincial human rights tribunal. That appeal would bring his case before a school board panel.
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1
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