Apology for blogging

Ilkka Kokkarinen, the author of the blog Sixteen Volts, has removed all of his old posts and has apologized for blogging. (Steve Sailer seems to have some additional info.)

I wonder if I should also remove all my posts and apologize for having opinions.

Comments

[Spungen]

Accepted. Yeah, his final farewell post (of three) made me feel like a loser for even reading his blog. Damn. It always was hard to tell how serious that guy was, though.

[spungen]

P.S. one of his last posts mentioned how much he liked Calico Cat.

[Kirk]

Outside of this blog, I've never heard of the guy, but it sounds like he's being sent to a sort of "re-education" camp.

As a lit major who has been forced to sit through bogus lectures on "Queer Theory," I can sypathize.

Anyway, I'm not a real fan of blogs. This is a fun little group, but too many of them just regurgitate politics.

[Adam]

I don't know what to think. Maybe he's scared shitless.

[Turkey]

I liked that, in the comments for his final post, one woman connected to his mini-scandal tried to juice a few more drops of remorse cant out of him, unsatisfied with his pitifully abject groveling. It must be very rewarding to be unreflectively sadistic.

[michael vassar]

I assumed that he was being sarcastic. Why would he be scared?

[perroazul del norte]

I assumed that he was being sarcastic. Why would he be scared?

In Canada "insensitive" people can be dragged before Human Rights Tribunals and fined heavily. This is in addition to any problems he may be experiencing at the university or potential problems that may arise involving continuation of his legal immigrant status. Recall that Canada has nothing like the First Amendment.

[GMR]

Ilkka was a Canadian citizen, so I don't think he could be deported... I don't know exactly what happened. In his final days of blogging, he said some feminist had quoted some things out of context and he wondered if there'd be some sort of scandal akin to what was in the Tom Wolfe book, I am Charlotte Simmons.

A student newspaper at Ryerson then started discussing Ilkka's views, and then all of the sudden, all of his archives were gone, to be replaced with the now famous post.

There are now 3 posts: Ilkka did two more further clarifying his position. I'm not sure what happened exactly, as I don't live in Toronto, know Ilkka personally or go to Ryerson. However, what appears to have happened is that his wife went back and read some of the posts and wasn't too impressed with what Ilkka was saying, and she may have been more instrumental in stopping Ilkka's comments about feminists, lesbians, third worlders, etc.

Anyway, it's of course his choice, but when he first closed down his blog, he certainly gave all impressions that it was because of some political correctness run amok. There may be some of that as well, but all anyone out here in the blogosphere can do is speculate...

[David Alexander]

Recall that Canada has nothing like the First Amendment.

Instead, they have the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In particular, Section 2 is what determines prescribes the right to freedom of thought.

[David Alexander]

I'm actually amazed that Ilkka was married. Aren't most of the men who write about such topics either divorced or hopelessly single beta males?

[Spungen]

or, guys whose wives don't pay attention to them.

I heard somewhere that the Finns were the shyest, quietest people in Europe. I kind of figured the blog was some sort of alter-ego manifestation.

[Spungen]

"So I will leave this post as the tombstone for this ugly little blog that brought out the vilest in me and has now left me in deep shame for the rest of my life."

A *fourth* farewell post! Goddamn ... it's like I helped ruin the man's life by finding his blog amusing.

[The Superfluous Man]

"This is a fun little group, but too many of them just regurgitate politics. "
The point is that Sixteen Volts was not that.

I ask Mr. Kokkarinnen, if The Great Dictator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Dictator) was good, then wasn't Sixteen Volts?

I only wish he had blogged pseudonymously. HS, maybe you should quit sending emails with your name in them.

[ChrisV82]

“He’s clearly promoting hate upon women and queer-identified women.”

I like how, while in the process of being politically correct, that person uses the term "queer." May as well say "He's clearly promoting hate upon bitches and fag-identified bitches."

[perroazul del norte]

On the question of free speech in Canada:
(...)
The following is from a Washington Post report on the ongoing loss of freedoms in Canada:

Whether you call it over-sensitive political correctness or an abiding sense of fairness and decency, Canada has embraced it like a . . . well, never mind. Through its human rights laws and hate speech codes, broadcast standards and myriad "voluntary" industry guidelines, Canada makes no bones about its determination to impose liberal-minded limits on public discourse.
Although the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms put free speech and a free press into the bedrock of Canadian law, neither the public nor Canada's courts views these rights as absolutely as Americans have come to view the First Amendment. The Canadian Supreme court has ruled in a series of cases that the government may limit free speech in the name of other worthwhile goals, such as ending discrimination, ensuring social harmony or promoting equality of the sexes.

Canada's most powerful tool against politically incorrect speech is its hate speech code, which prohibits any statement that is "likely to expose a person or group of persons to hatred or contempt" because of "race, color, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation or age." Prosecutors are not required to show proof of malicious intent or actual harm to win convictions in hate speech cases, and courts in some jurisdictions have ruled that it does not matter whether the statements are truthful.

Copyright © 2006 Issues & Views

[SFG]

Actually, the use of the word 'queer' is part of a tradition of using pejorative terms for the group you belong to with pride, and thus removing some of the stigma associated with the term. Rappers talk about 'me and my niggas', there is a feminist magazine called 'bitch', and what do you think 'News for nerds' is supposed to mean on Slashdot?

I'd also add that it now becomes obvious why Half Sigma uses a pseudonym. This is also the reason why I'll never say what schools I go to or what I do for a living.

[Spungen]

Superfluous, no need to worry about the place HS works criticizing him for insensitivity. Hell, they'd probably applaud Ilkka for being "fair and balanced."

They should give HS his own show. Or at least host his blog.

[ChrisV82]

Actually, the use of the word 'queer' is part of a tradition of using pejorative terms for the group you belong to with pride, and thus removing some of the stigma associated with the term.

It's been an obvious success.

[Dan Morgan]

Writing on politically incorrect topics is tricky. First, just bringing up certain topics will get you labeled racist (like the IQ gaps between the races) or sexist. And second, if you are not careful when blogging, you can end up saying things that you will regret later.

If a blog suddenly gets outted by the politically correct crowd, it is important that you can look back on what you wrote with a sense of self-respect. Perhaps what happened to Ilkka is that he wrote too many things while shooting from the hip. Then when the liberal community where he lives (and his wife) discovered his writings, he did not feel good about them at all.

[perroazul del norte]

"Free speech" behind the Maple Leaf Curtain

[SFG]

"Perhaps what happened to Ilkka is that he wrote too many things while shooting from the hip."
Dude used his name, that was his mistake. Like I said, there's a reason Half Sigma's Half Sigma and not Joe Smith or whatever his real name is.