Canadian government make it illegal to wear masks while protesting

[Scootaloo]

4. I'm going to play the other side here...

Anonymity is counter-productive to public speech. The whole idea has always been, "I am me, and I stand behind this cause, and will stand in public to proclaim it." Disguising yourself prevents your audience from verifying your credibility and person; maybe it's really you. Maybe it's someone else entirely wearing the same disguise, who can tell?

Now, perhaps if there's a real chance that you wpuld lose your life over being identified - such as hte colonial-era pamphleteers, or dissenters in a violent dictatorship - then sure, protecting your personal identity is prudent. But despite the polemics, we're very far from that, and Canda certainly is.

The trouble is, the concept of "protest" has been infected by this leftover "counter-culture" horse-shit from the 60's and 70's, where waving puppets around and dressing up in funny hats has taken over the concept of exercising speech for a cause. That yippy dumbassery has made street theater and "turnout" more important than actual content and action, and is a major reason why protest is largely pointless in this day and age - a bunch of dumbfucks show up and start a "free Tibet" drum circle while wearing uncle sam outfits and it just clogs the whole thing down.

Of course, the idea of jail sentences for shooting yourself in the foot by wearing a dumb fucking mask while showing off (no, you're not protesting, you're posing) is pretty damn ludicrous as well. Two stupids don't make a smart.