Arms of honor in France are like cotton wool in Quebec: this kind of insolence, in the solemn and padded decor of Parliament, does not pass.
French Justice Minister Eric Dupond Moretti rose three times on Tuesday, in the center of the National Assembly. Since then, France has choked with indignation. On Thursday, Marine Le Pen’s deputy went so far as to demand the resignation of this minister who “retires from France with good morals.”
Ah, if Mr. Dupond Moretti had lived with his fiancée, Isabelle Boulay, in his cottage in Canada. It will be quiet. In this country, ladies and gentlemen, giving the middle finger… is a God-given right.
a God grant the truthAccording to the original English version of an epic decision released on February 24 by Dennis Galiatsatos1. A Quebec court judge had to settle a dispute between neighbors in Beaconsfield.
The judge in Canada said that raising the middle finger is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Charter. “It may not be polite, he admits in his decision. But it does not imply criminal liability. Offending someone is not a crime. This is an integral part of freedom of expression.”
Seems clear to me. According to Ira B. Robbins, professor of criminal law at American University in Washington, “The arm of justice should not extend to the middle finger.”
You will tell me there is still a difference between Parliament, which requires some decency from elected officials, and the nameless street in Beaconsfield. You will, of course, be absolutely right.
however. This dispute between neighbors, vulgar at first glance, is a thousand times more scandalous than the gesture of the French minister. Reported Thursday by Gabrielle Biland2, This is disgusting from many points of view. And I’m not talking about the middle finger that was due.
This case should not have ended up in court. This man, Neil Epstein, should never have been arrested by the police, let alone criminally charged with harassment and intimidation.
Because the victim was him.
Denis Galiatsatos was so angry while writing his judgment that he wanted to throw everything out the window. “Unfortunately, Montreal courtrooms have no windows,” he wrote.
So the judge resigned himself to writing his decision—not without suppressing a burning desire to write it down, to express his anger, in large letters and in bold.
He is the first to set the scene. Sunny day in the spring of 2021. The snow is melting, people are out, happy to be together after confinement. On a quiet street in a residential area, children play under the watchful eyes of their parents. Some took their bikes. Others draw the sidewalk with chalk.
Everyone smiles. Everyone is happy. Everyone, except for the Naccache family, for whom this suburban utopia is a real insult. These children playing in the street are an “unbearable nuisance”.
Michael Al-Nakkash, his brother, and his parents put cameras everywhere. They drive without slowing down the small street—not even when children approach. On the contrary, they overtake them in the car! “I’ll hit them, next time!” One day the father, Frank Nakash, spits on the confused parents.
Inexplicably, scandalously, this family succeeded in convincing the Director of Criminal and Criminal Prosecutions (DPCP) to press charges against Neil Epstein, an innocent, concerned man—for good reason! — for the safety of her two young daughters, ages 2 and 4.
For two years, Mr. Epstein will live with the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head. The criminal charges brought in the name of a family are as warlike as they are paranoid. On February 24, 2023, Judge Galeatastos will finally put an end to this injustice. The father of the family will be acquitted.
Yes, Neil Epstein exercised his primary right to give Michael the middle finger, one day in May 2021 when he started insulting him in the middle of the street.
He did it because he was pushed over the edge. “Being told, ‘Damn you,’ should not encourage you to call 911,” writes Judge Galiatsatos. We feel the judge refrain from adding: especially when we have sought it at this stage.
Really, the angry judge sounds…close to writing. In capital letters and in bold.
