When I was in jail, I was immersed in alot of reading. I was studying forced sterilizations in Alberta, the Nazi regime in Germany, all these books and pamphlets on Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X. I was surrounded by natives and attending their sweats. I was forced to work cleaning toilets & janitorial duties for my jailers (I cleaned and maintained the main administration building) for many weeks as part of my time there.

Under these circumstances, a person like me can get intemperate in the labelling department. And in a commentary about the Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler, I referred to him derisively, and incorrectly, and inappropriately, as a "Nazi".

And I dragged in his ancestry as a jewish person into it, it ended up seeming very unkind to the minister. This bothers me now on two levels because I have always loved and held the highest regard for jewish culture. I documented the tragic and remarkable story of a Polish woman, a dear lady, and her survival through the death camps of eastern Poland, in my younger days. So many of my great heroes are jewish: Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, my dear friend Alan Young. I feel ashamed when my jewish friends tell me they are ill at ease by my using the terms Nazi or holocaust when referring to this issue or incident. That saddens me. It's one thing to have an angry unsophisticated outburst at a unmet politician, but when some of my respected friends feel uneasy, that resonates inside. So I apologize to my friends who are upset with my language and comparisons.

I apologize to the Honourable Minister, Mr. Cotler.

He has a magnificent body of accomplishments as a human rights lawyer and activist, and a man is not to be judged by one action or out of context to his whole life's work. He in no way deserves to have this kind of remark hurled at him in the media. Although my jail blogs were one thing, I should have just renounced the words and found appropriate descriptions for the adversarial circumstance I find myself in regarding my Canadian Minister of Justice. So I'm going to stop using the term Nazi or holocaust in any future discussions in print or interview because it does really offend some people, and making new enemies or offending ordinary, thoughtful Canadians is not useful to anyone or any legitimate ideas. It is unseemly to denigrate a member of the government in that way, so I retract the use of those offending words and will not use them again.

By the way, no one asked me to say this. I got two emails saying I should apologize, not many, but some people I respect just helped me see that it doesn't further good things by inflaming people's passions with abusive or offending words. A resentful tone from jail is one thing, but I should have retracted it when I got out, and set the record straight. I was wrong, and I hope people accept my apology. Of course, I will find other ways to describe our struggle, without name calling or comparitive references, as I do not enjoy the thought of offending Canadians I have worked much of my life to speak honourably for and on their behalf.

Marc Emery
BC Marijuana Party

that's the most heartfelt apology I have ever heard or read,

cg

Well said; well done!

Maybe too late? Hope not.

To sincerely humble oneself,shows true character.

This will be better for all involved.

Peace Gomer.

its never too late to do the right thing

Well done Marc.
It's hard for people, who read newspapers and watch news or listen to the goverment, to understand the frustration we have in dealing with our foe in this war. They dont get the passion you have in trying to get them to comprehend what we all go though. It will be difficult to find historical comparisons that won't offend. I believe you used those terms to gain their understanding with comparison, never to hurt.

You have done a difficult thing, it is not the first hard thing nor the last that you will do.


Thank you Marc.

Very well stated... I emplore your means.

I don't know if I am anybody, but I'm a human being & somehow I'm here corresponding & connecting to your plight. My path has met yours....

You know, there is one thing that can damage or become a detriment to an external attitude of the ones individual spirit & that is environment & it's consuming of your spirited perception. That is one thing I do know. Frequently or momentarily if you are somehow conscience of it's indignation, condemnation or even positive synergy of your beliefs which you act on as your thoughts & thus outward demeanor.... that's what makes the human condictional training journey possible....... to "perfection"........... Such as say, allowing..... yourself to become emersed in a book of malicious or animonious thought like Nazi or Jewish repeal or crusification... The balance of spirits of seeing it as it is, with love in all formations of the word........................ will allow yourself not to see this horrendous destruction & degenerative decay as a revelation of your judgement of there utter distinction into "oblivion".... or genocide of your own rightous indignation to fight with a vengence or your thought of murder or encarceration of trapping into fear.... My purpose in writting is that I'm a commonary creation given life (humbleness) by the hierarchy & as a disciple of my lord & savior & this itself is worthy of your time, as it is mine. We are a community & my LIFE... has touched yours & others in this movement... to shake & propagate the charismatic associative word of all that which I perpetuate through as positive perpetuational controversy as I can. I'm a "dynamic common saleman/artist" & even though those words evoke association of possibly presige to some or "who give a damn?" to others... I'm am still a human being that smokes marijuana & when I wake in the morning INVOLUNARILY I am given life.... as others "less fortuante" should be given the same life... just as Jews, Blacks, Caucasions or even encarcerated persons that the holy Pope has graciously visited with warmth of a hardened broken heart of FENDING ignorance.....

Our world is not fulfilled by judgement, it is fulfilled and glorifed with surrounding love of praise & edification of even the ignorant. May thier souls be informed of such communicated/worded spiritual manifestion & mended... by love & edification by others that INHABIT the same world they wake up in on the wrong side of the bed & restfully or insomnically sleep in.... as a next, new day of there journey until potential enrapure & encompassing dreams of their world's exsistence may be fulfilled.... until one day the defeatest of wrongful death... & faithful of love & knowing lord... shall be made supreme & reigning... As the visionarys have made it evident.... thorough the people of Medjugorje and many other non mediaed places. The sceptical, superficial, & other have been disarrayed in discontent with ideals of superior power, but the spirit of life will always be... until the proper Godly transition is made unto potential eternity....