Threats don't deter Tsawwassen man's anti-hate cause
A South Delta resident who recently received a string of threats via Craigslist says the menacing posts have not discouraged him from continuing his crusade against Internet hate.
Tsawwassen's Cran Campbell regularly monitors the "Rants and Raves" section of the popular online classifieds' Vancouver site and flags any comments he deems racist or hateful. About two weeks ago, Campbell started receiving threats from an anonymous user, or users, who went so far as to post his photograph and home address.
"That concerned me because there's other people that live in this building as well," Campbell said. Though his name still pops up in the occasional post, Campbell says it's been quite a few days since he's seen any threats directed at him.
"I don't know the real reason why they stopped. Maybe they got a little worried, I don't know."
Campbell contacted Delta Police about the messages. He said an officer attended his home early this week and is investigating the situation.
For several months, Campbell has been spearheading a crusade to quash a federal private member's bill that seeks to abolish a section of the Human Rights Act that deals with Internet hate speech. He was inspired to take action after stumbling upon a slew of racist and hateful comments on Craigslist.
Since he started his campaign to rid the website of hate speech, Campbell says he now finds far fewer racists and hateful remarks.
As a result of his letter writing, the Canadian Human Rights Commission last month sent a letter to Craigslist advising that some of the posts in the "Rants and Raves" section of the Vancouver website may be in violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act, as well as Craigslist's own Terms of Use Policy.
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