An open letter regarding Richard Dyde:
York researcher Richard Dyde killed himself on Dec 9. It was the day after
police named him and 56 others in connection with Project Sanctuary, their
child pornography probe.
We
have serious grounds for questioning the legitimacy of this probe. In past
years, Ontario police departments have launched similar investigations –
Project Guardian in London, Project Truth in Cornwall, among others – that were
later revealed to be little more than opportunistic sex scandals. Often relying
on dubious allegations and perjured evidence, many of the cases related to
these investigations collapsed in court. No matter: a witch-hunt mentality
prevailed, jobs were lost, families and reputations were destroyed, and several
men likewise took their own lives.
Police
have admitted to journalists that one of the most inflammatory charges Dyde
faced, “making child pornography,” may actually refer to “putting it on a
different type of medium.” Does this mean saving a downloaded jpeg as a pdf?
This blurring of crucial distinctions seems calculated to foster hysteria, not
informed opinion.
We
do not know the specifics of Richard Dyde’s case. All we know are the screaming
headlines, which presumably drove him to take his life. All we know are
sickening feelings of déjà vu as we witness a police force trafficking in
maximum sensationalism, a complacent mass media cashing in on the frenzy, and a
legal system perpetuating and enforcing questionable laws that equate
representation with physical molestation. The public identification and shaming
of these men, before any court process, is an intolerable injustice of which
Richard Dyde is only the most recent victim.
Sincerely,
Mary-Louise Adams, associate professor, Kinesiology and
Health, Queens University
Brenda Cossman, professor, Sexual Diversity Studies,
University of Toronto
Richard Fung, associate professor, Faculty of Art, OCAD
University
John Greyson, associate professor, Film, York University
Gerald Hannon, writer
Peter Kingstone, artist/lecturer
Gary Kinsman, professor, Sociology, Laurentian University
Tim McCaskell, writer/activist
Matt Mills, editorial director, Xtra
Alan Sears, professor, Sociology, Ryerson University
Rinaldo Walcott, professor, SESE OISE University of Toronto
Tom Waugh, professor, Film, Concordia University
To add your name to the list of signatories, join the facebook group Citizens Concerned About Project Sanctuary.
