Glen Canning is the father of Rehtaeh Parsons. Rehtaeh was a 17-year-old girl who tragically took her own life (by hanging) after what her friends and family say were two years of torment and abuse. A photo of Rehtaeh’s alleged gang-rape went “viral” and the internet has been flooded with allegations and speculation demanding public attention to the case.
When I gave my attention and asked too many critical questions, Mr. Canning developed a problem with me not buying the official story – and expressing my opinion about it on an open forum.
To be clear, these allegations of rape have yet to be proven in a court of law, and the accused will never get the chance to face their accuser. So far, after two official investigations, only two boys have had charges pressed and they are charged with child porn, not rape. As minors at the time of the incident, the accused can not be named. Recently, one of the accused has pleaded guilty for breaching the terms of his release by drinking alcohol.
The child porn charges appear to be a political maneuver to satisfy a biased, bloodthirsty public that has only been fed a lot of hearsay and propaganda coming directly from Glen Canning and Leah Parsons.
In fact, it seems that, in the year since Rehtaeh’s death, there’s been some public evidence that both Leah Parsons and Glen Canning have been very active in trying to silence critics of the Rehtaeh Parsons story. Leah Parsons was featured on the Dr. Phil television show and used her victim status to shame the producers into submission after an “offensive” question was asked on Twitter. Ahead of the taping, Dr. Phil triggered an onslaught of criticism on Twitter by crowdsourcing opinions on the segment’s subject matter. The tweet from Dr. Phil’s account asked: “If a girl is drunk, is it okay to have sex with her? Reply with a yes, or no to @DrPhil #teensaccused”
This was followed by the obligatory apology to all offended.
Glen Canning, himself, appears to have used the tragedy and media attention to gain a following on his own, personal Twitter and Blog. He has also seems to have exploited his following on the internet to silence his critics. Several posts from a blogger known as “Baconfat53” have been removed due to legal requests to Google made by Glen Canning himself (for example: this post). The David Amos Rant blog even reports that Glen Canning had asked him for info on the blog’s author. An excerpt from an e-mail sent by Glen Canning:
“On 8/14/13, Glen Canning <email removed> wrote:
Do you know who bacon fat is? I’m trying to get Anonymous to hack
his blog and out him. “
I have also been personally involved with Mr. Canning and his bullying tactics.
Glen Canning has labeled me a “rape apologist” for expressing my opinion on the comments section of this article. I do not apologize for rape, sir. I condemn it. However, I also believe there is a thing called due process and that allegations as serious as rape should be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
In the interest of real justice, I have spoken out against the biased media propaganda. Let the accused be tried in a court of law, not public opinion. After two investigations and still no credible evidence to support rape charges, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical. Especially when you consider the statement by Rehtaeh’s friend, who claimed her and her mother tried repeatedly to get Rehtaeh to leave the house party, where she was allegedly naked and acting flirtatious with the two accused.
One of the four alleged boys was, apparently, not even at the party! Christie Blatchford reported this and the mainstream media lynch mob crucified her for it. Blatchford should, instead, be applauded for having the courage to at least inject some objectivity into the mix and present another point of view other than what was already regurgitated from Leah Parson’s Facebook campaign.
I’ve read all the hype. I know what the allegations are and what the media has reported. I have still seen nothing released to the public resembling anything even remotely close to hard, concrete evidence backing up these allegations.
It seems to me, from where I’m sitting, that Rehtaeh Parsons was not gang-raped, she was the willing participant in a drunken orgy. I do not believe anybody should have taken a picture and spread it around school to smear her reputation. That’s just cruel and intolerable. I also understand the feelings of angry, grieving parents. However, I will not lay down and let you get away with exploiting your victim-card to suppress criticisms of your unproven allegations. You don’t get to claim “at least I never raised a rapist,” Glen Canning. Prove it. I believe the real fault lies with the parents for being irresponsible and failing to supervise their children. Glen, why was your daughter permitted to drink and use drugs at her age in the first place? It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume she would also be sexually active at a party.
I’m not joining the lynch mob you helped create. Call me a “rape apologist” all you like, you just have to prove she was raped first. Put up, or shut up. As for the rest of the good people at AVFM reading this: think for yourselves. That’s the most important message we should take away from this story. Don’t believe everything you read without checking your sources, and be leery of the victim industrial complex propaganda in the media.
Editorial note: this item originally appeared on Men’s Rights Edmonton.–DE
