Never Too Old

Common wisdom is that the older one gets the more knowledgeable one becomes, but that is not necessarily so. If you're bigoted, ignorant, easily led and a hate-monger when you're young you're likely to remain that way. Certainly, the lawyer for Max Mahr, a native of Germany now living in the lovely Ontario city of Guelph, claims something like that as mitigating circumstances in defense of his client's propensity for spreading Jew-hatred.

At 83 years of age, one might think a Jew-hater would mellow in his absorption with slander and hate-festing Jews. But no, this elderly man went about Guelph happily scribbling graffiti and Nazi insignia in various public areas, no doubt feeling justified in beautifying the landscape while entertaining and educating the public. He could find no fault with his sensibilities, and obviously felt responsible toward infecting others.

Unfortunately for this elderly man who does not appear able to shed his glory days of connection with the Hitler Youth movement when he joined the German navy and felt on top of the world that he and his cronies were about to conquer, he was apprehended. Fortunately for society he went before Justice Norman Douglas who qualified Max Mahr as a petty criminal for spreading hatred.

Aligning Mr. Mahr's obsession with that of the "mindset which led to the Holocaust. And for that simple-minded and societally, morally-twisted activity he was awarded six months in prison. Along with 40 hours of community service. Oh, and two-years of probation. That should serve to disgruntle the old reprobate, one should imagine.

There sometimes is a price to pay for free speech that goes beyond the acceptable.

Ve get too soon old, und too late shmart; let that be his epitaph.