Members of an extreme-right anti-Islam group in Quebec are having a meltdown after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called them "bozos."
Mr. Trudeau was speaking in Quebec City on the anniversary of the deadly attack on a mosque that killed six Muslim men. What he actually said was "nonos," a French-Canadian colloquialism that could just as easily be translated as dummy, nitwit, dope or knucklehead.
Some, including a Conservative MP from Quebec, say Mr. Trudeau's words were divisive and not fitting of a prime minister. Others are criticizing him for bringing attention to a fringe group.
But Mr. Trudeau wasn't wrong to call out a group that trades in anti-Islamic fearmongering. More than that, he was right to be dismissive of them.
Groups like La Meute, which Mr. Trudeau cleverly referenced without naming, crave legitimacy. But while they must be allowed to express their noxious opinions, there is no obligation on anyone's part to take them seriously.
Poking fun at extremists acknowledges they exist, an essential step in combatting their insidious ideas, while also robbing them of the power to intimidate and to dominate the public discourse.
Why scream at neo-Nazis when you can follow them around with a tuba – the world's funniest instrument – as one protester did in South Carolina last year?
Only two institutions ought to pay careful heed to fringe groups: the police, who should investigate the criminal and violent elements of the far right more vigorously; and the Armed Forces, which are at risk of infiltration.
To the extent these people rate anyone else's attention, it should come in the form of ridicule.