Hate speech = freedom of speech?

[Larry]

I am sure that all of us have been involved in a conversation with someone who was so offensive and racist that you had to walk away before you punched the individual's head in. -Dale7

Dale,I agreed with your post except for this line.I dont get mad when people express racist views to me as long as they are not trying to shove them down my throat.I would rather people speak their minds than tell me what they think I want to hear.

And Criss,the ACLU is a necessary.You need a "watchdog" to make sure peoples rights according to the constitituion are not violated.Everyone should reread the Bill OF Rights and contemplate how it affects our lives and how much different our lives might be if each ammendment had been different of excluded.(I know I sound like a bleeding heart Lib but trust me I am not....I just have a lot of respect for the great men who developed the USA with such incredible foresight and the ideals that they set in place which make this such a great country)

Larry

 

[Pib]

[as a moderator] As you all know we don't all live in the US, nor do we have to understand or agree the ideas of the ACLU, AACP, etc. Pls do not make it US-centric... this is a general discussion that interest humans from any part of the world, it is not only about the US. Else I will have to follow the boss' rule of getting rid of anything not about the DR[/aam]

 

[Criss Colon]

First Larry,then Pib!

I said that I was not a fan of the ACLU,not that they should be done away with! (If I were KING of the World things would be done right!) Pib, I started out voting in the "middle",but I have changed my mind and now want,or should I say "MUST", change my vote to 100% FREE SPEECH! I guess it is the old,"I may not agree with what you say,but I will defend to the death your right to say it"! ..as distasteful as that sometimes is! See my point?CRIS

 

[Pib]

Sitting at the other side of the fence, how would you feel if somebody starts publicly calling for [introduce your ethnicity here] to be shot? Would you still hold your resolve for complete freedom of speech?

 

[Larry]

Sitting at the other side of the fence, how would you feel if somebody starts publicly calling for [introduce your ethnicity here] to be shot? Would you still hold your resolve for complete freedom of speech?

Yes.Until someone starts shooting..talk is cheap.
Larry

 

[mobrouser]

What if the majority is wrong?

prior to 1982 the citizens of Canada had no constitutionally written right to freedom of expression. imagine that---100+ years of successful democracy and no enshrined right to freedom of speech. now there is a charter of rights and freedoms, plus hate laws, plus ammendments. i doubt that many people have noticed a difference. other than when someone wishes to challenge these laws the court case takes years longer to be resolved.

as for freedom of speech in the US, it can be and is frequently challenged under different methods-"conspiracy to deny civil liberties" is a common one.

mob

 

[TERRY]

The problem with choosing #2 is that you can give credibility & publicity to those with extreme views.
Ernest Zundell is a prime example,kicked out of Canada for hate crimes,(he claims the holocaust did not happen) has just suffered the same fate from the U.S.immigration and is now applying for refugee status in Canada.
Of course every news channel who reports on this nut restates his extreme views.
The end result is that Mr Zundell comes across as a persecuted martyr.The people who wanted to muzzle Zunndle have acheived the opposite.
Terry.

 

[mobrouser]

it's not about "muzzling".


if person "A" owns a business and i were to stand on the sidewalk outside handing out pamphlets falsely accusing "A" of having a defective product my freedom of speech would be denied as i am not allowed to make false or derogatory comments. i could and should be sued for attempting to harm his reputation.

if i were to stand outside "A's" business, handing out pamplets blaming people of "A's" race of being the downfall of the human race i am now harming the reputation of many. there should be no difference in the way this is treated.

mob