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 Topic: How far should free speech go?

 (Read 5543 times)
  • 1« Previous thread | Next thread »
  • How far should free speech go?
     OP - October 26, 2009, 03:52 PM

    Stemming from the recent BNP debates, I was wondering whether you think free speech should mean just that or should it have restrictions? Should we stop hate speech? Racism? Sexism? Should we stop speech inciting deliberate violence against certain people? How should we go and how far is too far?
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #1 - October 26, 2009, 04:02 PM

    Free speech is like any other natural right-- your right to it ends where another's begins. If I say "go and kill these people" in a direct and immediate incitement to violence (the standard the US Supreme Court uses is if the speech presents "a clear and present danger"), then I have clearly and directly violated the rights of others by posing a direct threat to their safety.

    Anything short of that should be permitted in my opinion-- I think Nick Griffin's previous conviction was a clear violation of his right to free speech. "Hate speech", unless it constitutes a direct and immediate incitement to violence, should not be prohibited by the state.

    fuck you
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #2 - October 26, 2009, 04:07 PM

    In my ideal imaginary world, freedom of speech should be limited not by content per se but by the willingness of the receiver to hear your message.

    So, you should be allowed to say anything racist, violent or hateful in nature, but not to people that you KNOW will be offended or disturbed by it or that do not want to hear such things for whatever reason.

    Do not look directly at the operational end of the device.
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #3 - October 26, 2009, 04:11 PM

    And, yes, I implicitly assumed that if your information constitutes a real danger for anyone, then you should not be allowed to spread it.

    So yelling "OMG, THERE IS A BOMB!!!" in the middle of a heavily crowded place when there is no real bomb around, that should be forbidden.
    Same for convincing people to threaten the rights of anyone else.

    Do not look directly at the operational end of the device.
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #4 - October 26, 2009, 07:32 PM

    I dunno, the bomb thing sounds like a bit of a laugh. Smiley

    Ha Ha.
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #5 - October 26, 2009, 10:05 PM

    Free speech is like any other natural right-- your right to it ends where another's begins. If I say "go and kill these people" in a direct and immediate incitement to violence (the standard the US Supreme Court uses is if the speech presents "a clear and present danger"), then I have clearly and directly violated the rights of others by posing a direct threat to their safety.

    Anything short of that should be permitted in my opinion-- I think Nick Griffin's previous conviction was a clear violation of his right to free speech. "Hate speech", unless it constitutes a direct and immediate incitement to violence, should not be prohibited by the state.


    I second that too - and the worst part about selecting sacred cows is that everyone wants to be declared a sacred cow. I may loath some of the hate filled bigotry from anti-gay activists but I'll defend their right to say it.

    "It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up." - Muhammad Ali
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #6 - October 27, 2009, 07:21 AM

    In my ideal imaginary world, freedom of speech should be limited not by content per se but by the willingness of the receiver to hear your message.

    So, you should be allowed to say anything racist, violent or hateful in nature, but not to people that you KNOW will be offended or disturbed by it or that do not want to hear such things for whatever reason.

    So you are free to preach hate and murder in a mosque as long as you do the bad bits in arabic so no outsider can understand.

    "Ask the slave girl; she will tell you the truth.' So the Apostle called Burayra to ask her. Ali got up and gave her a violent beating first, saying, 'Tell the Apostle the truth.'"
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #7 - October 27, 2009, 09:50 AM

    Well it can start by de-criminalising 'Holocaust Denial/Revisionism' which is more like a political pressure tactic rather than 'hate speech'.

    That would be a real triumph for free speech, when preferential treatment actually restricts it.

    Pakistan Zindabad? ya Pakistan sey Zinda bhaag?

    Long Live Pakistan? Or run with your lives from Pakistan?
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #8 - October 27, 2009, 10:02 AM

    Well it can start by de-criminalising 'Holocaust Denial/Revisionism' which is more like a political pressure tactic rather than 'hate speech'.

    That would be a real triumph for free speech, when preferential treatment actually restricts it.


    The irony being that under the Holocaust Denial/Revisionism law the amount of antisemitism has actually gone up. When you suppress something then conspiracy theories are created by people believing that the truth is being suppressed by the powers that be - those who holding opinions that are illegal are considered people who have 'damaging truth' against the powers that be.

    Let the market place of ideas make these Holocaust Denial/Revisionists front up to a robust debate and shown for the fools they are - only then will only but the hard core hold onto their stupid and ignorant position.

    "It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up." - Muhammad Ali
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #9 - October 27, 2009, 10:36 AM

    So you are free to preach hate and murder in a mosque as long as you do the bad bits in arabic so no outsider can understand.

    Yes.
    Basically because I see any attempt to silence them up as detrimental in the long run.
    I think hate speech should be fought with free speech: sneak in, listen, expose them to the public.
    If you prevent them to say what they want in such a situation, their hate speech will go on anyway, but in even greater secrecy (and probably with even harsher tones cause you end up looking like the evil oppressor that they were expecting you to be)... and that's even harder to identify and expose.
    Secondly, censoring on content alone is a two-headed beast. You might end up with a system that does not let you openly criticize secret-hate speech because it gets labeled as hate speech itself (which is more or less what's happening here in Europe, in my point of view).

    Do not look directly at the operational end of the device.
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #10 - October 27, 2009, 02:20 PM

    Tlaloc:
    Not as Black & White I am afraid. Enticing to hate & murder *does* work.
    It does entice to hate & murder.

    In the middle east, islamists have a free reign to entice hate & murder and they have been doing it for decades. In the beginning they were considered fringe idiots. Now they are mainstream.

    You seem to accept an ideology that enticing to hate & murder, has a built-in check & balance to make the enticer look & sound like a nut job. I am sorry but the check & balance is not always there.

    You possibly met some nazi wackos who exposed themselves by talking. Or BNP bollocks leadership that digs itself deeper every time it makes a speech. That is not the norm Tlaloc, that is anectodal evidence. We can not base our conclusion on anectodal (unique) examples, specially when we have plenty of examples in which   hate & murder speech does work.

    "Ask the slave girl; she will tell you the truth.' So the Apostle called Burayra to ask her. Ali got up and gave her a violent beating first, saying, 'Tell the Apostle the truth.'"
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #11 - October 27, 2009, 05:34 PM

    Anything short of that should be permitted in my opinion-- I think Nick Griffin's previous conviction was a clear violation of his right to free speech. "Hate speech", unless it constitutes a direct and immediate incitement to violence, should not be prohibited by the state.


    So you would defend a racist's right to call a black person a "nigger" to their face?

    The mosque: the most epic display of collective douchbaggery, arrogance and delusion
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #12 - October 27, 2009, 05:46 PM

    Obviously he wouldn't as it is a clear incitement to violence, if you don't believe me, try it Afro

    Ha Ha.
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #13 - October 27, 2009, 06:39 PM

    Tlaloc:
    Not as Black & White I am afraid. Enticing to hate & murder *does* work.
    It does entice to hate & murder.

    I never claimed it didn't work.
    I am claiming that suppressing it is, in the long run, more detrimental to the suppressors than not suppressing it.

    In the middle east, islamists have a free reign to entice hate & murder and they have been doing it for decades. In the beginning they were considered fringe idiots. Now they are mainstream.

    And did that develop from a society that applied universally free speech?

    You seem to accept an ideology that enticing to hate & murder, has a built-in check & balance to make the enticer look & sound like a nut job. I am sorry but the check & balance is not always there.

    No, I don't think that hate-ideologies have any self-limiting mechanism.

    You possibly met some nazi wackos who exposed themselves by talking. Or BNP bollocks leadership that digs itself deeper every time it makes a speech. That is not the norm Tlaloc, that is anectodal evidence. We can not base our conclusion on anectodal (unique) examples, specially when we have plenty of examples in which   hate & murder speech does work.

    Again, no.

    Reread my other post a few more times.

    If you still do not get it I can rephrase it.

    Do not look directly at the operational end of the device.
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #14 - October 27, 2009, 08:16 PM

    So you would defend a racist's right to call a black person a "nigger" to their face?


    What Jack said. This would fall under the "fighting words" doctrine-- hurling epithets at people, in a situation where a reasonable person could expect it could immediately and directly lead to violence, is not protected speech. It least that's the US Supreme Court's take on it, and I happen to agree. But, generally-speaking, do I defend a racist's right to use the word publicly, in say, a political speech or as part of a rally? Indeed I do.

    To take Jack's suggestion a step further, I strongly suggest you try it in my neighborhood. In fact, my specific suggestion would be to walk down alone to 31st and Tasker, look for a group of teenagers hanging near the Black Angel Market and try it there. Another good choice in this neighborhood would be to walk into "Big Fellas Sports Bar" at 33rd and Reed. I can also suggest some locations nearby in Point Breeze, such as "Lids Cafe" over on 22nd and Tasker, or further away in North Philly, West Philly, or Germantown where you may want to try this.

    I will be more than happy to assist you in this experiment-- except, of course, in having your back once you say it, or in calling 911 for you.

    fuck you
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #15 - October 27, 2009, 08:23 PM

    In my ideal imaginary world, freedom of speech should be limited not by content per se but by the willingness of the receiver to hear your message.

    So, you should be allowed to say anything racist, violent or hateful in nature, but not to people that you KNOW will be offended or disturbed by it or that do not want to hear such things for whatever reason.


    So we should not criticize, Saudi, Iran and other Muslim countries. Why? Because they are not "willing to receive"  criticism for chopping hands, feet and necks and stonning people to death. We should keep silent.

    But hey, UK is very "willing to receive" so lets import a few more Anjam Chaudhris.

    Sorry mate, but I think you need to reassess your statement.

    I dont see justice. Islamists can say whatever they want to say but nothing can be said against them because they are not "willing to receive"?
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #16 - October 27, 2009, 08:35 PM

    I will be more than happy to assist you in this experiment-- except, of course, in having your back once you say it, or in calling 911 for you.


    And youtube it, obviously Wink

    Ha Ha.
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #17 - October 27, 2009, 08:41 PM

    And youtube it, obviously Wink


    And while videoing it, laugh my ass off and slap hands with my friends as DH gets his ass kicked. Just hope nobody puts any holes in him, not for DH's sake so much, but at that point I'd have to lose the video.

    fuck you
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #18 - October 28, 2009, 04:53 PM

    Quote
    Enticing to hate & murder *does* work. It does entice to hate & murder.

    I never claimed it didn't work.
    I am claiming that suppressing it is, in the long run, more detrimental to the suppressors than not suppressing it.

    Find me a middle-ground here. The problem is that I do agree with both your statements:
    * That hate speech works, (long term)
    * and that on the long term suppressing hate is detrimental.
    * Conclusion: Sh1t. (long term)

    Quote
    RE: Hate speech working in the middle east

    And did that develop from a society that applied universally free speech?

    The Egyptian society of the time was quite open, they built several newspapers, were #3 in the world for movie production (prize winning), you were not allowed to criticize the king (and mohammad?) but pretty much everything went by, which is what happens in reality, even in societies that permit free-speech.

    So it was not universal free speech. However to make a theory that 'universal free speech' is a good antidote, such a theory can not be accepted at face-value.

    Because, even if you are correct, then we still have to deal with the reality that "Universal Free Speech" is a pipe-dream. Universal FS will not happen. Which places your solution onto the bookshelf of Utopias. I think Panoptic contributed a lot of (enough) books to that shelf already.

    I need a more realistic solution from you. Something that can work. Universal Free Speech fails because you will always have the idiot who screams 'fire' in a full theater, and the zealot who will call the prayer to xenu on microphones at 4:00am (or is it allah?), and the asscracker who will put a 'dead niggers storage' on his frontlawn, etc.. etc..

    Was it Q-man who stated: Your freedom ends where another's begins. So as I said Tlaloc, I need a more realistic solution from you. A solution that works within the framework of free speech without plunging us into a Brave New World.

    "Ask the slave girl; she will tell you the truth.' So the Apostle called Burayra to ask her. Ali got up and gave her a violent beating first, saying, 'Tell the Apostle the truth.'"
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #19 - October 28, 2009, 09:29 PM

    Tough question. Perhaps this, granted there are many shades of gray to this comment but in a nutshell: "One should speak freely unless if harm is inflicted onto others".
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #20 - October 28, 2009, 11:51 PM

    I never claimed it didn't work.
    I am claiming that suppressing it is, in the long run, more detrimental to the suppressors than not suppressing it.
    Find me a middle-ground here. The problem is that I do agree with both your statements:
    * That hate speech works, (long term)
    * and that on the long term suppressing hate is detrimental.
    * Conclusion: Sh1t. (long term)
    And did that develop from a society that applied universally free speech?

    The Egyptian society of the time was quite open, they built several newspapers, were #3 in the world for movie production (prize winning), you were not allowed to criticize the king (and mohammad?) but pretty much everything went by, which is what happens in reality, even in societies that permit free-speech.

    So it was not universal free speech. However to make a theory that 'universal free speech' is a good antidote, such a theory can not be accepted at face-value.

    Because, even if you are correct, then we still have to deal with the reality that "Universal Free Speech" is a pipe-dream. Universal FS will not happen. Which places your solution onto the bookshelf of Utopias. I think Panoptic contributed a lot of (enough) books to that shelf already.

    I need a more realistic solution from you. Something that can work. Universal Free Speech fails because you will always have the idiot who screams 'fire' in a full theater, and the zealot who will call the prayer to xenu on microphones at 4:00am (or is it allah?), and the asscracker who will put a 'dead niggers storage' on his frontlawn, etc.. etc..

    Was it Q-man who stated: Your freedom ends where another's begins. So as I said Tlaloc, I need a more realistic solution from you. A solution that works within the framework of free speech without plunging us into a Brave New World.

    Read my other posts.
    I did not say that free speech should not be limited, I said it should not be limited BY CONTENT ALONE.

    And those cases of "bad usage of free speech" that you posted above are already covered in the limitations I stated before:

    Quote
    In my ideal imaginary world, freedom of speech should be limited not by content per se but by the willingness of the receiver to hear your message.

    So, you should be allowed to say anything racist, violent or hateful in nature, but not to people that you KNOW will be offended or disturbed by it or that do not want to hear such things for whatever reason.


    And...

    Quote
    And, yes, I implicitly assumed that if your information constitutes a real danger for anyone, then you should not be allowed to spread it.

    So yelling "OMG, THERE IS A BOMB!!!" in the middle of a heavily crowded place when there is no real bomb around, that should be forbidden.
    Same for convincing people to threaten the rights of anyone else.


    So:
    Screaming "fire" in a full theatre = creating immediate danger = forbidden
    Yelling a call to prayer at 4 am = violation of the other people's right not to be bothered by your message = forbidden (cause you can't decide to become temporarily deaf)
    Writing 'dead niggers storage' = violation of other people's right not to be bothered by your message = forbidden (cause the neighborhood can't just "pretend it's not there")

    But:
    Printing articles/books that one race/religion/ideology is inferior/superior to some/all others = not forbidden (cause you can avoid buying it if you dislike it)
    Running a talk show about how much everyone should feel disgust for kfr/jews/blacks/italians/asians = not forbidden (cause you can change channel if you dislike it)

    Do not look directly at the operational end of the device.
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #21 - October 29, 2009, 04:05 AM

    Isn't there already a law in the UK that illegalises incitement of violence?

    "The ideal tyranny is that which is ignorantly self-administered by its victims. The most perfect slaves are, therefore, those which blissfully and unawaredly enslave themselves."
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #22 - October 29, 2009, 04:23 PM

    Tough question. Perhaps this, granted there are many shades of gray to this comment but in a nutshell: "One should speak freely unless if harm is inflicted onto others".


    Not a bad formulation EXCEPT that harm can be broadly defined-- I think it's better to formulate it as "One should have the right to speak freely unless it directly and immediately infringes on the rights of others". It's easier to have a common, objective and narrower definition (whether deonotological or legal) of rights than of "harm". It is also necessary to use the qualifiers of "directly and immediately"  or else it would be too easy for someone to claim indirect violations of their rights due to controversial speech.

    Screaming "fire" in a full theatre = creating immediate danger = forbidden
    Yelling a call to prayer at 4 am = violation of the other people's right not to be bothered by your message = forbidden (cause you can't decide to become temporarily deaf)
    Writing 'dead niggers storage' = violation of other people's right not to be bothered by your message = forbidden (cause the neighborhood can't just "pretend it's not there")


    That's not a right. There is no right "not to be bothered by someone's message" (that's waaaay too broad-- any Muslims could say they are "bothered" by Maryam Namazie's message, therefore the government should ban her from publicly speaking), however, I do think that those two examples do violate people's rights-- the former is a violation of people's right to not be forced to listen to someone's speech or their right to be able to sleep without unnecessary disturbances, and the latter a violation of people's right to be secure in their person, as it could be construed as an direct and immediate incitement to racial violence.

    Isn't there already a law in the UK that illegalises incitement of violence?


    Yes, but the current "hate speech" laws in the UK allow "incitement" to be defined so broadly that people's right to free speech, arguably, is violated by these laws. Which is really the topic under discussion in this thread. Notice the OP was referring specifically to the BNP, who's leader Nick Griffin has previously been convicted under these statutes.

    fuck you
  • Re: How far should free speech go?
     Reply #23 - October 30, 2009, 09:15 AM

    Read my other posts.
    I did not say that free speech should not be limited, I said it should not be limited BY CONTENT ALONE.
    "freedom of speech should be limited not by content per se but by the willingness of the receiver to hear your message."

    But I read that and I disagree. Limitation should be imposed on content as well. As I will explain further.

    And those cases of "bad usage of free speech" that you posted above are already covered in the limitations I stated before:

    And...

    So:
    Screaming "fire" in a full theatre = creating immediate danger = forbidden
    Yelling a call to prayer at 4 am = violation of the other people's right not to be bothered by your message = forbidden (cause you can't decide to become temporarily deaf)
    Writing 'dead niggers storage' = violation of other people's right not to be bothered by your message = forbidden (cause the neighborhood can't just "pretend it's not there")

    But:
    Printing articles/books that one race/religion/ideology is inferior/superior to some/all others = not forbidden (cause you can avoid buying it if you dislike it)
    Running a talk show about how much everyone should feel disgust for kfr/jews/blacks/italians/asians = not forbidden (cause you can change channel if you dislike it)

    Your examples fail: You are just trying to limit the media where the messages can be written. What will you do, when the media available from hate, becomes ubiquitous. When it exists on several TV channels. When hate becomes a best-seller (The arabic translation of mein kempf is now a best seller in Egypt).

    Easy for you to remove a sign on a front yard that states: "Dead Nigger Storage". But what will you do when the best seller on the top shelf is "Dead Nigger Storage" and the talk show hosts are debating what is the best way to store dead niggers. What will you do then?

    You removed the sign from the front-yard to appease some sensibility, yet permitted the hate message to continue and fester for generations to its actual intended audience. Good job?

    You permitted for the hate & murder to reach an audience, that was interested in racist joke, and now is interested in how to get rid of foreigners after killing them.

    You also fail to take into account the fact that, yes people do not like to hear certain messages, but often they need to hear it. You need to revise the idea, that people should not hear what they do not want to hear.

    The state of affair of people not wanting to hear what they want, is a temporary state as in, it just buys time to hate mongers to fester and spread.


    Worst, your example fail to take into account that, the enticement to hate & murder, allowed to conitnue on a certain media that you approve of (TV/Book), will still manage to get the required effect as it will continue to reach its target audience, one generation after another.

    Too many problems with your fundamental idea of "freedom of speech should be limited not by content per se but by the willingness of the receiver to hear your message.".
    Fix it first.



    "Ask the slave girl; she will tell you the truth.' So the Apostle called Burayra to ask her. Ali got up and gave her a violent beating first, saying, 'Tell the Apostle the truth.'"
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