Dr Fredrick Toben's arrest should alarm us all
DentArthurDent
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Kristallnacht was an organized campaign of violence, not merely some idle threats. When you're killing people, that obviously does not fall under free speech. That falls under something we call "murder."
No, it's not ok. But a law against it wouldn't do anything anyways. Now you're trying to play to Aspie sympathies with the bully card.
It already is banned as a matter of school policy. Doesn't have any impact on it, though- I would know, I've been through that before and don't particularly want to revisit the mental demons that still lurk from those dark years in my life. This is WP, I'm sure almost all of us have gone through that particular hell at some point in our lives. I've yet to hear of any possible method of dealing with bullies, and the only thing I was ever able to find was to wait it out- life sucked for several years, but eventually the bullying ended. While it was going on, it did not seem that it would.
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WAR IS PEACE
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Thanks. I needed the laugh before I hit the hay. You guys make me think too much.
Hey, there are some people I'd duel.
There are a couple of points worth considering.
If nasty opinions are regarded generally as ineffective of actually causing anybody harm aside from personal offense (which should not be considered a crime as it should be expected that this is in an unclassifiable area) then why not tolerate it as a minority opinion of someone probably not quite sane? If the same statements are in danger of arousing real violence amongst a dangerous minority and might cause very bad consequences then they should be prevented.
That the holocaust happened is a matter of history agreed upon my a majority of historians so denying it may offend people who were badly treated but I cannot see it as anything criminal. But if people are to be extradited to areas where extreme punishment is legal out of areas where it is not, how long will it be before Saudi Arabia demands custody of people denying Muslim dogma so that they can be tortured or executed? This is a very slippery slope that might require refugees seeking sanction from police states are denied their relief. National barriers can sometimes be the only thing safeguarding diverse opinions and the spread of police powers across the barriers could be a very dangerous thing.
In this site the substitution of asterisks for vowels in what are considered offensive speech seems to me to be not only childish but totally ineffective since no one is deceived or puzzled by the substitution. I am not offended by so-called offensive speech and would prefer it to be permitted as forceful intensifiers as it is normally accepted in most films and adult entertainment and a good deal of normal conversation, even by children. Restricting its use only makes it more powerful.
DentArthurDent
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No, I am just pointing out how in-valid your sticks and stones metaphor is. Bullying and vilifying is a form of free speech that I for one would ban to the point of removing the perpetrators from a 'normal' school environment.
You still have not given your opinion as to the right of someone to deliberately incite violence.
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"Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand" Karl Marx
I'm really unsure about how I feel about the "incitement of violence" laws. I mean, if someone says "My brethren, I call upon ye to call all people who be [insert random group here]" and people do, why should the speaker be responsible? He's not controlling his audience's actions. But at the same time, I can see how it could be construed as a threat... Damn semantics!
As far as violence, that should be punished. But trying to ban "hate speech" as you call it only makes martyrs out of bigots. If you persecute someone, you are in a way conceding a loss to them. You can not defeat them in the open, so you must use brute force to silence them. It is weak and cowardly.
SILENCE!
DentArthurDent
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Joined: 26 Jul 2008
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As far as violence, that should be punished. But trying to ban "hate speech" as you call it only makes martyrs out of bigots. If you persecute someone, you are in a way conceding a loss to them. You can not defeat them in the open, so you must use brute force to silence them. It is weak and cowardly.
SILENCE!
?
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"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance anyday"
Douglas Adams
"Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand" Karl Marx
To assume that speech is not a factor in releasing or directing action is to assume that speech is impotent in social activity, something that is obviously false. It's a problem as to when or whether speech must be regulated in maintaining a civilized society with minimum restrictions since the same speech in different circumstances has different effects. Crying "Fire!" at a shooting range is quite different from the same word in a crowded theater.
In other words is it the same as bringing hard copies of the material into the country.
* I am using child porn as an example because it is obviously wrong
The issue I see with that, is that there is no reason to assume that something on the internet must obey the laws of every country with internet access. Now, perhaps an internet law does not perfectly exist, however, I think that even with child pornography, it would be best/necessary to have a pre-existing international agreement with the nation of origin of the poster. That being said, I think the crime of child pornography is the means of acquisition, if there were some means of creating virtual children, then I might not see as much of an issue with it(the issue then really would just be viewers slipping into actual pedophilia).
Are you making excuses for the makers and purveyors of kiddie porn? Please don't.
DentArthurDent
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Whats wrong with kiddie porn. I love kiddie porn real live kiddie sex is better but in a drought porn is a good standby.
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"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance anyday"
Douglas Adams
"Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand" Karl Marx
DentArthurDent
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Before you take offence obviously I am joking. Slowmutant please read the whole text and understand it before replying to it. There is even an asterisk explaining why I used child porn as an example
_________________
"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance anyday"
Douglas Adams
"Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand" Karl Marx
Whats wrong with kiddie porn. I love kiddie porn real live kiddie sex is better but in a drought porn is a good standby.
I was talking to AG, actually. Child pornography is something that should be aggressively eliminated. No halfway measures, no rationalizations, no kind of apologist BS is acceptable in this case. If gaybashing is hateful, imagine how much worse child pornography is.
DentArthurDent
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Ooops sorry. He does raise an interesting point though. Is child porn wrong because of the effect it has on children. If so virtual child porn ....? personally I agree with you SM viewing this sort of material damages the viewer as well. I also do not agree with manga comics that have rape and sexual humiliation as their theme. And child porn whether real or virtual is damaging.
_________________
"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance anyday"
Douglas Adams
"Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand" Karl Marx
No, I am just pointing out how in-valid your sticks and stones metaphor is. Bullying and vilifying is a form of free speech that I for one would ban to the point of removing the perpetrators from a 'normal' school environment.
Uh huh. Look, I'm just going to assume you had to deal with that type of s**t too. If it is still relatively fresh in your memory, you know that bullying can not and will not be stopped from above. Schools already have rules against that type of abuse, but they are unenforceable even if those in charge were willing to enforce them. Bullies can be subtle enough that teachers don't notice they're breaking the rules. Bullying is a problem I don't know how to solve, but I do know that appealing to anyone in authority to deal with it is the height of futility.
Sorry, hadn't gotten a chance to reply yet. Openly calling for assassinations, or for a campaign of violence against a given group, could be considered plotting and seen as distinct from free speech. However, it's important to remember that almost all threats are simply hot air.
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WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
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