Hate speech legislation threatens freedom

[koshergrl]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

 

[Mac1958]

.

A Euro-social democracy is the goal, so certain freedoms must be sacrificed for the good of the Collective.

Annoy certain people and you will pay the price, even if you're not breaking a law.

Enjoy!

.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

Shoot you'll never be able to open your mouth again if this passes! Oh noes!

 

[Skylar]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

This is one of those rare instances where we agree. 'Hate Speech' is just speech. And you can't outlaw speech. All you can do is drive it underground.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

"Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools."

Comes from the fact that America isn't number 1 at anything (well, not anything good, we're number of most citizens incarcerated yay!) and those 'moronic' European countries are.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Yeah, kind hard to support something intended to protect people's right to not be offended.

 

[The VOR]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

If you want to say hateful things about other people --- and we all know you love doing that --- I say go for it. The only requirement I would put on it is that you can't say it anonymously, you know, like on a message board. Nope. You have to get right up in that person's face and exercise your freedom of speech that way.

That would be the end of about 80% of you cowards on this board.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

If you want to say hateful things about other people --- and we all know you love doing that --- I say go for it. The only requirement I would put on it is that you can't say it anonymously, you know, like on a message board. Nope. You have to get right up in that person's face and exercise your freedom of speech that way.

That would be the end of about 80% of you cowards on this board.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

 

[mdk]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

If you want to say hateful things about other people --- and we all know you love doing that --- I say go for it. The only requirement I would put on it is that you can't say it anonymously, you know, like on a message board. Nope. You have to get right up in that person's face and exercise your freedom of speech that way.

That would be the end of about 80% of you cowards on this board.

I disagree. Expressing your views anonymously; for the most part, is protected speech.

 

[Ernie S.]

Not that I'm one bit afraid to express my views face to face.
The fact that some may hate the truth doesn't make the truth hateful.

 

[koshergrl]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

If you want to say hateful things about other people --- and we all know you love doing that --- I say go for it. The only requirement I would put on it is that you can't say it anonymously, you know, like on a message board. Nope. You have to get right up in that person's face and exercise your freedom of speech that way.

That would be the end of about 80% of you cowards on this board.

Lol.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

This is Europe, not the United States. In the US hate speech is entitled to Constitutional protections.

 

[Foxfyre]

Europe no longer has freedom of speech, and we are in danger of following in their footsteps. Every single day I hear morons say things like "Ever nation in Europe does this or that", the implication (or outright assertion) being that we must be more like them.

I don't know from whence this stupidity springs, probably from the uneducated ignorami who teach in our schools.

"You cannot have free speech for one section of society but not for another — that is a profound contradiction in terms.
"If the offensive and the allegedly hateful are not free to express themselves, then freedom of expression does not exist. Instead, we in effect have a licence to speak, graciously granted to us by officialdom. We have a licence to speak and it can be removed from us the minute we say something that the authorities consider offensive or hurtful or horrible."

"Supporters of hate-speech legislation often say, “Look, we just want to outlaw the n-word or vile anti-Semitism, so what’s your problem?” But in truth, moral thought and political and religious ideology are also being swept up in this moral crusade against so-called hate speech."

"We must always remember that one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s deep moral belief. What the state and mainstream observers consider to be “hateful” might be a religious or political ideal to someone else.
"When we invite the state to police hatred, to police emotion, to police speech, to police thought itself, we open the door to the policing of political and moral and religious ideas."

Brendan O Neill - The vast Empire of Censorship in Europe - and how...

Jonathan Turley wrote a WAPO piece a couple of years ago about this:

Excerpt:

Free speech is dying in the Western world. While most people still enjoy considerable freedom of expression, this right, once a near-absolute, has become less defined and less dependable for those espousing controversial social, political or religious views. The decline of free speech has come not from any single blow but rather from thousands of paper cuts of well-intentioned exceptions designed to maintain social harmony. . . . THE DEATH OF FREE SPEECH JONATHAN TURLEY​

And in the realm of 'those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it', it is noteworthy that EVERY dictator or would-be dictator or totalitarian government abolishes free speech first--failure to use the mandated speech or speaking what is forbidden to speak results in swift and certain punishment--and then those governments go after other liberties. The 'correct speech' mandate is reinforced and implemented by controlling and/or engaging cooperation from educators and the press.

And before somebody assigns me to the tinfoil hat brigade, I am not saying that totalitarianism is the motive or intent of those who keep pushing and pushing to curtail our rights to free speech in many different ways. But each one shifts more and more power away from the people and gives it to government to order us to be who and what the government requires us to be or else. And some of us see the potential danger in that and how alien it is to the concepts and principles on which we founded this great nation.

Giving government power to dictate what is and is not hate speech is just one more facet of the whole picture.