Thread: Freedom of Speech Vs. Hate Speech

Speech is free, actions are not. What one person may find patently offensive, others see it as free speech. I can remember the court fight over an artitst who was seeking public funding for a piece with a crucifix in a jar of urine. The artist said his freedom of speech was being denied because he couldn't get public grants for it. Personally I found his art to be tasteless and so offensive to the Christian world as to be horrid. However, as speech I do defend his Constitutional right to that speech. My objection was to the use of public money to support it. I don't ever remembering anything in the Constitution saying that we had to subsidize anyones right to that speech....

Originally Posted by gregs656

You can hate who ever you want, it just can't be racially motivated. You could, presumably, be tried for a racially motivated hate crime against a white man.

Not in the US. Besides the fact that almost any action (even speech) against someone of a different race will be thought of as a race issue, even if it isn't, it'll be made to fit into some other category. I've heard the gamut- disability, age, gender, sexuality, race, creed, family, clique, social standing, vehicle ownership (seriously).

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

That brings us to the old question of, when you are at the superbowl next year and you stand up with a megaphone and yell, "there's a bomb here about to go off". Free speech? How about the hundreds killed in the resultant stampede.

This one is simple to me. He should not be prosecuted for saying anything he should be prosecuted for any harm he causes and the fraud he perpetrates. If there actually is a bomb he should be completely in the clear.

haven't had time to listen to the pod cast (still downloading) but I'll go ahead and say I find the idea of hatespeech/hatecrime repugnant and antithetical to a reasonable and just society.


as always south park has paved the way:
judge: (to cartman as he is being sentenced to prison for throwing a rock at a black kid) "I hope you've learned your lesson! The next time you throw a rock at someone you'd better make DAMNED SURE he's the same color as you!"