Free speech...Oh the irony.

fretmeister

Wolfetone said:

digitalscream said:

In the UK, there are very specific exceptions to freedom of expression. From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_by_country#United_Kingdom

It's interesting that we place the burden of proof in a defamation suit on the defendant. I wonder how long it'll be before that applies to those accused of terrorism-related crimes, too?

That's an interesting link. 

Reading the following passage,

sending another any article which is indecent or grossly offensive with an intent to cause distress or anxiety (which has been used to prohibit speech of a racist or anti-religious nature)

...makes me wonder if the Charlie magazine would have been severely prosecuted had it been a UK publication? 

"Intent to cause distress...etc etc"

Satire and piss taking is not intent to cause distress.

Evilmags

VimFuego said:

possibly it would've been prosecuted over here, however that doesn't mean the prosecution would've been the right thing to do. Just cos it's illegal doesn't make it wrong.

You been reading Liberal jurisprudence or something? That statement could have been made by pretty much any of my teachers last year!!! I agree with it, I hasten to add.

I think the constitutional guarantee of free speech in the US is the way to go. If somebody can´t deal with a few words without resorting to violence then they are, frankly, primitive and really need to consider there outlook on life.

 One reason for protecting free speech is very simple. Just about everything you say will manage to offend somebody. Just about everything Ed Milliband and his party says offends me, likewise Nick Griffin and numerous other public figures. This does not give me some god given right to burst into the poor man's house and behead him in front of his children. Nor does it give me the right to gang up on him and demand his voice is not heard. That is not how an open society works.

Freedom of speech is a fundamental tenant of an open and free society. It also serves as a very important check on power and should be protected at great cost.

blueskunk

Wisdom awarded for the Flighty Zeus vid clip Drewski

fretmeister

There is also a specific problem about blasphemy.

If a person says something deemed to be against a particular god, then the prosecution of that person effectively blasphemes all the other gods. The prosecution alleges that the person offended Yahweh, thereby giving Yahweh protected status as god. That is blasphemy against Vishnu....

So the prosecutor and judge get charged with blasphemy against a different god...

samzadgan

Drew_fx said:

Wolfetone said:

I was listening to Radio 4 on the way home and ironically, there are now supporters of terrorism claiming their right to free speech in France. They are saying that they too, should be able to say what they like.

As unpalatable as it may seem, have they got a point? What about those that hate gay people? Should they have the right of free speech and be allowed to express their own personally held opinion.....after all they haven't hurt anyone with their words have they?

Yes. They should have the right to say whatever they want, no matter how bigoted or ignorant or unpalatable.

They should not have the right or justification to murder people.

yep...really...the response from the islamic community should have been a cartoon in one of their own publications with something like a depiction of the virgin marry in a gangbang with a quote "who's the daddy"...that would have been a. peaceful and b. comical.

i remember years and years ago in Sydney there was long comical fued between 2 churches which were on the same street. I cant remember exactly, but lets say one was catholic and the other protestant. On a weekly basis they would alternate and have messages on their big boards outside the church. It started with a few serious shot at each others beliefs, but after a short period it became almost a joke board and people would actually look forward to reading what was on the board and the response the following week. It went on for years before they stopped.  

Antique_Guitars

We should all just kiss eachother and be done with it, then no one can argue about free speech as they will have a tongue down their throat!

Wolfetone

fretmeister said:

Satire and piss taking is not intent to cause distress.

It depends upon the person don't you think?

Evilmags

If you set yourself up as all knowing and all powerful ( itself a logical contradiction as you can't be both) then surely taking a week joke is not that hard.