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Originally Posted by Bitch Leave 
Please don't elaborate!
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Please don't elaborate? Uh ... ok ...
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| Have you lived in Europe for a prolonged time? |
I've been to Europe a few times, only 2 countries unfortunately. Does that mean I can't comment on hate speech laws?
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| ETA: And what the hell do you mean by "Europe Laws"? |
Uh ... hate speech laws enacted by countries in Europe of course.
The example of the Mohamed cartoons is a good one, Salon has a good example of why these laws are obnoxious (in this example we're talking about Canada instead of Europe though).
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwa...e_speech_laws/
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| The hearing was closed to the public -- only his lawyer and wife were allowed to attend -- but Levant insisted on recording the proceedings and was directed by the Commission not to publish the video, but he did so anyway. Here are the noxious fruits of hate speech laws: a citizen being forced to appear before the Government in order to be interrogated by an agent of the State -- a banal, clerical bureaucrat -- about what opinions he expressed and why he expressed them, upon pain of being punished under the law. This is nothing short of stomach-turning: |
Now as a minority on several fronts in this country, I could argue these laws "would benefit me". But you know what, I don't want to criminalize the right of others to offend me with their opinions.
Some of these laws also get into infringement of freedom of religion, like in the case of this Pentecostal pastor's rant against gays in Sweden ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Jan28.html
Now I'm trying to imagine what if somebody did a cartoon against Pentecostals and their intolerance of gays, the Pentecostals get to sue the cartoonist and gay right groups get to sue the Pentecostals. It can get silly.
BTW, do they have these laws in Spain? Because when I was there the racism against gypsies was very out in the open.