3 ms·
I've been told by Germans, none of whom were law enforcement or lawyers that calling someone an asshole or sticking up your middle finger is a finable offense.
by Zak 17y ago
I've been told by Germans, none of whom were law enforcement or lawyers that calling someone an asshole or sticking up your middle finger is a finable offense. It's well known that publishing Nazi propaganda, denying the holocaust and the like are illegal. It seems to me that free speech is less than fundamental in Germany.
The US has a less than perfect record on the issue as well, with obscenity laws and the like.
- jrockway 17y agoThe US has a less than perfect record on the issue as well, with obscenity laws and the like. To be fair, these laws have been consistently struck down by the Supreme Court. That doesn't stop the government from continually passing similar laws and prosecuting people, however: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America_v._Extreme_Associates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America_v._Ext... The real problem here is not with obscenity, though, but the concept of plea bargains. How many people will end up in prison because of unconstitutional laws before someone stands up against the oppressive regime?
- Zak 17y agoTo be fair, these laws have been consistently struck down by the Supreme Court. I wish that were completely true. Unfortunately, it's not quite the case: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_test http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_test
- jrockway 17y agoI agree that the Supreme Court got this completely wrong.
- eru 17y ago> I've been told by Germans, none of whom were law enforcement or lawyers that calling someone an asshole or sticking up your middle finger is a finable offense. I can confirm this for offending a police officer or similar. But I haven't heard of a case where someone got fined for offending a `normal' private person. (I do not know whether the law covers this as well.)