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I've seen days of coverage on whether Obama is a 'secret muslim terrorist' I've seen people call Obama a monkey, the anti christ, dumbass, marxist, etc. That

I've seen days of coverage on whether Obama is a 'secret muslim terrorist' I've seen people call Obama a monkey, the anti christ, dumbass, marxist, etc. That was on national TV Freedom of speech is core to the American political system, tbh I am quite surprised and disappointed to find out Germany is so regressive on speech.

rayiner 11y ago
A mayor of a U.S. town was on the White House lawn handing out leaflets calling Obama a "magic mulatto."
vidarh 11y ago
Maybe you should wait and see whether these guys actually gets convicted before pronouncing Germany regressive on speech. Plenty of people make complaints over ridiculous things in the US too - what matters is what the result is.
- unprepare 11y ago
  And if Obama himself made actions to allow such a lawsuit to move forward, it would be seen countrywide as an egregious move against free speech. For Merkel to personally get involved and say that the guy should be prosecuted is a hit against freedom of speech in germany, regardless of the outcome.
  - vidarh 11y ago
    Imagine if Obama took actions to interfere with the judicial process to deny prosecution in response to someone wanting to pursue a claim under a law that was on the books? In this case Merkel was dealt bad cards: A law that should have been removed a long time ago puts the issue on her table. If she had opted to deny consent, it would have been a blow to the principles of separation of powers, the very thing many European governments - including Germany - are criticizing Poland, Hungary and Turkey for violating right now. It would have made her a total hypocrite. So she has opted to stay out, and taken the opportunity to raise the issue of removing this paragraph.
    - unprepare 11y ago
      Hmmm... Defend human rights and look like a hypocrite, or allow human rights to be abused and look like not a hypocrite? I wouldnt have come to the same conclusion as Merkel.
      - icebraining 11y ago
        She only allowed him to be trialled; if the law goes against human rights, it's the court's job to sort it out.
  - chopin 11y ago
    Merkels actions in this case are percepted very critically around here (at least in my filter bubble). I think it is quite open how this will play out for her. The public TV, where the accused has his work place, although independent formally, is force-financed by the public and widely seen as prey of the ruling parties (mainly SPD and CDU, who form the government now). It is quite possible that the ensuing discussing will scar the public TV as well and Merkel in the cross-fire.
zeveb 11y ago
It's not just insults from the right to the left: it goes both ways. I remember people calling George W. Bush a smirking chimp. I remember people like Andrew Sullivan trying to prove that Sarah Palin only pretended that her son Trig is hers. I remember MoveOn.org's ad calling General Petraeus 'General Betray US.' And that's exactly as it should be. Free citizens of a free nation have every right to insult anyone they wish.
- unprepare 11y ago
  Agreed, i didnt mean to imply it was onesided, just using the current president as an example

rayiner 11y ago

A mayor of a U.S. town was on the White House lawn handing out leaflets calling Obama a "magic mulatto."

vidarh 11y ago

Maybe you should wait and see whether these guys actually gets convicted before pronouncing Germany regressive on speech. Plenty of people make complaints over ridiculous things in the US too - what matters is what the result is.

unprepare 11y ago
And if Obama himself made actions to allow such a lawsuit to move forward, it would be seen countrywide as an egregious move against free speech. For Merkel to personally get involved and say that the guy should be prosecuted is a hit against freedom of speech in germany, regardless of the outcome.
- vidarh 11y ago
  Imagine if Obama took actions to interfere with the judicial process to deny prosecution in response to someone wanting to pursue a claim under a law that was on the books? In this case Merkel was dealt bad cards: A law that should have been removed a long time ago puts the issue on her table. If she had opted to deny consent, it would have been a blow to the principles of separation of powers, the very thing many European governments - including Germany - are criticizing Poland, Hungary and Turkey for violating right now. It would have made her a total hypocrite. So she has opted to stay out, and taken the opportunity to raise the issue of removing this paragraph.
  - unprepare 11y ago
    Hmmm... Defend human rights and look like a hypocrite, or allow human rights to be abused and look like not a hypocrite? I wouldnt have come to the same conclusion as Merkel.
    - icebraining 11y ago
      She only allowed him to be trialled; if the law goes against human rights, it's the court's job to sort it out.
- chopin 11y ago
  Merkels actions in this case are percepted very critically around here (at least in my filter bubble). I think it is quite open how this will play out for her. The public TV, where the accused has his work place, although independent formally, is force-financed by the public and widely seen as prey of the ruling parties (mainly SPD and CDU, who form the government now). It is quite possible that the ensuing discussing will scar the public TV as well and Merkel in the cross-fire.

zeveb 11y ago

It's not just insults from the right to the left: it goes both ways. I remember people calling George W. Bush a smirking chimp. I remember people like Andrew Sullivan trying to prove that Sarah Palin only pretended that her son Trig is hers. I remember MoveOn.org's ad calling General Petraeus 'General Betray US.' And that's exactly as it should be. Free citizens of a free nation have every right to insult anyone they wish.

unprepare 11y ago
Agreed, i didnt mean to imply it was onesided, just using the current president as an example