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Do you really think you have unlimited freedom of speech in the US? Try this: go to a playground and say to a parent: "I want to beat up your child." Then stan

• ythl 10y ago
  > Do you really think you have unlimited freedom of speech in the US? Compared to Europe, apparently yes > Try this: go to a playground and say to a parent ... I doubt this would have the outcome you imagine. What would the police officer arrest me for? Expressing an opinion? "Officer": "What seems to be the problem" "Woman": "This man said he wanted to beat up my child" "Officer": "Is this true?" "Me": "Yes" "Officer": "Why did you say that?" "Me": "Someone on the internet told me I would be arrested if I did" "Officer": "Go home."
• dragonwriter 10y ago
  > This is exactly what the laws in Germany are against. Hate speech that ultimately leads to violence. Your example is not mere "hate speech that ultimately leads to violence", its -- while somewhat ambiguously worded so it might not actually be prosecutable in the US, its right on the boundary -- something that could (depending on other elements of context) be seen as a threat coupled with present capacity for execution directed at a specific person. Its not a clear example of something outside the bounds of protection in the US, and to the extent that it might be seen as crossing the line in the US, its very much not analogous to the kinds of things prohibited by the more expansive German restrictions on speech.