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There is a big difference between actually going out and shooting people, and merely filming videos about guns, it's true. There is very little difference betwe
by syrrim 9y ago
There is a big difference between actually going out and shooting people, and merely filming videos about guns, it's true. There is very little difference between two particular types of speech, as they are both just words. If we take the speech to be a precursor to action, then that is different yes. But banning the speech won't stop the action.
No matter what someone is saying, banning them is a form of social signalling. It says, "we disagree with what these people are saying". There are many many things that the majority doesn't like the minority saying, and the world will be worse off if they manage to ban it all.
- scarface74 9y agoYou really don't see any difference from political speech "Gays are going to hell and "go out and kill all gays"? If I were gay, I would care less if people judged me based on their religion. I would care if a bunch of yokels started targeting me with violence.
- syrrim 9y agoObviously a person doesn't want to be killed. But most people who posts about killing people online don't actually do it. Of those that do, very few would be detered if they hadn't been allowed to post about it beforehand. So this speech doesn't cause people to be murdered, at best it predicts it. But then, most hateful speech could predict a later killing. Someone who thinks gays should go to hell might decide to help them along, as it were. The difference between the two things you have quoted, then, is one of degree: saying the second demonstrates more hate than the first, but it is the same brand of hate.