4 ms·

Today the west learns that speech can be harmful even if not directly violent.

InclinedPlane 8y ago
Which is odd, because it's been long ingrained in the law. There are definite limits to speech. Additionally, InfoWars was admitted by Alex Jones to be fictional stories not news, so there isn't exactly a grave danger in banning it specifically.
Tomte 8y ago
Many western countries have always known that and incorporated that knowledge into their legal systems[1]. America is pretty alone in the lunacy that is the First Amendment. The worst part is when Americans claim that without all the extreme extent of the First Amendment there cannot be Free Speech. Many free western countries would disagree. Most of them are quite a bit higher in the Press Freedom Index (with press freedom as one part of free speech) than America. [1] the foremost idea other legal systems could borrow from the German constitution is that of "practical concordance", where no basic right is paramount to the others, but the legal system recognizes that there is a natural tension between all those basic rights and the goal should be to interpret them in such a way that a "global maximum" is reached. So no "free speech above all", but let's see where we can keep most of what free speech could maximally mean and still keep most of all the other basic rights.
- gspetr 8y ago
  It's an appeal to authority. The Press Freedom Index's assessment cannot be taken seriously because it lists UK in the same tier as the US. I'm a citizen of neither so I don't have a horse in this race. The former regularly engages in thought policing the social networks with real prison sentences handed out to such "heinous" criminals like Tommy Robinson.
  - Tomte 8y ago
    Yours is blind patriotism. An index where America isn't on top must be wrong.
    - gspetr 8y ago
      Patriotism? You couldn't be further from the truth. I'm Russian. My country's rating is in the gutter and rightly so. It also regularly imprisons people for social media likes/reposts. You know who else does? The UK.
ryanwatkins_ 8y ago
Any form of speech is harmful to different people. Arbitrary censorship is what authoritarian regimes do. I wish people like yourself would just go live with those types of regimes and the libertarians can actually make useful societies.

Which is odd, because it's been long ingrained in the law. There are definite limits to speech. Additionally, InfoWars was admitted by Alex Jones to be fictional stories not news, so there isn't exactly a grave danger in banning it specifically.

Tomte 8y ago

Many western countries have always known that and incorporated that knowledge into their legal systems[1]. America is pretty alone in the lunacy that is the First Amendment. The worst part is when Americans claim that without all the extreme extent of the First Amendment there cannot be Free Speech. Many free western countries would disagree. Most of them are quite a bit higher in the Press Freedom Index (with press freedom as one part of free speech) than America. [1] the foremost idea other legal systems could borrow from the German constitution is that of "practical concordance", where no basic right is paramount to the others, but the legal system recognizes that there is a natural tension between all those basic rights and the goal should be to interpret them in such a way that a "global maximum" is reached. So no "free speech above all", but let's see where we can keep most of what free speech could maximally mean and still keep most of all the other basic rights.

gspetr 8y ago
It's an appeal to authority. The Press Freedom Index's assessment cannot be taken seriously because it lists UK in the same tier as the US. I'm a citizen of neither so I don't have a horse in this race. The former regularly engages in thought policing the social networks with real prison sentences handed out to such "heinous" criminals like Tommy Robinson.
- Tomte 8y ago
  Yours is blind patriotism. An index where America isn't on top must be wrong.
  - gspetr 8y ago
    Patriotism? You couldn't be further from the truth. I'm Russian. My country's rating is in the gutter and rightly so. It also regularly imprisons people for social media likes/reposts. You know who else does? The UK.

ryanwatkins_ 8y ago

Any form of speech is harmful to different people. Arbitrary censorship is what authoritarian regimes do. I wish people like yourself would just go live with those types of regimes and the libertarians can actually make useful societies.