4 ms·

Strange. As someone from a developing nation, this is one aspect of US which I respect the most. The ability to say your mind without repercussions even if it i

Strange. As someone from a developing nation, this is one aspect of US which I respect the most. The ability to say your mind without repercussions even if it is not politically correct. In India, the governments are known to use sedition and other laws pretty liberally to silence free speech. I'd rather that this "serious flaw" remain, than the US too become the same as any other nation, where posting a joke on the PM can lead to jailtime.

majewsky 7y ago
There is a middle ground. Germany is choke full of jokes and even hateful comments about politicians like Angela Merkel, and no one went to prison for it as far as I'm aware. But intentionally inciteful hate speech against racial/religious minorities can (and occasionally does) lead to fines or jailtime.
- deepbreath 7y ago
  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/07/german-comedian-could-face-five-year-prison-sentence-for-smear-p/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/07/german-comedian-...
  - kaibee 7y ago
    Fortunately, with the benefit of hindsight, we can know how this story actually played out. > On 15 April Merkel announced in a press conference that the German government had approved Böhmermann's criminal prosecution, but would abolish the respective paragraph 103 of the German penal code before 2018. Intense criticism followed the Chancellor's decision, with speculation that she decided to allow the prosecution in order to protect Germany's refugee deal with Turkey.[3] The case was dropped in October 2016.[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6hmermann_affair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6hmermann_affair
- repolfx 7y ago
  So what happens when Germany gets a Chancellor that comes from a racial minority? We already know the answer: they will claim that attacks on them are racially motivated (regardless of the truth) and shut them down. Plenty of examples of that sort of thing going on today outside of politics.
  - mcv 7y ago
    Probably depends on whether the attacks focus on the chancellor's race or on their policy. Criticising the government's policy is absolutely vital to a democracy. Criticising someone's skin colour is not. Though if the target is a politician, I'd expect them to prefer to err on the side of allowing it.
  - ptah 7y ago
    they would deal with racism probably the same as obama did when he was in office and was subject to such attacks
- Hitton 7y ago
  Free speech in Germany is a joke. https://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/206-you-can-say-anything-in-germany https://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/206-you-can-s... https://www.dw.com/en/is-it-illegal-to-call-someone-a-nazi/a-42313527 https://www.dw.com/en/is-it-illegal-to-call-someone-a-nazi/a...
fzeroracer 7y ago
This 'freedom' of speech in America doesn't exist. It never has existed and the fact that people prop up the charade of it is disappointing to say the least. We see outrage here when a site like 8chan is rightfully lambasted for sparking various terroristic attacks. But not when a woman is arrested for laughing at a politician. Or when a black man is killed for acting or saying the wrong thing to a police officer. Or the local government deciding not to step in and display an episode of a TV series showing a gay couple which is textbook viewpoint discrimination. These freedoms only go in one direction and I only wish those who were ardent fighters of freedom of speech would be consistent in what and who they fight for.

majewsky 7y ago

There is a middle ground. Germany is choke full of jokes and even hateful comments about politicians like Angela Merkel, and no one went to prison for it as far as I'm aware. But intentionally inciteful hate speech against racial/religious minorities can (and occasionally does) lead to fines or jailtime.

deepbreath 7y ago
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/07/german-comedian-could-face-five-year-prison-sentence-for-smear-p/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/07/german-comedian-...
- kaibee 7y ago
  Fortunately, with the benefit of hindsight, we can know how this story actually played out. > On 15 April Merkel announced in a press conference that the German government had approved Böhmermann's criminal prosecution, but would abolish the respective paragraph 103 of the German penal code before 2018. Intense criticism followed the Chancellor's decision, with speculation that she decided to allow the prosecution in order to protect Germany's refugee deal with Turkey.[3] The case was dropped in October 2016.[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6hmermann_affair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6hmermann_affair
repolfx 7y ago
So what happens when Germany gets a Chancellor that comes from a racial minority? We already know the answer: they will claim that attacks on them are racially motivated (regardless of the truth) and shut them down. Plenty of examples of that sort of thing going on today outside of politics.
- mcv 7y ago
  Probably depends on whether the attacks focus on the chancellor's race or on their policy. Criticising the government's policy is absolutely vital to a democracy. Criticising someone's skin colour is not. Though if the target is a politician, I'd expect them to prefer to err on the side of allowing it.
- ptah 7y ago
  they would deal with racism probably the same as obama did when he was in office and was subject to such attacks
Hitton 7y ago
Free speech in Germany is a joke. https://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/206-you-can-say-anything-in-germany https://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/206-you-can-s... https://www.dw.com/en/is-it-illegal-to-call-someone-a-nazi/a-42313527 https://www.dw.com/en/is-it-illegal-to-call-someone-a-nazi/a...

fzeroracer 7y ago

This 'freedom' of speech in America doesn't exist. It never has existed and the fact that people prop up the charade of it is disappointing to say the least. We see outrage here when a site like 8chan is rightfully lambasted for sparking various terroristic attacks. But not when a woman is arrested for laughing at a politician. Or when a black man is killed for acting or saying the wrong thing to a police officer. Or the local government deciding not to step in and display an episode of a TV series showing a gay couple which is textbook viewpoint discrimination. These freedoms only go in one direction and I only wish those who were ardent fighters of freedom of speech would be consistent in what and who they fight for.