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Please don't defend harming other people. Of course you can scream fire if there is one, but the point is that making up a lie and intentionally introducing i
by sgt101 6y ago
Please don't defend harming other people.
Of course you can scream fire if there is one, but the point is that making up a lie and intentionally introducing it into the public square harms others.
- nybble41 6y agoAt no point did I defend harming other people. Which, really, is the entire point. Lying is not acceptable behavior and people really aren't going to like you very much if you do it—which may well have social consequences—but on its own it doesn't justify capital punishment, imprisonment, fines, or any other form of legal retribution. No one suffers bodily injury or property damage as a direct result of mere speech, and in the specific case of the "falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater" canard it is perfectly obvious that it is not the report of fire (false or otherwise) that caused the harm but rather the other theatergoers who panicked and placed their own safety first, ignoring the very real harm they were inflicting on the other patrons in their haste to escape.