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> What does this mean and how is it relevant to the article or the parent comment? It is very relevant. Freedom of speech is one of cornerstones of the West.

NoGravitas 4y ago
Galileo will be pleased to hear it. As will Socrates.
- kube-system 4y ago
  The reason you know those things about those people is because your teachers (and their teachers) thought those mistakes were worth learning from.
  - NoGravitas 4y ago
    My dude, as recently as 1921, England was imprisoning people for blasphemy[1], and the law was on the books until 2008. Throughout the history of Christendom, the usual punishment for blasphemy was death by hanging or stoning, and such hangings were common up until the turn of the 18th century[2]. "The West" is nothing special when it comes to freedom of speech. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_the_United_Kingdom#Common_law_offences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_the_United_Ki... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy#Punishment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy#Punishment
    - kube-system 4y ago
      There are places where death sentences for blasphemy are enforced today. This doesn't happen anywhere in the west. While not all of the western world is as liberal about speech as the US is, when you consider both political and religious speech, the western world is squarely more progressive than other regions of the world.
      - NoGravitas 4y ago
        Today? Yeah, it is. But the previous claim was that freedom of speech was some kind of essential, enduring feature of "the west". But Europe's (and its colonies') history in that regard is actually a patchwork of freedom and oppression — but mostly oppression, much like the rest of the world. Europe's trend over the past couple of hundred years has been good regarding political and religious speech, but I wouldn't base any sweeping conclusions about long-term cultural differences on that.
      - sfjailbird 4y ago
        > There are places where death sentences for blasphemy are enforced today. And many warmly supported (or even placed in power) by 'the West', funny how that works.
    - Nomentatus 4y ago
      The current Pope strongly supports the return of blasphemy laws, and not just re Christian beliefs, apparently.
- sofixa 4y ago
  Good question, by what measure is Ancient Greece "Western"?
  - wombatpm 4y ago
    It’s not China or the Indus River valley?
    - sofixa 4y ago
      By that logic Albania, Bosnia, Libya, Chad are also "Western"?

NoGravitas 4y ago

Galileo will be pleased to hear it. As will Socrates.

kube-system 4y ago
The reason you know those things about those people is because your teachers (and their teachers) thought those mistakes were worth learning from.
- NoGravitas 4y ago
  My dude, as recently as 1921, England was imprisoning people for blasphemy[1], and the law was on the books until 2008. Throughout the history of Christendom, the usual punishment for blasphemy was death by hanging or stoning, and such hangings were common up until the turn of the 18th century[2]. "The West" is nothing special when it comes to freedom of speech. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_the_United_Kingdom#Common_law_offences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_the_United_Ki... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy#Punishment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy#Punishment
  - kube-system 4y ago
    There are places where death sentences for blasphemy are enforced today. This doesn't happen anywhere in the west. While not all of the western world is as liberal about speech as the US is, when you consider both political and religious speech, the western world is squarely more progressive than other regions of the world.
    - NoGravitas 4y ago
      Today? Yeah, it is. But the previous claim was that freedom of speech was some kind of essential, enduring feature of "the west". But Europe's (and its colonies') history in that regard is actually a patchwork of freedom and oppression — but mostly oppression, much like the rest of the world. Europe's trend over the past couple of hundred years has been good regarding political and religious speech, but I wouldn't base any sweeping conclusions about long-term cultural differences on that.
    - sfjailbird 4y ago
      > There are places where death sentences for blasphemy are enforced today. And many warmly supported (or even placed in power) by 'the West', funny how that works.
  - Nomentatus 4y ago
    The current Pope strongly supports the return of blasphemy laws, and not just re Christian beliefs, apparently.
sofixa 4y ago
Good question, by what measure is Ancient Greece "Western"?
- wombatpm 4y ago
  It’s not China or the Indus River valley?
  - sofixa 4y ago
    By that logic Albania, Bosnia, Libya, Chad are also "Western"?