3 ms·

Free speech is not absolute. There are limitations. Saying that the corona started in a lab without evidence can be defamation, which is not protected by free

Free speech is not absolute. There are limitations. Saying that the corona started in a lab without evidence can be defamation, which is not protected by free speech, not even in the US. Saying that two genders exists or not has never been questioned, but telling a trans person that they are an aberration of the nature is "fighting words" and is not protected. Telling a kid "you're a f*ot and should kill yourself" is not protected by free speech. etc.

michaelmrose 4y ago
I think that telling a trans person they are an aberration of nature is wrong but calling it fighting words is only euphemistically correct. The fighting words exemption to free speech has been so narrowed that you practically have to say I'm going to kill professor plum in the library with the candlestick right now in the presence of said professor for it to count. If you were to scream it at them in a way that would suggest to an ordinary person they are in danger of attack it would be fighting words. If you merely slung it on the street you would have no realistic means of legal redress. No cop is going to arrest them for offending you nor prosecutor press charges.
- peoplefromibiza 4y ago
  > I'm going to kill professor plum in the library but if you write it on a social network they will probably come and knock at your door. that's the point. when you're writing something on a globally accessible platform you're basically making a public statement and it makes all the difference people need to realize that freedom of speech is not the same thing as freedom of publishing anything they like without consequences
  - michaelmrose 4y ago
    In the US you can most certainly according to present interpretation say virtually anything that isn't a credible threat or a false defamatory statement. You may lose your job, your significant other, and the respect of your community but you wont end up in jail. > Telling a kid "you're a f*ot and should kill yourself" is not protected by free speech. This would be absolutely awful but you would be unlikely to face legal consequences.

michaelmrose 4y ago

I think that telling a trans person they are an aberration of nature is wrong but calling it fighting words is only euphemistically correct. The fighting words exemption to free speech has been so narrowed that you practically have to say I'm going to kill professor plum in the library with the candlestick right now in the presence of said professor for it to count. If you were to scream it at them in a way that would suggest to an ordinary person they are in danger of attack it would be fighting words. If you merely slung it on the street you would have no realistic means of legal redress. No cop is going to arrest them for offending you nor prosecutor press charges.

peoplefromibiza 4y ago
> I'm going to kill professor plum in the library but if you write it on a social network they will probably come and knock at your door. that's the point. when you're writing something on a globally accessible platform you're basically making a public statement and it makes all the difference people need to realize that freedom of speech is not the same thing as freedom of publishing anything they like without consequences
- michaelmrose 4y ago
  In the US you can most certainly according to present interpretation say virtually anything that isn't a credible threat or a false defamatory statement. You may lose your job, your significant other, and the respect of your community but you wont end up in jail. > Telling a kid "you're a f*ot and should kill yourself" is not protected by free speech. This would be absolutely awful but you would be unlikely to face legal consequences.