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Well, for some people it's more like "Everybody's a free-speech absolutist until the speech causes them ~~to get punched in the face~~ shoot someone in the face

• Supermancho 3y ago
  The common thread behind people wanting to restrict speech (be it violence or porn or whatever) is fear. People fear other people and want another organization (the government) to protect them or make someone else liable. It's practical and efficient, rather than moral. Same kind of short term thinking is why global warming will not be uniformly addressed for many generations...maybe never.
  • Terr_ 3y ago
    > The common thread behind people wanting to restrict speech [...] is fear. I'm resistant to this framing because I think it could lead to some facile arguments, since ultimately "fear" (anticipation of future harm) is also behind huge swathes of laws/restrictions which are generally uncontroversial and moral. > People fear other people and want another organization (the government) to protect them or make someone else liable. It's practical and efficient, rather than moral. This also applies to when someone points a loaded gun at your head and screams that you've insulted their mother for the last time: You fear that other person and want another organization (the government) to protect you and make them liable! However that doesn't make it unreasonable, surely assault with a deadly weapon should continue to be a crime.