Threatening comments would not be OK in the US. Threatening someone is illegal here. The US historically has tended away from laws that apply to people's thou

Threatening comments would not be OK in the US. Threatening someone is illegal here. The US historically has tended away from laws that apply to people's thoughts or opinions, unless those thoughts or opinions are connected with a tangible crime. Some whackjob spouting off racist comments isn't considered to be committing a crime as just being an idiot who should be ignored. That being said, if such speech resulted in a riot or a hate crime, or was harassing, the racist would not be free from the consequences of his or her speech, whether the case might ultimately be tried in civil or criminal court (or both). The Bill of Rights, arguably the most important US legal document, states that "Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech[.]" That does not mean however, that one is free from the consequences resulting from one's speech. IANAL, but that's my layman's understanding.