4 ms·

> Yep, founding fathers thought of that too. No, they stole the idea from British Law.

by wrboyce 13y ago

noonespecial 13y ago
Well, yes, if you get pedantic about it, the constitution is really kind of a greatest-hits mix tape of English Law. But they were hella-good DJ's.
- emhart 13y ago
  Probably my favorite thing said on HN in my limited time here. Oddly heartwarming to boot.
polymatter 13y ago
"thought of" does not mean "invented from scratch without any influence from anything previously".
alan_cx 13y ago
Are you referring to the cases in the UK where people made jokes and ended up in court for it? Because, we don't even have free speech guaranteed. Quite a few people are going to jail for their words. On top of that, we refuse entry to people and boot others out because of what they say. Merely their words and opinions. See, now we have this scary notion of "hate speech". No one knows what it means, but people get arrested and charged, and end up in jail. Its on a whim. It's designed mission creep gone mad. Any pretense of free speech in the UK is long gone.
- sciurus 13y ago
  I assume they are referring to the English Bill of Rights's (1689) provision that "excessive bail ought not to be required" as a precursor to the USA's 8th Amendment to the Constitution (1791) that "Excessive bail shall not be required"
- weavejester 13y ago
  > On top of that, we refuse entry to people and boot others out because of what they say. Is there a country in the world that doesn't do this? If you're not a citizen of a country, you generally can be kicked out or denied entry for the smallest of reasons. Which is bad, but not unusual. > No one knows what it means, but people get arrested and charged, and end up in jail. Its on a whim. I'm not sure I completely agree with the hate speech laws of the UK, but there a lot of case law and precedent behind it, and it's not nearly as broad as you make it sound. In general, hate speech laws target abusive speech intended to stir up racial hatred, and abusive speech intended to harass an individual. The laws also targets threatening speech against sexual orientation, or threatening speech intended to incite religion hatred. So it's okay to, for instance, ridicule or insult Islam or Christianity, but it's not okay to incite violence against Muslims or Christians.

> Yep, founding fathers thought of that too. No, they stole the idea from British Law.

by wrboyce 13y ago

> Yep, founding fathers thought of that too. No, they stole the idea from British Law.

Well, yes, if you get pedantic about it, the constitution is really kind of a greatest-hits mix tape of English Law. But they were hella-good DJ's.

emhart 13y ago
Probably my favorite thing said on HN in my limited time here. Oddly heartwarming to boot.

polymatter 13y ago

"thought of" does not mean "invented from scratch without any influence from anything previously".

alan_cx 13y ago

Are you referring to the cases in the UK where people made jokes and ended up in court for it? Because, we don't even have free speech guaranteed. Quite a few people are going to jail for their words. On top of that, we refuse entry to people and boot others out because of what they say. Merely their words and opinions. See, now we have this scary notion of "hate speech". No one knows what it means, but people get arrested and charged, and end up in jail. Its on a whim. It's designed mission creep gone mad. Any pretense of free speech in the UK is long gone.

sciurus 13y ago
I assume they are referring to the English Bill of Rights's (1689) provision that "excessive bail ought not to be required" as a precursor to the USA's 8th Amendment to the Constitution (1791) that "Excessive bail shall not be required"
weavejester 13y ago
> On top of that, we refuse entry to people and boot others out because of what they say. Is there a country in the world that doesn't do this? If you're not a citizen of a country, you generally can be kicked out or denied entry for the smallest of reasons. Which is bad, but not unusual. > No one knows what it means, but people get arrested and charged, and end up in jail. Its on a whim. I'm not sure I completely agree with the hate speech laws of the UK, but there a lot of case law and precedent behind it, and it's not nearly as broad as you make it sound. In general, hate speech laws target abusive speech intended to stir up racial hatred, and abusive speech intended to harass an individual. The laws also targets threatening speech against sexual orientation, or threatening speech intended to incite religion hatred. So it's okay to, for instance, ridicule or insult Islam or Christianity, but it's not okay to incite violence against Muslims or Christians.