I get the impression you believe in absolutes and that something either is free speech or isn't free speech.
Not at all. Go back and read my posts. I gave specific examples of both. I even posted some comments illustrating the difficulty.
Could you explain how sexual harassment is legally protected speech on a street corner but criminal in a workplace?
Certainly. The guy on the corner is annoying. The boss is in a position of power over the employee. The consequence of the two examples are vastly different.
The exact same words used in different environments get very different receptions in a court of law.
Yes. There is no law against being rude. There is a law against sexual harrassment in the workplace. The difference is obvious.
The point I'm driving at is that rights aren't mutually exclusive and when they come into conflict something has to give.
That is why we have courts of law, lawmakers and voters.
How is it that the 1st amendment guarantees the right to peacefully assemble and express political opinions unless it inconveniences anyone? 1400 Occupy protesters were arrested for blocking traffic on a bridge in NYC even though traffic has no constitutional right to flow freely and had been blocked from the same bridge a month earlier to film a Hollywood movie.
Are you somehow laboring under the assumption that I favor hate speech laws? I DO NOT FAVOR HATE SPEECH LAWS, I thought that was obvious from what I posted. My personal opinion is that Facebook should turn off Germany.
But the Germany example is perfect. Free speech advocates would say this:
In a free speech environment the people who object to hateful speech would, A) not read it or B) stop participating in Facebook thereby causing Facebook to make a business decision.
But what Germany did was ban speech and rather than go after the person making the offensive remarks, blamed the people who gave them an audience. This is really frightening. They made Facebook responsible for the bad actions of everyone who posts there.
You asked why Iran's president can post the most hateful things possible and it is news but it is not news when you or I say it. Very good question. The problem is that we have a small group of people deciding what I am allowed to see and hear. I object to that.
Misty said: I think that Trump is an exception to the rule. He has 2 things that most people envy: loads of money and fame. Just one of those elements contributed to his getting away with all the ugly comments he made against women and minorities and it is truly upsetting and disgusting. It is like his prominent status in society makes everything he does so excusable. What the hell is wrong with this world when dishonesty is lauded and women who argue are degraded and told to shut up?
What is wrong with American women? 60% of the white ones voted for him. Are they that stupid? Or do they simply not find what he said offensive. Frankly I have no problem making decisions for women. I am an older white male and I was raised in a society that thought that it was my job to do so. I am confused by women who did this and have lost all respect for the "woman's movement" in America for keeping its mouth shut and not taking to the street. I can only conclude that if you are a white woman there is a better than even chance that Trump is your man.
On one hand, I hate that Trump brought up "fake news". On the other hand, there is a lot of "fake news" out there because people can buy reporters or buy media outlets to "spin" the facts.
There is no "the media". Right? There are a wide variety of media forms and outlets and not all are for sale. And the opposition has money too. Smart people like you and I know there is fake news because we visit a variety of sources and can see it. Most people don't visit one. Fox News is sold out. Rasmussen polling is sold out. Britbart is sold out. We know that. But we also know the ones that do not appear to be sold out.
I do not like censorship. However, I wonder if we can handle so much free speech. This generation has gotten more wild and more unashamed than in your heyday.
Very true. I did not have a venue to find a support group for every antisocial attitude I might think up. If a young person today thinks it would be fun to oil his body, paint obscenities on his chest and dance naked in the moonlight, there is a group that will tell him that he is just fine.*
The dark corners of the Internet are very dark indeed. We do not know the effect of it yet. I share your concern. It may well be that to some extent radical Islam is right; that the West has gone too far down the rabbit hole. We'll see.
*Yes Decky I think you are fine. I did not specifically mean you.