FourWinds
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A sign of things to come?
May 28, 2002, 11:56
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Eeeek! This is bad. Turkey have
imposed the same laws on the
internet there as they impose on
media.
This would seem to effectively rule
out freedom of speech.
There is a possibility that web sites
may have to register with the
authorities and have their content
scrutinised before it goes on line.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2006000/2006759.stm
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landells
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Freedom of Speech
May 28, 2002, 12:52
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I've always been uneasy about the concept of Freedom of Speech:
"All niggers must die NOW!"
Should people be free to spout such rhetoric - I believe not but the concept of Freedom of Speech says otherwise
The idea that you should be allowed to say what you want is appealing but you then have to accept that other people will then be permitted to say what they like no matter how offensive you or other people may find it - that to me is Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Speech means Freedom to Offend
Sorry if this seems like I'm having a go at you FW - I'm not. And the situation in Turkey does concern me but so does the concept of Freedom of Speech. It’s a hard (probably impossible) balance
The more Draconian the state, the more powerful the voice of dissent
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FourWinds
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Re: Freedom of Speech
May 28, 2002, 14:40
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landells, we had a big thread about this a while back and the concerns you raise were very evident.
The thought of anyone writing the sort of thing that concerns you, i.e. victimising any group is abhorrant to me too. BUT. Far worse is state control of what you can or can't say.
Personally I think it comes down to education. Raise people and treat people fairly (remove positive discrimination - this only reminds people of differences) and equally and you remove the need for people to write trash.
Sadly, you must allow this shit to go on, but you MUST address the root cause (if and when you find it). If you drive it underground you have a harder job tackling it.
Persoannly, I think that child porn and such does not come under freedom of speech nor does inciting people to do others harm.
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Lord Lucan
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Re: Freedom of Speech
May 29, 2002, 15:18
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It's imortant that people who have racist/homophobic/sexist etc leanings are allowed to express them. I say this because banning them from doing so doesn't work, for 2 reasons.
1. It could make holding an 'illegal' point of view attractive for being transgressive and rebellious - see drugs laws for proof of this.
2. You are not going to be able to persuade / educate people if they do not express views you can argue against.
The strength of the argument is so strongly on the side of tolerance that we should not be so worried about attacks on it that we ban them. Regularly exposing the inconsistencies in bigotted arguments is essential to ensuring that enlightened attitudes are maintained and handed down from generation to generation.
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