RE: Why Freedom of speech is so important.
The critical information here is that the court ruled the detention was unlawful, and heftily compensated the guy for his time. Ergo his freedom of speech was legally upheld.
RE: Why Freedom of speech is so important.
Absolutely agree. This is why it is so important, otherwise he could've been locked up after he was arrested as that 2nd cop wanted to do. The first officer knew and respected his right.
RE: Why Freedom of speech is so important. Message edited:
The former Australian Attorney General George Brandis is famously on record as saying that every person has the right to be a bigot. He is legally correct in defending the right of people to deliberately say things designed to cause distress to others, although this has become something of a grey area since the introduction of "hate speech" laws in various jurisdictions.
Although individuals may have the legal right to be unfeeling asswipes, it's a sad reflection on the human condition that so many feel the need to do so. Should we hope that this man and his bigoted brethren are met by an equally vocal crowd condemning the hypocrisy of his myopic and judgmental religion?
And why does the fact that he and his group were "only quoting scripture" carry any weight at all? Is it OK to condemn other people based on what the Quran says, and demand they abide by its teachings? How about the Bhagavad Gita? The scriptures from which this man quotes demand those he is preaching against be put to death, yet we are meant to wring our hands and wail because somebody is picking on him?
These people may or may not not be breaking the law (we have no evidence to decide what was or was not said, and how that may or may not have infringed national laws), but any sympathy for them is seriously misplaced.
RE: Why Freedom of speech is so important.
There are various ways to think about this, as CD has shown. A way to think about this from a civil liberty standpoint is to identify "the least of these", a phrase in the Bible colloquially thought of as referring to the downtrodden. Take it even further to describe the person that society not only values the least, but hates the most. A street person who accosts you, a Fred Phelps guy picketing a funeral, a terrorist suspect. If the law doesn't protect them, it also may not protect you or anyone else in the same situation.
Totalitarian nations tend to mask acts of repression with appeals to public decency. In such societies, much of what is written on my profile and those of others would be banned, or we would be tracked down.
RE: Why Freedom of speech is so important.
The People vs. Larry Flynt
Is a great movie to watch. It's a true story (mostly) and really tackles the subject of Free Speech, at least in America. It was a landmark Supreme Court case, that changed a nation.
RE: Why Freedom of speech is so important. Message edited:
Harambe, Interesting, isn't it? These good folk who are demanding their right to free speech in Scotland are, I'm quite sure, the same folk who, if they lived in America, would be on School Boards banning books.
RE: Why Freedom of speech is so important.
Book banning was definitely a thing in libraries when I was growing up, particularly from Evangelicals. When it comes to kids, both political "sides" do a lot of jockeying over what they shall read and not read. Hard to say which side is worse these days.
RE: Why Freedom of speech is so important. Message edited:
As with most issues relating to 'freedom', I tend to find on an individual basis, people want the freedom to do and say what THEY like, but are rather less keen to have that applied to anyone they don't agree with. It's a fair bet similar videos of a Muslim exercising the same 'right' wouldn't get quite the same sympathy depending on the viewer. This man is in a public space. There are other things we can't do in public spaces because of the offence they cause to others. If he'd been arrested for stripping naked on the street nobody would quibble about it. Similarly, if he had shouted obscenities at passersby and been arrested for a breach of the peace or whatever the specific legislation is regarding public behaviour. Most of the laws in re: public behaviour restrict rights of the individual in some way for the sake of the people sharing that public space. Most of us don't have any problem with not being able to run down the high street in the buff. Why can't we do this? Because it causes public offence. Why, and this is a genuine question, do we consider that causing public offence by loudly proclaiming bigoted beliefs on the high street should be sacrosanct, whilst running naked isn't? Both can cause offence in shared spaces. Neither will cause offence to everyone. Yet if someone was arrested for taking their top off, I doubt we'd all be up in arms about it.
I question the potential notion that freedom of speech always trumps all other 'rights' including the rights of individuals to do their shopping on the high street without having to face prejudice.
