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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Unrestricted freedom of speech includes freedom of verbal abuse. It wouldn't be unrestricted freedom of speech if it didn't.
Words can kill and maim just as much as knives can, but everyone, from the vilest mass-murderer to the most innocent child, has the right to use words.
There are people you'd never trust with a weapon, why allow those same people to use the most powerful weapon of all to hurt people?
edited 1st May '12 7:01:35 PM by ATC
If you want any of my avatars, just Pm me I'd truly appreciate any avatar of a reptile sleeping in a Nice Hat Read Elmer Kelton booksI endorse protecting that speech, sure.
ATC: From a legal standpoint, if not from a semantics standpoint, verbal abuse (well, harassment) is not protected speech. We as a country have made that distinction.
Not to mention laws against defamation and the like.
edited 1st May '12 7:02:06 PM by TheyCallMeTomu
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Well... one thing is to express your opinion (freedom of speech).
Another things is calling someone non stop threatening him, having your boss constantly talk to you about sex, or being followed everywhere by a group of people who say you are going to hell.
As a rule of thumb, the problem you seem to have with this issue, is not the opinions themselves(freedom of speech) but the way in which said opinions are expressed (for which there are proper and unproper times and places).
In the end, the law cant really prevent people from abusing other people verbally if they do so in a proper manner.
edited 1st May '12 7:05:14 PM by Baff
I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining.Because words are a right in America.
A right. You don't take away peoples rights, that's a key part of the definition of a word. That's why it's the bill of rights. They are inalienable things that you cannot take away.
Though I suppose it could be argued that barring felons from buying firearms is a violation of the second amendment.
Who gets to pick and choose what is considered protected and unprotected speech? There's a reason the definition can get hazy at times.
Anyway, rights aren't the topic.
Yeah, this kinda drifted in the last couple of pages.
I wonder how much humour Obama will insert into his campaign strategy. Obviously the president can't be a clown, but it will be an immense PR victory if he can convince independents that the Republican policies aren't worth taking seriously.
Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.![]()
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Is this a dishonest video editing by Fox News thing?
edited 1st May '12 7:28:36 PM by RadicalTaoist
Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.@Radical Taoist: Republicans have offered a deal whereby the student loan interest rates are kept the same, but the Affordable Care Act is defunded. Not shitting you.
Club For Growth wants
said student loan interest rates to double, at a time when student loan credit outnumbers credit card debt.
And lastyl, on a different note, republicans currently have no plans to offset the cost of the Bush Tax cuts.
Ironic Nigh on hypocritical, considering what the article points out.
edited 1st May '12 7:43:07 PM by Enkufka
Very big Daydream Believer. "That's not knowledge, that's a crapshoot!" -Al Murray "Welcome to QI" -Stephen Fry
Oh boy here we go. Another dick move by Republicans where Obama cannot win.
He lets the bill pass? It guts affordable care act.
He vetoes it? He's attacked for going against his whole student loan thing.
Maybe in some universe our politicians are actually working to improve our country instead of trying to just snipe each other.
edited 1st May '12 8:26:33 PM by Thorn14
That's a Red Alert mod waiting to happen... Wonder what the Republican variation of Hell March would be.
Does anyone think this issue with the blind Chinese dissident will get played up at all? Probably not, since anything more complex than "we bombed shit today" just goes over the public's head for some reason. Too bad considering how relevant American-Sino relations are in this day and age.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
I care. The Colbert Report covered it. But who knows how this will go since the U.S. owes China a fuckton of money.
I still don't get why the "Party of Fiscal Responsibility" is dead-set against closing tax loopholes. It's not even a tax raise! It's a way for people to pay the taxes they are supposed to pay in the first place.
You know what? Let's not stop at closing loopholes. I say we repeal the tax code altogether and start from scratch. Flat income tax based on income level. Nothing more, nothing less. We will worry about exemptions later.

Well, Freedom of Speech doesn't necessarily allow you to harass people, at least not as individuals. But yes, hate speech-so long as it doesn't actively promote violence-is protected speech.