This issue sits at the edge of what free speech means. Is it acceptable to say hurtful things about other people? That, in turn, needs to be divided into what is socially acceptable and is it legally acceptable. My take is that socially it is abhorrent, but legally, it is perfectly acceptable. For a third view, politically it is what the traffic will bear.
Those citizens of the Netherlands who were offended apparently have options:
"The acquittal means that the right of minorities to remain free of hate speech has been breached. We are going to claim our rights at the U.N.," said Mohamed Rabbae of the National Council for Moroccans.The thing I question is if there is such a freedom as to "remain free of hate speech". If there is, politics as we know it is dead.
Regards — Cliff
1 comment:
When you refer to a group of folks whose stated objective is to "kill all infidels" as murderers, how is that "hate speech" any more than their expressed hatred for non-Muslims?
This is a classic conundrum in which where do my rights end when you choose to exercise YOUR rights. Is MY right to clean air a restriction on YOUR right to smoke tobacco....especially in a non-confined public area....like a park..or a city street....or a beach??? Is my right to express my beliefs or opinions restricted because someone else MIGHT be exposed to them and NOT agree?
We Americans love to claim that we fight for the freedoms of all Americans to live free....and then we busy ourselves with limiting those freedoms.
As our pastor observed in today's services, "It takes a lot of bravery to be a human being." I would add, "It takes an even greater amount of bravery to be a FREE human being."
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