Free Speech

[andrewducker]

Apologies for the earlier, ambiguously worded poll, now deleted.

[Poll #353044]

So, for instance, should the BNP, who would happily constrain the freedom of expression of non-whites, be constrained from saying so. Or should everyone be allowed freedom of expression, even if they want to take that freedom away from some of the rest of us?

To entirely clarify - if you agree then the BNP should _not_ be allowed free speech. If you disagree then you think they should.

Comments

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

Of course they should be allowed, much more than they get at the moment. People need to hear how stupid they are.

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

"In the bad old days of anarchy you were given freedom to.

Now you are being given freedom from.

Don't underrate it."

[andrewducker]

Wossat from?

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

The Handmaid's Tale.

It's like a book, with the crucial difference that it's better than most of the other ones.

[derumi.livejournal.com]

I like my Scottish friend's argument that people have more rights in the UK than people do in the USA because they're not outlined on paper.

[andrewducker]

Actually, we largely have rights because of EU Human Rights legislation.

[derumi.livejournal.com]

EU still reminds me so much of old-style USA. Minus the border shootings.

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

Old-style USA?

Is this some kind of old coke, new coke thing? "Damn, this new USA is in a pretty can but sure don't taste too good"

Or is there some part of the EU where everyone wears chaps and cowboy hats and calls each other "pardner?"

There is a very strong sense in Britain that some rights are guaranteed more by "tradition" and a sense of what "ought to be the case" than anything else. The rights aren't always there on paper, but you'll even see politicians sometimes motivated to speak out on things because it infringes a right that is commonly held to be, well, a right. I suppose you could call it a characteristic stubbornness of the natives of these parts. And a resistance to other people telling them things ;-)

ie:
Why can't those darn foreign types change these rights that we apparently have? Because they're our rights. It's how we do things here.

Sometimes this is actually a good thing, sometimes it's not. But then much of the time it vanishes into a sea of rhetoric and political games.

[derumi.livejournal.com]

Pre-Civil War, where the common phrase was "the United States are" as opposed to "the United States is". Generally, the federal government would say or ask something, and the States would decide whether to follow and how. Pretty noteworthy for secession attempts or discussion of during the War of 1812 and Civil War.

There is a very strong sense in Britain that some rights are guaranteed more by "tradition" and a sense of what "ought to be the case" than anything else. The rights aren't always there on paper, but you'll even see politicians sometimes motivated to speak out on things because it infringes a right that is commonly held to be, well, a right.
[...]
Sometimes this is actually a good thing, sometimes it's not. But then much of the time it vanishes into a sea of rhetoric and political games.

That sort of cultural viewpoint certainly has its appeal. Whereas in the US, it seems you have fight over and over to be considered the same type of person that's been guaranteed constitutional rights as the people who already take it for granted.

Hmmm... Do you have USA in a can?

[xquiq.livejournal.com]

I get very worried when governments start looking t legislation which would drive extremist political groups / religious group underground. Personally I agree with purelyskindeep - this way people can hear how stupid they sound.

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

Your original poll stemmed from an article suggesting the civil service was going to fire employees who were members of the BNP. A few weeks ago, the Chief Constables of England & Wales announced that any police officer who was a memeber of the BNPwould be dismissed, something I completely disagree with.

Don't get me wrong, I am not inany way a supporter of the BNP, but it seems people (the government in particular) are assuming that people cannot differentiate between their personal beliefs and their work responsibilities. They keep on stressing that they are looking to recruit a police force who are representative of all creeds and beliefs, yet wish to exclude the parts they do not agree with.

Either that or we are begiunning to be persecuted for our thoughts. Eek......very 1984.