‘TRIGGER WARNING’

Nigel Wingrove at Scum Nation nails it:
‘…Of course uncensored bigotry is offensive and upsetting. Words, despite the schoolyard rhyme, can and do hurt. Hatred causes fear and alarm, and so can cartoons. Yet in the US, the Ku Klux Klan can say what they want protected by the First Amendment as can pornographers, racists and fascists alongside communists, anarchists and Islamists for that is the essence of free speech. Hate speech is as valid as nice speech, it is the darkside of the same coin and by prosecuting and silencing all that offends we risk creating a world of bland soundbites and inane platitudes and that would be the greatest offence of all.’

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9 Responses to ‘TRIGGER WARNING’

  1. Wombat says:

    To my mind this has never been a matter of free speech.

    A muslim says, “I hate all infidels”. It is his right to do so.
    He may say, “all infidels must convert”. It is his right.
    When he says, “all infidels must convert or be destroyed”, then he has confessed to conspiracy to commit genocide and should be charged and jailed accordingly.

    The problem is not some gloopy grey area of free speech that confounds our ability to please everyone at once. The problem is our unwillingness to meet threatening words with swift punishment.

    If your neighbour told you he was going into his house to get his shotgun and kill you with it, would you stand idly by and mull over his right to free speech or would you arm yourself, call the police and have him charged?

    So when some bearded dickhead in a white sarong carries a sign reading “behead those who offend islam” he should be held at gunpoint, arrested, convicted and jailed.

    Similarly if a klansman carried a sign that read “hang all niggers” he should be
    held at gunpoint,
    arrested,
    convicted
    and jailed.

    Our problem isn’t an abundance of free speech or a lack of it. Our problem is an absence of testicular fortitude when it comes to stomping down advocates for genocide simply because they happen to be part of a group that is locally a minority.

    Really fucking simple.

  2. Sorry wombat,
    I must disagree. As one who has been down that road on the receiving end of the threats, I am here to tell you that words are cheap. But as soon as an overt act occurs to carry out such a threat and is accompanied by the means to accomplish it, game’s over. Such a creature does not deserve to occupy space in a cell. For that reason I oppose ALL statutes criminalizing “terroristic threats” which have come into vogue recently.
    Why waste jail space on windbags? Save it for politicians.

    • Wombat says:

      Well, I didn’t intend to specify jail as the only means of dealing with the problem. However, it’s usually the first step, and anyway, my version of jail would be a lot different to the three star hotels we currently provide.

      For anyone that refuses to be civilised my stance would be “pick a country other than this one and you will be provided with a rowboat at the edge of international waters”.

      You’d only need a few before people started to re-evaluate their decisions in life.

  3. KG says:

    Good to see you, Leonidas. :grin:

  4. Darin says:

    “A muslim says, “I hate all infidels”. It is his right to do so.
    He may say, “all infidels must convert”. It is his right.
    When he says, “all infidels must convert or be destroyed”, then he has confessed to conspiracy to commit genocide and should be charged and jailed accordingly.”

    I am okay with a moslem’s right to make death threats,so long as I have the right to give him a tire iron lobotomy. :twisted:

  5. KG says:

    “I am okay with a moslem’s right to make death threats,so long as I have the right to give him a tire iron lobotomy.”
    AMEN!