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Freedom of Speech
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trancedfarmer
Americans love to throw this term around... but what does it really mean? Americans are especially arrogant and defensive when it comes to this topic. I personally think speech is free no matter what. There are consequences for things we say, period. I have the freedom to say what i want anywhere. Discuss amongst yerselves...:thepirate
ahlamalek
freedom of speech does not exist anymore...

when i think that 4 multinational groups own a majority of the medias worldwide, its very hard to believe that these companies would not be biased in some way...

think about it 4 groups or a 100 (just a number) smaller groups, in which scenario will you find a larger spectrum of opinions?

as one of my univeristy teacher nicely put: you can talk as long as you want, but no one listens to you ;) hehehe
XeroREVERSION
I was under the impression that "freedom of speech" meant you could talk freely/publish freely as long as it didn't violate somebody else's rights or it was false speech or print such as libel or slander. I could be wrong though, but that's what I remember from my high school government class.
XeroREVERSION
quote:
Originally posted by trancedfarmer
Americans love to throw this term around... but what does it really mean? Americans are especially arrogant and defensive when it comes to this topic. I personally think speech is free no matter what. There are consequences for things we say, period. I have the freedom to say what i want anywhere. Discuss amongst yerselves...:thepirate


Generalizing that "Americans" love to throw this term around, and that we are all especially arrogant, is pretty arrogant and ignorant in my opinion. Remeber, generalizations aren't true and don't stereotype and entire country of people based on what a few people do. While some Americans do throw this term around, very few know what it actually means. For example, you can't just walk into a public mall and start screaming profanity, getting arrested, and then saying you have "freedom of speech", and that your rights had been violated. So basically, you can't just go around saying what you want, when you want, however you want. You have to remember other people's rights as well.
trancedfarmer
quote:
Originally posted by XeroREVERSION
Generalizing that "Americans" love to throw this term around, and that we are all especially arrogant, is pretty arrogant and ignorant in my opinion. Remeber, generalizations aren't true and don't stereotype and entire country of people based on what a few people do. While some Americans do throw this term around, very few know what it actually means. For example, you can't just walk into a public mall and start screaming profanity, getting arrested, and then saying you have "freedom of speech", and that your rights had been violated. So basically, you can't just go around saying what you want, when you want, however you want. You have to remember other people's rights as well.


take it for what its worth. i didnt say all americans display such arrogance. anyways, i think the whole freedom of speech concept is totally obselete and corrupt due to the fact that there are too many inconsistancies and possibiblities for exception.
ZinG
quote:
Originally posted by XeroREVERSION
I was under the impression that "freedom of speech" meant you could talk freely/publish freely as long as it didn't violate somebody else's rights or it was false speech or print such as libel or slander. I could be wrong though, but that's what I remember from my high school government class.

they'll only listen to a "freedom of speech" when they want to lock you up:p
occrider
quote:
Originally posted by trancedfarmer
take it for what its worth. i didnt say all americans display such arrogance. anyways, i think the whole freedom of speech concept is totally obselete and corrupt due to the fact that there are too many inconsistancies and possibiblities for exception.


Is there a problem with freedom of speech in america that I wasn't aware of? There are exceptions to this in every country (you can't engage in malicious slandering) but the right to express your views and speak out is fundamentally there.

Prime example: all those wonderful kkk rallys that are held across the country with the police (it's so funny seeing black police officers among them) protecting them from getting a collosal ass kicking by the public.
Eugene
quote:
Originally posted by occrider
Prime example: all those wonderful kkk rallys that are held across the country with the police (it's so funny seeing black police officers among them) protecting them from getting a collosal ass kicking by the public.


By the way, this would never be allowed in Canada, I think Canada has a law against expressing *this* particular "opinion."

Anyhow, freedom of speech is not absolute and, for example, you can easily get arrested in the US for drinking beer on the street, girls walking topless, or wearing an "obscene" T-shirt...
ahlamalek
yes canadian laws against hate crimes
occrider
quote:
Originally posted by ahlamalek
yes canadian laws against hate crimes


But there's no crime occurring, they're just expressing their silly belief that white's are superior to blacks.

Personally I'm glad that the ACLU fights for everybody's (even the kkk's) rights to express their beliefs as long as it doesn't infringe upon anybody else's rights.

Boredom
quote:
Originally posted by XeroREVERSION
I was under the impression that "freedom of speech" meant you could talk freely/publish freely as long as it didn't violate somebody else's rights or it was false speech or print such as libel or slander. I could be wrong though, but that's what I remember from my high school government class.


I like ur definition :)
Personally i don't think there's such a thing as 'free speech' per se ie being an absolute right. That's because ethics plays a large part in this. Ppl should be able to express themselves as they like but at the same time ppl also should be able to live free of fear, etc for society to function in harmony (?hmmm maybe a naive unachievable aspiration for utopia)... but the point being there's a limit to everything and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Yes, there are consequences for everything including saying what we like and when we like, just as long as we are ready to take those consequences and not utilise the argument of an absolute right to freedom of speech as an excuse. That would be wrong.
ahlamalek
quote:
Originally posted by occrider
But there's no crime occurring, they're just expressing their silly belief that white's are superior to blacks.

Personally I'm glad that the ACLU fights for everybody's (even the kkk's) rights to express their beliefs as long as it doesn't infringe upon anybody else's rights.


i was just stating the law's name...
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