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England Hate Speech Laws

Originally posted by: piasabird
http://www.rosenblog.com/2006/...h_bill_censorship.html

What makes me wonder about this is who determines what is hate speech?

There is no Bill of Rights in the UK.

There is also no Constitution in the UK. It is a system completely built on Tradition and Precedent. The UK has, however, signed on to numerous International Human Rights agreements, so there are some gaurantees that way.

Overall the British system has worked quite well as is.
 
Wonder how many in this thread who are/will be dumping on England have ever been there. Trust me, if you go you will never feel any less free to say what you want to say than here you do here in the states. It's a far far cry from places that truly limit speech like China.
 
This has nothing to do with freedom of speech.

It comes under insighting violence. Which is illegal in most countrys.

Including the US.
 
Originally posted by: Mani
Wonder how many in this thread who are/will be dumping on England have ever been there. Trust me, if you go you will never feel any less free to say what you want to say than here you do here in the states. It's a far far cry from places that truly limit speech like China.

I've been there plenty of times. It's a great country, but freedom of speech is dying a very painful death there at the hands of political correctness zealots. Sad really, and I hope that's not the same direction the US is going (though it looks like it is).
 
Originally posted by: RocksteadyDotNet
This has nothing to do with freedom of speech.

It comes under insighting violence. Which is illegal in most countrys.

Including the US.

If that was the case in the US, Rev. Phelps would have been silenced long ago.

Text


Under federal law, a riot is a public disturbance involving an act of violence by one or more persons who are assembled in a group of at least three people. The act of violence must be one that presents a clear and present danger of injury to another person or damage to another person\\\'s property. Threatening to commit a violent act in such a group situation that could injure another person or damage property is also considered a riot if one of the persons in the group has the ability at the time to carry out the threatened violence.

Inciting a riot applies to a person who organizes, encourages, or participates in a riot. It can apply to one who urges or instigates others to riot. It does not apply to someone who merely advocates ideas or expresses beliefs, if those ideas and beliefs do not involve advocating violence

I'll give two examples.

If you were to say Christians should be rounded up and killed since they are the scourge of the earth and violence ensues you are dangerously close to inciting a riot,

on the other hand

If you were to say Christians worship a false god that does not exist and draw all sorts of cartoons mocking their beliefs or write a paper criticizing their religion, and they start to burn buildings and riot in the street you are not inciting a riot since you did not threaten violence against them.

 
Originally posted by: Mani
Wonder how many in this thread who are/will be dumping on England have ever been there.

I was wondering that too. It always seems to happen when people "discover" this fact.
 
Originally posted by: Mani
Wonder how many in this thread who are/will be dumping on England have ever been there. Trust me, if you go you will never feel any less free to say what you want to say than here you do here in the states. It's a far far cry from places that truly limit speech like China.

I wonder how China got to be so screwed, did it happen overnight or gradually?
 
Originally posted by: Mani
Wonder how many in this thread who are/will be dumping on England have ever been there. Trust me, if you go you will never feel any less free to say what you want to say than here you do here in the states. It's a far far cry from places that truly limit speech like China.

I've been and go there quite often and, frankly, the natives have so bent over backwards to accommodate the customs and beliefs of immigrants that it's a joke. Even if it means giving up long-cherished beliefs like free speech that's been brought up on this thread.
 
As someone who does not believe in government censorship which only drives the idea underground and makes it forbidden fruit, I have to remember what Theodore Roosevelt did when some notorious anti-Semite wanted to stir up anti-jewish hatreds while Teddy was police commissioner. And while many pressured Roosevelt to censor the guy, Roosevelt allowed him to speak, and at the same time assigned him a body guard of openly Jewish cops.

And because it was apparent that the only thing preventing him from being ripped apart by an angry audience was the bodyguards, he ended up looking and sounding ridiculous.

When we ended up confronting a nutty idea, we must remember its not hard to outsmart the nut delivering the nutty message.
 
Originally posted by: piasabird
There is no Bill of Rights in the UK.

What? Fuck off. The English Bill of Rights predates the American bill by over 100 years! The American document is almost entirely based on the English one! Why the fuck would you make something like that up? What have you got against us?
 
On topic - I do not agree with this bill, however it does not override the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarentees free speech. I would also point out that the USA Patriot Act is every bit as bad if not worse.
 
Originally posted by: Atheus
On topic - I do not agree with this bill, however it does not override the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarentees free speech. I would also point out that the USA Patriot Act is every bit as bad if not worse.

Shhhh! Don't say that too loud or you'll end up on the no fly list.
 
Originally posted by: Atheus
On topic - I do not agree with this bill, however it does not override the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarentees free speech. I would also point out that the USA Patriot Act is every bit as bad if not worse.

Many European countries limit the freedom of speech far more than the US does...this bill is an abomination, but the British people will follow whatever their Queen feeds them. This is the path for their destruction...and quite frankly it is well deserved for the most evil empire to ever exist on this planet.
 
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