Should hate speech be a criminal offense?

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Should hate speech be a criminal offense?

  • Yes

  • No

  • Uncertain


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MovingTarget

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2003
9,002
115
106
No. I used to have many arguments with HAL9000 over this issue. Yes, hate speech is dangerous and despicable. However, when it is legal, it remains in the open so that it can be actively identified, ridiculed, and properly shunned by rational, thinking people. Criminalizing hate speech just moves those attitudes below the radar where they fester, oftentimes into more than just speech. When it comes to bigotry, sunlight is the best disinfectant.
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
lol.

i was trying to figure out WTF they were talking about. how it could be racist. until they mentioned someone seen it in a review mirror and it hit me LOL

Ziggin Zaggin is a great example of how far stupid people can go. The slogan was used from 2003 and was not removed until 2015. It only became a problem with someone read it in a rear view mirror that made it look like niggiZ niggaZ. Social media was likely a big concern so to save themselves from a shit storm, they are taking it down. The woman will now feel justified in saving people from reading things in mirrors that might be offensive.
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
201
101
The whole idea of "hate speech" needing to be criminalized is part of the disease that is political correctness. Instead of realizing that in order for there to be free speech you have to accept that people can say things you find repulsive or offensive, pc idiots want to stifle any speech they don't like.

Absolutely not. Free speech is free speech, not "free speech so long as there isn't someone who doesn't like it". There is no right not to be offended by speech.
 

dank69

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
37,356
32,984
136
Ziggin Zaggin is a great example of how far stupid people can go. The slogan was used from 2003 and was not removed until 2015. It only became a problem with someone read it in a rear view mirror that made it look like niggiZ niggaZ. Social media was likely a big concern so to save themselves from a shit storm, they are taking it down. The woman will now feel justified in saving people from reading things in mirrors that might be offensive.
I am genuinely interested in the process that resulted in those decals coming into existence in the first place. It's just so odd to me. I find it hard to believe that this slogan made it through some large number of people who all agreed it sounded good regardless of what it happens to spell backwards.
 

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,353
1,862
126
Fuck no.

I dont want to go to jail for being an asshole shitting all over conservatives. Other people, no matter how wrong or stupid, should have the same abillity to shit talk as have I.
 

bradley

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2000
3,671
2
81
Grow a thicker skin and read Darwin's "On the Origin of Species," it will answer many of your questions about a life without the intrusions of wo/man-made barriers or artificial tolerances.
 

inachu

Platinum Member
Aug 22, 2014
2,387
2
41
Either way it is still speech.

Either you will have it or you will not.


The only reason to have it is to gain political power for the ones being slanted.

At this point and time the people claiming hate speech use it to deny entry into various countries.

Just because someone says something you do not like then does not make it hate speech. And how dare you try to be the shield for a people who are not your race. Every race has their voice and there is no need for you to think you can be a voice for someone who is not your race. Because when you do that then it is seen as a sham.

How about the old man who named his dog hitler as the dog knew how to salute.
Is that hate? No its twisted but not hate.
 

Blanky

Platinum Member
Oct 18, 2014
2,457
12
46
No, that is the entire point of the 1st amendment. I'm not surprised significant swathes of the country have no idea what hate speech actually is and why the 1st amendment specifically decriminalizes expression. Virtually everything can be construed as hate speech.
 

Darwin333

Lifer
Dec 11, 2006
19,946
2,329
126
So called "hate speech" is the very reason the 1st amendment exists. There is usually no need to guarantee someone the right to say something popular.
 

Darwin333

Lifer
Dec 11, 2006
19,946
2,329
126
I'm tepidly in favor of hate crime laws. The motivation for a crime should be relevant to the sentencing (otherwise we can only call terrorists murderers). However, that motivation by itself should not be a crime.

Meanwhile, the UK's Katie Hopkins is under police investigation for "incitement to hatred" for calling African migrants "cockroaches".

I despise hate crime laws but I do agree with the rest of your sentence. A judge should absolutely consider the motivation for the crimes and sentence accordingly. I've always been under the impression that they already had that ability without the requirement of new "hate crime" laws, if they didn't simply giving them a bit more leeway in sentencing would have done the job better than hate crime laws that we have.
 
Nov 25, 2013
32,083
11,718
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Presently, libs determine what is hate speech. What do you think political correctness does? Pretty much anything a mainline lib doesn't like a non lib saying is branded as hate speech.



What about this?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/201...-faots-lesbians-then-dig-em-up-kill-em-again/
Sounds pretty hateful to me. But I don't see many mainline libs telling this guy he's spewing hate speech.


Maybe that's because he's been dead for 14 years and the speech is from 1993.
 
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
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Of course not, we have a 1st Amendment for a reason. The current limits on speech (no "fighting words," speech which incites violence, etc.) are fine.

This. It is a stupid question to have to ask, yet you look at the poll results for democrats and all you can do is /facepalm.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,562
9
81
This. It is a stupid question to have to ask, yet you look at the poll results for democrats and all you can do is /facepalm.

Democrats used to be the party that fought the man and raised hell. Now that they are the man, they've decided they like authoritarianism. They view themselves as morally superior, and as long as they're in charge dissent will be criminal, not patriotic.
 

finglobes

Senior member
Dec 13, 2010
739
0
0
Who makes the determination of what would be considered hate speech?.

The media. A lot of "supporters" of hate speech laws think it will only apply to " the other guy". Look how many blacks support hate speech laws when every third black preacher is like Rev Wright. They think their Wrights, Farrakhans, New Black Panthers et al are"just keeping things real".

Noble, virtuous people don't want to silence most others - including opposition. The bitter sisters who seethe at others are the ones who most want to silence others - especially opposition. Of course they make themselves sound like noble crusaders as they go about silencing others.
 

nickqt

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2015
8,175
9,161
136
Evil libruuuls are coming to take away your hate speech along with your guns, before sending you to FEMA camps to be gay married.
 

glenn1

Lifer
Sep 6, 2000
25,383
1,013
126
Evil libruuuls are coming to take away your hate speech along with your guns, before sending you to FEMA camps to be gay married.

You taking a break from shaming people for "manspreading" on the subway in order to defend hate speech laws?