6d ago

Limited Freedom

203 comments

Hey big shoutout to all the Redditors and Lemmy guys who told me that we can have no restrictions on free speech because if we restrict Nazis they will restrict us if they ever gain power.
Welp, here ya go...like I told you...and many of you blocked and/or banned me for saying it. Ironic.
- 5 bucks says the people who told you that were, in fact, nazis
  
  Hard to say. They mostly seemed like college liberals still living at home
  
  been my experience that that people saying "We have to protect the nazis" are either nazis, or nazis pretending to be their idea of librul to infiltrate,
  
  I have a relevant cartoon that I cant post for some reason...will try again...
  [(https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/c4568c91-00a0-4bb2-b67e-f32dce46183b.jpeg)]
  
  The markdown for the pic is slightly incorrect and causing problems on my app so here's the fix:
  ![link to your image] (https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/c4568c91-00a0-4bb2-b67e-f32dce46183b.jpeg)
- The bill got pulled. And even if it didn't it's such a blatant and egregious violation of 1A that even Trump's pet judges would have to shoot it down out of fear of the precedent it would set and what would happen if ever they lose power for any length of time.
  That's the conversation I've been having with some people cheering on Trump's immigration moves. I've pointed out the machine the individual bricks seems to be building, and when they support that too because Trump will only use it on the "right sort of people" I point out that Trump won't be in power forever, and ask him what he'd think if someone like Harris or AOC had that same power. That's when they suddenly get it, because the idea that the same machinery could be brought against them is not something they consider.
  The first question you should ask when considering "Should the government have this power?" is "If the people I oppose the very most had this power, what would they do with it?" If you're not OK with the answer to that, then the government shouldn't have that power.
- You'll never easily get through to those people. They hold idealism over material reality in many cases.
  The best way I've found to get even some of them to at least stop and think for a minute is to ask if preventing people from doing things like:
  Screaming slurs next to a preschool
  Publishing deliberately false information to ruin someone's reputation
  Doxxing someone who was mean to you
  ...is justified. If they say yes, then maybe unlimited free speech isn't perfect, and restricting Nazis could be justified. If they say no, then you'll know they're a lost cause.
  
  Is the problem the speech or the people tbat speak it?
  
  Great question. Intention matters, so many countries focus on speech that can only be malicious, like incitement to violence in the UK or Nazi salutes in Germany.
  
  People ready and willing to spread violent, harmful hate can be dealt with via the laws they violate. Assult, battey, stalking, theft, etc.
  The subtle side is, as always, if your speech cannot persuade the (large) majority that the opposition speech is wrong, then to dismiss the opposition is to become the oppressing minority.
- i felt like the trolls on reddits are just RU stoking anger and division.

203 comments