damianna : This is NOT about free speech. It’s about hate speech - which we all (except you and a few others) agree we do not want to indulge.I agree. There have been many historical instances of racist cartoons and anti-semitic cartoons that people can easily identify as hate speech. Is it so unreasonable to ask for a little thoughtful restraint on hateful portrayals? Unless one is intentionally trying to provoke hatred, I can't see why it would be necessary to print images that degrade an entire nation or ethnic group. These cartoons were hateful in my opinion.
Gabriel : If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times. Freedom of speech doesn’t not negate the responsibility associated with what’s said, printed or displayed. Regardless of the issue, the question shouldn’t be “can I”? The question should be, “should I”? In these instances, too often people care more about being right as opposed to doing right. There are ways to handle any issue responsibly. Inflammatory remarks, etc only serve to fan the flames of negativity… like the world needs more of that. Allen J provided an abstract analogy that only scratches the surface of the issue (imho). It’s true, context plays a part, but not everyone judges issues in the same way, so one person’s contextual interpretation of an event may differ substantially from another. Using his analogy, “Sure, one may hate a person who broke into our house to kill us, but does that mean we have to kill that person?” We all, in some form or another carry the scars of someone else’s disdain or misdeeds, but those things don’t have to stain the core of who we are. Regardless of how we respond to events in our lives or in our society, we are all obliged to take account of and be held accountable for our actions no matter how justified we feel.Gabriel, I wasn't arguing that if something can be done, it should be done. Discretion is necessary. But, again, I was asking what is necessarily bad or wrong about hate and "hate speech". I contend nothing is inherently wrong; it depends on context. Here's another example: Most of us have ample hatred for child rapists. We openly speak out against them, and point out publicly why they are acting immorally and so on. Our "hatred" here, we feel is justified, and we feel we're making positive use of our hatred by keeping the issue in the publics' eye and raising awareness. We are publicly fighting for a better future when we channel our hatred for child rapists towards our public discourse of the matter. The people defending this as "free speech" claim that Islam is a toxic that's eroding their society, they feel outraged and hate the effects of this, and want to fight for a different future by keeping the issue in the realm of public discourse. In that context, we can discuss if we should or should not be having the conversation. But naively labeling this as "hate speech", implying that's necessarily wrong, calling for an end to the discussion and prosecution of those discussing, is a course many Muslims seem intent on pursuing and one which I personally think is entirely misguided. Apart from that, many here have defended the cartoons under the "free speech" argument and I'd like to remind you such a position is entirely hypocritical if you also support your government's banning of holocaust denial speech.
Jane M :Maybe you could put a little thoughtful restraint into your fascist anti-speech diatribes. Free speech cannot be categorized. Your talk about "hate speech" is classic doublethink.damianna : This is NOT about free speech. It’s about hate speech - which we all (except you and a few others) agree we do not want to indulge.I agree. There have been many historical instances of racist cartoons and anti-semitic cartoons that people can easily identify as hate speech. Is it so unreasonable to ask for a little thoughtful restraint on hateful portrayals? Unless one is intentionally trying to provoke hatred, I can’t see why it would be necessary to print images that degrade an entire nation or ethnic group. These cartoons were hateful in my opinion.
Leeza Coleman :@JGWe Jews have a sly and sardonic sense of humor about the world’s putative hatred of us. We are more likely to shrug and say “So, what else is new?” In fact, we wouldn’t expect anything else from certain factions. It is not our way to issue fatwas and death threats. We do not need your apologies - we know our worth - and we just get on with it.What is your worth exactly? How is it measured? How is it any different from anyone else's?
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