KittyWampus
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Wed Jun-10-09 05:31 PM
Original message |
How Has Outlawing Holocaust Deniers Damaged Democracy In Europe? |
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Edited on Wed Jun-10-09 05:38 PM by KittyWampus
Seems to me that Europeans, in general, are more involved in politics. More willing to speak up and act out. More willing to hold politicians' feet to the fire.
On tv, nudity and language aren't censored as they are here in the US.
So I'm kind of wondering if anyone can point out how outlawing Holocaust deniers has damaged Democracy in Europe or actually lead to more censorship when it comes to political speech.
Edit- to be clear I'm not advocating any position. Just looking to find various lines of argument about EUROPE. This is specifically asking about Europe.
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dem629
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Wed Jun-10-09 05:34 PM
Response to Original message |
1. Who cares? We have our First Amendment and it's worth preserving |
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and not chipping away at it because someone says something we don't like.
That ends only when someone is clearly inciting or conspiring to commit a crime, not simply stating something didn't happen. People have a right to say crazy crap.
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KittyWampus
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Wed Jun-10-09 05:36 PM
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2. that isn't the question I asked. |
dem629
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Wed Jun-10-09 05:41 PM
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JonQ
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Wed Jun-10-09 05:39 PM
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3. The problem with those kind of restrictions |
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is not generally that the people they are initially aimed at are silenced. Obviously holocaust deniers don't bring much to the table, poltically speaking, so the loss of their voice is no great concern.
No, the problem arises when these laws are used as a precedent for a slightly less fringe, but still unpopular group. Which makes it easier to silence a more mainstream and unpopular group, and so on. The old slippery slope argument is valid I believe.
So have they lost out because of this? Not at this moment. And as long as the laws are always used for their original intent and no politician or activist group uses them improperly then they are fine. It's just that history has shown that these laws are likely to be abused. That is the concern.
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KittyWampus
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Wed Jun-10-09 05:42 PM
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5. Thanks, you understood what I am asking. And I'm curious if any European country HAS slipped |
HiFructosePronSyrup
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Wed Jun-10-09 05:45 PM
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6. It's damaged the right for Europeans to deny the holocaust. |
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Also, the Civilization video game series can't have Hitler as a German leader, even in the WWII mods, so there.
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Karenina
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Wed Jun-10-09 05:55 PM
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7. It HASN'T. What it HAS done is promote civil discussion. |
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