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Originally Posted by MrSelfDestruct
Saying that freedom of speech has gone too far scares me. Once we give our government the right to arbitrarily decide what is acceptable speech, we cannot take it away. Courts will have a legal precedent to use in future cases. You may think it's gone too far now, but if it legislation comes around and bites you in the ass by prohibitng you from saying something that yout think is right, you'll start caring.
On the other hand, maybe we should ban all negative speech, not just hateful language, but anything that offends anyone, or has the potential to offend anyone. We can fine people for insulting each other, swearing, maybe even giving each other dirty looks. The prohibition of hate will lead us down the road to a utopia, Maybe in twenty years we'll have scanners that can detect when anyone so much as thinks bad thoughts, and punish or rehabilitate them for failing to integrate properly into our utopia. WE can install these scanners in every room of every home and public building; I propose that we call them "telescreens." When they're not scanning us, they can broadcast government-approved messages that will reinforce our sense of utopia.
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I think you are taking what I am saying a little too far. No I am not saying any government should have the right to stop people saying what they want. BUT I most definately AM saying a government has the right, nay the duty to protect ALL of it's citizens. Any club/group/society which has a policy to discriminate in the way the KKK does should not be allowed to practice it. Fair enough it is impossible to control what people think. They will think it whether you incarcerate them of not. But allowing the KKK to exist as an organised group seems strange for a nation that prides itself on accepting all peoples.
I am not saying individuals should not have the right to voice their opinions but allowing them to form into a group and go unchecked doesn't make sense to me. Especially with views such as theirs.
I has already been said in this thread that the KKK are no better than Al Quaeda and i am inclined to agree. In a way they are worse, they discriminate purely because someone's skin is a different colour. At least al quaeda had some kind of reason to react in the way they did. The KKK do not feel oppressed by black people, quite the opposite.
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You may think it's gone too far now, but if it legislation comes around and bites you in the ass by prohibitng you from saying something that yout think is right, you'll start caring.
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Just because I think something is right in my mind does not make it right. Society as a whole decides what is considered generally morally right. Of course there are different points of view and of course they are perfectly acceptable. However society agrees killing an innocent man for no reason is immoral. I also believe in general society would agree discriminating against someone due to the colour of their skin is also immoral.