[thechat] The Death of Democracy...

Martin Burns martin at easyweb.co.uk
Fri Feb 14 09:11:01 CST 2003


On Fri, 14 Feb 2003, Chris Marsh wrote:

> > were huge and sometimes militant demonstrations against him
> > by the *people* - and let me tell you I knew a bunch of those
> > people and they weren't friends of the Canadian government
> > either. It's not some government conspiracy against racists.
>
> No, it is a subversion of freedom to express one's opinions. It is an
> introduction of thought crime, as hate is an emotion. What makes speech
> "hate speech" is not what you say, but what you think while you say it.
> This is a micro-step away from being what you think
> _whether_or_not_you_say_it_. Having racist opinions should never be
> illegal. Thoughts should never come under the juristiction of the law.

While I think you're right, how is this different from intent, as used to
differentiate murder from manslaughter? Or conspiracy?

Cheers
Martin
--
"Names, once they are in common use, quickly
 become mere sounds, their etymology being
 buried, like so many of the earth's marvels,
 beneath the dust of habit." - Salman Rushdie




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