Green Web Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 The people I knew who fought in the last war, such as my father (who was also alive during WWI) and various uncles didn't put their lives at risk just so people could spout vile abuse whenever they felt like it. I think they would have been offended and saddened by 'freedom of speech' being used in that way. The freedoms we enjoy surely should be tempered with respect for other people. The student was supposedly clever (he was at university) yet he obviously lacked the basic intelligence to think before he wrote. I believe too many people make ill considered statements without thinking or caring about the effects they may have on others. If people's behaviour has a detrimental effect on someone else, then action should be taken regardless of their ethnicity, religion, age, sexuality etc. I wasn't sure the student should have been sent to jail, however if the sentence acts as a warning to others, then its probably the right outcome. I am not condoning what he typed, for the record i personally thought it was extremely repugnant and deeply offensive, but I'm defending his right to say what he wants regardless of who he upsets, putting limitations of free speech you choose so we do not offend anyone is not free speech, as explained the concept of free speech is that anyone can say what they want no matter how offensive, outrageous,controversial or absurd it might be to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Web Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 And you by the sound of it. Maybe i am becuase I believe in nonsense like freedom to say what we like, to write what we like, to think what we like, to create what we like, and to feel what we like. We have to have the power to control our feelings, and our lives and free will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Web Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Quite right. We fought Hitler for the right to be racist. Yes so everyone has the right to express themselves, even racists and people like you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 The news sites aren't repeating the worst of his tweets - but they are available to view here. It goes without saying that there is some extreme language on there. You're not kidding about bad language. Wow. Somebody needs their mouth washed out with soap. Ok, this young man is crass, mean spirited and racist, but jail time? Really? Make him pick up garbage on the side of the road and clean public restrooms for a couple of months. And when he's finished with that, he can go to Fabrice Muamba's house and clean the whole thing by himself. With a bottle of Windex, a toothbrush and a broken Dustbuster. Making him sit in jail to reflect on what he said isn't going to do a thing. Has news of the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman shooting debacle made it to your side of the pond yet? Apparently, Spike Lee (the director, can you believe it?) retweeted what he thought was George Zimmerman's address. Only it was the WRONG address. Not that tweeting the RIGHT address would be ok. I hope the innocent, elderly couple who could have been killed by this irresponsible act sue the socks off Mr. Lee, who I believe has yet to apologize to them. I think he did apologize for tweeting the wrong address, which is not the same thing. I guarantee you nothing is going to happen to Spike Lee, expect maybe his wallet will be a bit lighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeMaquis Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Maybe i am becuase I believe in nonsense like freedom to say what we like, to write what we like, to think what we like, to create what we like, and to feel what we like. We have to have the power to control our feelings, and our lives and free will. Defamation, confidentiality, official secrets, etc. If someone posted all the details of your personal life and added some lies on top I doubt you'd take the attitude that anyone has the right to publish whatever they want. For example if I got your credit card number and pin number and put them on here would you be happy about the obvious fraud that would follow? You say we have the power to control our feelings and our lives but what about the power to control the feelings and lives of others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Sidney Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 There's a kind of competition entered into by the left to see who can be the most outraged... The two most serious crimes, apparently, that get a disproportionate sentence; are saying something derogatory about a black person or pinching a rich man's money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 ...Has news of the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman shooting debacle made it to your side of the pond yet?... Has the truth made it to your State? Does anybody know all the facts? NBC News (reporting the call Zimmerman made to Police) said: Zimmerman: "This guy looks like he's up to no good ... He looks black." The real version was: Zimmerman: "This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about." Dispatcher: "OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic?" Zimmerman: "He looks black." Well, that's sort of almost the same, isn't it? I don't know the truth - I wasn't there, the case hasn't been before a court. But I do know that Martin's parents/friends said; "He wouldn't get involved in a fight, he wouldn't hurt anybody." Fair enough. Apparently, Zimmerman got his nose broken in this fight that didn't happen. How? We all know what happened: 'A minority black guy in a hoodie who was walking around in a private closed neighbourhood was shot by a white racist.' Well - almost. 'A minority black guy in a hoodie who was walking around in a private closed neighbourhood was shot by a minority hispanic guy.' That won't do! - How do we get white racism into it if the shooter is himself a minority? Whatever you do, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story! We will (I hope) eventually find out what exactly happened. Until then, politicians will hop up and down and decry 'white racism' (ignoring the fact that this was a shooting of a minority black man by a minority hispanic man) Funny old thing. Hordes of politicians have nailed their flags to the mast over this one. In March, Nancy & Bob Strait - who had celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary the previous December - were attacked in their home by a dark-skinned gentleman who robbed them, raped Nancy (aged 85) beat her and killed her. He broke Bob's (aged 90) jaw and put him into a coma. How many politicians hopped up and down about that one then? Is the news biased? Obama (along with many other politicians) have had plenty to say about Trayvon Martin. I wonder why they're so quiet about Bob and Nancy Strait? It wouldn't have anything to do with 'political correctness' would it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeMaquis Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 There's a kind of competition entered into by the left to see who can be the most outraged... The two most serious crimes, apparently, that get a disproportionate sentence; are saying something derogatory about a black person or pinching a rich man's money... But then you support disproportionate sentences according to race and religion - white racists should get let off and non-whites strung up for parking offences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeMaquis Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I don't know the truth - I wasn't there, the case hasn't been before a court. But that didn't stop the big chip on your shoulder putting on a long post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereolab Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I wonder why they're so quiet about Bob and Nancy Strait? It wouldn't have anything to do with 'political correctness' would it? Someone has been arrested and charged for it - Zimmerman hasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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