Why EVERYONE'S right to free speech is important...

Quotation from Martin Niemöller on display in the Permanent Exhibition of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Niemöller was a Lutheran minister and early Nazi supporter who was later imprisoned for opposing Hitler's regime.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Heed the lessons of history and don't allow free speech to be shutdown just because you don't agree with what is being said. Times will change and one day it may be you they come for..

 

Right now I'd say good luck with that.

 

free stuff is more important than rights

 

Let them come for me if it means shutting up the left finally.

I'll take that chance.

At least it will give me a few months of peace and quiet.

 

When we see things like Info Wars and the damage done by the lies of people like Alex Jones, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc., we need some kind of controls on free speech! Sorry but the right brought it on themselves with their inability to control their mouths and brains.

 

I completely agree! We all should be vigilant about the government's continuous attempts at curtailing freedom of the press. This administration will go down in history as the one carrying out the most aggressive attack on freedom of speech.

 

I agree that the freedom to openly express your opinion and question anything should be treasured & preserved as the truth has nothing to fear from what is considered objectionable and offensive to both ends of the political spectrum.

It is ironic however that the USHMM should honor a man so committed to speaking out while what Norman Finkelstein calls "The Holocaust Industry" has been one of the most repressive, anti free speech entities in the world in exploiting one of WW2's many tragic facets & relentlessly persecuting anyone who dares to question their particular self serving narrative.

Throughout Europe, one is free to question or even deny the innumerable other equal or greater ethnic cleansings / holocausts that have occurred around the world to other nationalities or groups but it is only the questioning of the 20th century, European, Jewish holocaust that is considered a Thought Crime punishable by confiscatory fines & draconian incarcerations.

In a truly free society, one should be able to openly discuss any idea, opinion or event without fear of selective persecution at the hands of any powerful & repressive special interest group.

 

How about we discuss the the next bomb we will set off in a nightclub.
Who will get the material and where, who will pay for it.
Who will make it and how.
Which nightclub at what time and who will deliver it?
And lets discuss recruiting some more bomber for some more nightclubs.
And make a big terrorism forum in which we can all freely and openly plot.
And then another one to organise and discuss the finer points of kiddie fiddling.


Free speech.

There are reasonable limits to free speech.

Some ideas warrant persecution.

 

The speech I detest the most is the speech that must be protected the most.

 

It figures that one of the most prominent leftists here is afraid of free speech. I will admit, I have little sympathy or like for Alex Jones. He's a nutcase. That said, he has a right to be a nutcase and publish his lies. I'd rather that 1,000,000 nutcases be able to print their lies than for some reason one good person not be able to print lies.

 

The problem would appear to be that some who cry "free speech" believe they have the right to say whatever they like and not be challenged over it. That's not how it works.

 

Your message pleases the mega rich Corporate fascists.

 

You will notice that vast majority of messages demanding silencing words and censorship of words and thoughts they don't like comes from "progressive" Democrats on the forum.

At the same time, they are hysterical at even the mere criticism of their corporate fascist spokespersons.

"Progressive" is the antithesis of "liberal." Rather, progressive is just another word for corporate fascist now.

 

I see no value in preserving the freedom of speech of far-left extremists. However this country was founded by people who held right-wing beliefs and therefore everyone on the right wing should have their speech protected.

 

Good thing we have a Constitutionally-guaranteed right to it. Or is this another one of those threads where people are mistaking their right to free speech for a "right" to force people to publish it?

 

And yet there is a new poll out showing that 40% of Trump supporters think that the President should have the right and authority to shut down news organizations if he feels they are "fake news". So much for a number of conservatives being 1st amendment champions.

Problem is that people don't realize those powers go with the office - not just with an individual president - so the next Democrat in office would have that same authority and could ... who knows?

I warned people about this when they were handing out powers to Bush after 9/11.

 

The media (television) is a dwarf compared to the Internet. Less than 1% of voters will EVER watch FOX, MSNBC and CNN COMBINED.

The danger is the global super rich corporate fascists - and I'll call them what they are.

The problem is not the FOX commentator, those Republicans in Congress, Ron Paul's etc sites, Twitter, Facebook, etc accounts being banned or put on the no-one-but-yourself -sees trickery - as they will restore those blaming in on their favorite lie "oops it must have been an Algorythm." It is the 1,000,000 ordinary people who do not have the influence to get that undone.

 

There is no reason to believe you care about censorship, such you are fine with the vastly greater censorship by the corporate fascists - the wealthiest people on earth that the Democratic Party and most Democrats furiously defend as "private companies." That you don't care about - yet that affects 100 times as many people and 100 times as much censorship in real terms. The media is all but dead in terms of affecting elections. Only political junkies watch those - and they watch their own partisan side anyway.

Has President Trump EVER even attempted to use the government to shut down ANY news outlet, newspaper, website or blog? NO, NEVER - yet you rant about what has never happened and never been pursued - while being fully A-OK with the censorship that is happening as I write this on a vast and worldwide scale for the real information networks.

When you want something done about the TRILLION dollar corporations and ubber super rich billionaires controlling and censoring political materials for their own corporate profit agendas then get back to us with your lecturing against censorship and shutting down political opinions.

 

You dont hve political hegemony here or anywhere else. Your entire political thought process was dreamt up in the vat of reconstruction era racist virginia, so please, spare me.

 

Funny that quote was once most often cited by liberals. Did you ever think the day would come where the first amendment would be attacked like this? These people are not center left liberals they are enemies of America, they are the totalitarian, bug eyed and foaming at the mouth extreme left. This is the nuts who call themselves the resistance. This is why the Dems mustn't win another election, not even for dog catcher, they'd find some way to corrupt that.

 

Heed the lessons of history? Thats why they teach fake history in public schools. Kids do not have a clue about where we have been and where we are going.

 

There's something of shibboleth about free speech. In the context of the First Amendment it must have been a reaction to the situation in Britain at the time. Censorship was very strict. For many years of British history government censorship was the rule. There was no freedom of expression. Even Milton in his great Areopagitica argued for the removal of licences for Protestant printers but not Catholic printers. I think freedom from everyday censorship came late for Britain. Your Founders obviously had no time for government censorship, but I doubt if they would approve of the notion of totally unrestricted freedom of expression either.

 

With rights come responsibility. So yes you have a right to free speech, you accept the responsibility for your exercise of that right.

 

Good way of putting it. And the responsibilities are laid out in the restrictions I think. Not wanting to put words in your keyboard though, this is my extrapolation.

 

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