[Unit88]

Figured I would get a nice, civil debate going for this. Why are you for/against freedom of speech.

I personally believe freedom of speech is absolute and a right people are born with. I think laws such as hate speech laws or " fighting word " laws are violations of human rights.

I can't wait to see some of the weird replies to this, so I'm gonna take 200 mg more of Tramadol and wait.

[mothered]

Moved from The Lounge forum to Serious Discussion.

[laininthewired]

I think that any sort of civil free speech should be allowed, no matter how hateful or violent. However blatant public forms of degeneracy should be condemned.

[Dismas]

I'm in favor of freedom of speech, but also the consequences that follow. You can't dictate how people will react to your words. It's safe to say if you speak in an inflammatory manner, others will react (sometimes physically). Overall it makes sense that words that immediately precede criminality (i.e. threats of violence) are illegal. Dictating the actions of others, but not their words, can turn into a strange double standard.

[blockbrat]

I think that any sort of civil free speech should be allowed, no matter how hateful or violent. However blatant public forms of degeneracy should be condemned.

So basically, you don't actually believe in free speech lol

[laininthewired]

I think that any sort of civil free speech should be allowed, no matter how hateful or violent. However blatant public forms of degeneracy should be condemned.

So basically, you don't actually believe in free speech lol

yeah i dont want faggots marching down the street

[Aloo888]

Freedom of Speech is hard to discuss because it depends on a lot of factors. For example, there is Free Speech in North America, but in a place like China or Russia you might disappear for giving your opinions on something if you piss off the wrong people. It's a slippery slope.

[ArtyNazal]

Freedom of speech can't be absolute, rules will always have to apply. What if by exercising my freedom of speech, I would inhibit yours?
I think the system in the West is not perfect, but probably not far from the most ideal situation.

[ICallShotgun]

Freedom of speech should not be misunderstood as "I can say whatever I want and nobody can say a thing about it." Everyone has the same right, or should at the very least, as it is among the most consequential human rights.

[greyok]

I strongly support freedom of speech and freedom of information. The main reason is that limiting both will effectively limit the growth of people, something a government could easily do to control their population. What if nobody knew of democracy or knew how to use computers? They just deleted all of the information and kept it private. Nobody would even know!

Freedom of speech, even hateful opinions, should be allowed. I hate that it does often digress into people hurling insults at each other, but I mean actual debate is fine. I like sites like Quora that let people have serious discussion over literally any topic. I dislike Reddit because the mods are heavy handed and ban anyone they don't like, often for reasons that have nothing to do with what they said. I'm currently shadowbanned on Reddit for some reason. Every account I make, even with new email addresses, gets banned from the site.

I believe in it because it's the only real way for society to progress. Important talking points should be discussed, argued over, fought over even, until the majority adapts and evolves to new information.