Please be positive and upbeat in your interactions, and avoid making negative or pessimistic comments. Instead, focus on the potential opportunities.
- Manlobbi
Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy❤
No. of Recommendations: 2
That Western NATO democracy! Freedom!
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/28/sweden-ch..."Sweden charges two men over 2023 Quran burnings
Prosecutors say the men ‘treated the Quran in a manner intended to express contempt for Muslims because of their faith’."
Well damn right.
I love how the fear in European society has them compromising their bullshit liberties.
History says these things don't turn out well......
No. of Recommendations: 1
I love how the fear in European society has them compromising their bullshit liberties.
But it isn't against their laws because, while burning the Quran, they made derogatory comments about Muslims. Which the prosecutors think takes it out of protesting an idea, and makes it ethnic.
No. of Recommendations: 0
Works for me!
Darn right. Burn a Bible and make derogatory comments about Christians. Burn the Flag and make derogatory comments about Americans - in a free Western Society - that is illegal.
This is not yelling fire in a closed elevator.
Evolution isn't over.....
PS: I hate what you say but I support your right to say it - so antiquated. Let's update it - I hate what you say, but I'll fight for your right to say it AS LONG AS it doesn't burn a bible and make derogatory comments about Christians and as long as it doesn't burn a flag while making derogatory comments about Americans.
Toby, Jed, Sam, Leo, CJ - did you hear that one?
No. of Recommendations: 2
Sweden isn't the US. They don't have a First Amendment. So this isn't necessarily one of their "liberties".
I get what they're trying to do. They are -in essence- treating it as a hate crime. I'm not motivated enough to dig deeper on this one. Sweden has a proper court system, which you have to have confidence that it will do the right thing in the end. In the US, this would be tossed probably very quickly. Though, flag burning had to be decided by the SCOTUS. I remember that. Some authorities were trying to enforce a flag desecration law, and it worked its way up to SCOTUS who ruled that it was a legitimate form of expression. At the time, my gut reaction was outrage. But as I consumed more debates on the subject (there were a LOT of debates at that time) I changed my opinion and agreed with SCOTUS.
No. of Recommendations: 0
Ok so Freedom of Speech isn't a dealbreaker for being a "Western Democracy" and NATO member - cool.
And I agree- to burn a Bible and say something derogatory about Christians should be constituted as a hate crime.
Flag Burning: Used to bother me.
Don't care anymore - burn away. Not my activity of choice, but it'd be like getting worked up over an Archie Comics being burned.
Either way, I am pleased that European countries are learning to respect and fear some - from within.
In the end these things proliferate.
No. of Recommendations: 4
Ok so Freedom of Speech isn't a dealbreaker for being a "Western Democracy" and NATO member - cool.
A democracy (western or otherwise) has open elections with candidates that weren't "approved" by the regional government. If we try to impose our First Amendment as a requirement, I don't think any nation would qualify. They have stronger censorship laws than we do. England banned a documentary about Jack the Ripper because it implicated the Crown, for example. Pretty much can't happen here.
And Sweden can change their laws if they want to. Another hallmark of democracies. If they are OK with it, they are the ones who have to live with it.
No. of Recommendations: 3
Ok so Freedom of Speech isn't a dealbreaker for being a "Western Democracy" and NATO member - cool.
Freedom of Speech is important and deserves study and doesn't lend itself to a breezy manner. The USA is not the first government to have Freedom of Speech and each country has its own version and traditions. I'm just waiting to see what Sweden decides.
In the Philippines I would warn some expats that they were opening up themselves to libel suits because they have a malicious exception to the truth as a defense. The exception is that even if what you said is the truth and can be shown to be the truth, if you said it maliciously you are still subject to libel. Politicians are constantly suing other politicians for libel.
So if you're cautious, you can say nearly the exact same thing and not open up yourself to libel.
Just think of it as Sweden is prosecuting someone for publicly making derogatory comments about an ethnicity, while they burned a
Quran - until we read otherwise.
