RE: Libertarian is not left on social issues
July 1, 2015 at 10:05 pm
(This post was last modified: July 1, 2015 at 10:05 pm by Tiberius.)
(July 1, 2015 at 9:52 pm)Dystopia Wrote: People seem to have wrong ideas on free speech - One of them is that it is an absolute principle, as if any principle was absolute at all - The other is when people think banning speech they don't agree with is a good idea and create double standards. Free speech is a right like any other, and therefore it is restricted when necessary. Free speech doesn't mean I need to allow you into my house to listen your opinion, or even listen to you at all. Free speech does not mean freedom from consequences of what you say. Free speech does not mean any entity needs to allow you to give public lectures on what you think about subjects. Free speech does not mean private entities can't restrict speech as they please according to their longterm goals. And lastly, free speech doesn't encompass the right to defamation and direct incitement to riot, violence and hatred, as it disturbs public order.
I agree with everything you say in this paragraph except one:
"And lastly, free speech doesn't encompass the right to defamation and direct incitement to riot, violence and hatred, as it disturbs public order."
Rioting and violence are both actions which are illegal on their own, so making laws which ban direct incitement to do those things makes sense. Hatred however is not illegal, nor should it be, because "hatred" is such an abstract concept and making it illegal would literally make it a thought crime. There is no reason to make hate speech a thought crime, because any actions which stem from it (violence, etc.) are already illegal.
