RE: Jury awards $1 to professor fired for 9/11-Nazi essay
April 4, 2009 at 6:39 pm
(This post was last modified: April 4, 2009 at 6:40 pm by Oldandeasilyconfused.)
Imo The professor was in the right. The school was wrong in censoring unpopular idea expressed in a [deliberately?] provocative way. In my country a university does not have the right to censor the works of its academics.
Imo the jury missed the bloody point. At the core of freedom of speech is the right of dissent,even at the risk of offending.
I have big problems with anti vilification laws . My unease was recently confirmed by the UN resolution forbidding criticism of Islam. Austria puts Holocaust deniers in prison. Turkey does the same to anyone who publicly mentions the Armenian Massacre.
That I am offended by the views of another is not enough to silence them.It is arguably enough when a view is likely to incite hatred and violence. I have no idea how to make that definition.
"No one has the right not to be offended" (John Cleese)
http://richarddawkins.net/articleComment...obbs,page7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Massacre
Imo the jury missed the bloody point. At the core of freedom of speech is the right of dissent,even at the risk of offending.
I have big problems with anti vilification laws . My unease was recently confirmed by the UN resolution forbidding criticism of Islam. Austria puts Holocaust deniers in prison. Turkey does the same to anyone who publicly mentions the Armenian Massacre.
That I am offended by the views of another is not enough to silence them.It is arguably enough when a view is likely to incite hatred and violence. I have no idea how to make that definition.
"No one has the right not to be offended" (John Cleese)
http://richarddawkins.net/articleComment...obbs,page7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Massacre