The You Can't Make This Shit Up Department

[Jenny A]

We had a far right party and it was banned after evidence was presented that they were fascists and members of underground (not so much now) nazi organizations throughout europe... For atheists? No of course not, but how does atheism relate to fascism? Being an atheist doesn't make you go against democracy or fundamental rights, it just makes you lack belief in gods or disbelieve gods. We didn't lose rights because of atheism, we lost them because of fascism.

And this is not a short step since the constitution only forbids fascism associations, not any other kind of associations, so such a ban wouldn't apply to anything else. What happens here is the same in germany, and my bet is that there are probably similar restrictions in spain, italy and former fascist states, and probably france and so on and other formerly invaded countries.

I don't think something I support will be considered equal to hate speech, hate speech is not criticizing something, hate speech is deliberately promoting racism, hate and segregation of people. As far as I know, attempts to implement communism and marxism-lenininsm failed and gave origin to totalitarian regimes, yet communist and marxist-leninist parties are perfectly legal, so I don't think the restrictions go to far.

This is where not only our national philosophies, but you and I disagree.

I do not entrust the government with the power to ban any speech because I do not trust it (or anyone else) to determine what kind of speech is so dangerous that it should be banned. And speech includes: speaking in public in favor of any idea whatsoever including hate speech.

We too have examples of bad ideas which we still allow to be openly spoken of. Our country once had something as or more terrible than fascism: slavery. The Constitution forbids slavery. But it is quite legal to give speeches promoting the idea of slavery here. One could even start a campaign to get the 13th Amendment (which abolished slavery) repealed. No one does, at least as far as I know. But we also had a Civil War of succession. Speaking openly of succession is both legal and not terribly uncommon.

The fact that your constitution only bans one kind of speech--fascism is no guarantee that it won't ban other kinds of speech later. Didn't you tell me that your constitution is easily amended by the legislature?

It is banning the expression of certain ideas that opens the door to totalitarianism because it allows the party in power to repress all criticism. Banning dangerous speech is the hall mark of totalitarianism. Witness: Nazi Germany, the former Soviet, China, Korea, Iran. Banning public speech is not a tool I care to give any government for any reason.