The Absurd GOP

[Ivan Denisovich]

Sure. Allowing subhumans to scream heil hitler also allows good speech. Certainly an unconventional take.

If you want to write shit like that do me courtesy of not addressing it to me.

Do you have anything rational to say in response?

To this dumb crap that you just spouted? Nothing but laughter.

[Paraselene]

Do you have anything rational to say in response?

To this dumb crap that you just spouted? Nothing but laughter.

That's your free speech right there.

[Angrboda]

Freedom exists on a continuum.  To say that there is no such thing as free speech because there does not exist absolute freedom of speech is just invalid.

No. There is no free speech because speech is regulated everywhere; speech is either less or more regulated exactly as it should be.

Because 'some' speech is regulated doesn't mean that 'all' speech is regulated. That speech which isn't regulated is free. Thus your claim that there is no such thing as free speech is false.

[Ivan Denisovich]

To this dumb crap that you just spouted? Nothing but laughter.

That's your free speech right there.

No. Free speech for whatever little this term mean is about gov not interfering with me, not me disagreeing with some randoms on internet forum.w

[Deesse23]

But we can't stop them from saying what they want. We can only talk back against their nonsense.

Wrong. You dont have to tolerate intolerance.

The people whom you are trying to talk against have a voter base that most probably doesnt care about truth, principles and particularly your freedoms. They are pretty open about it. What do you think you can achieve, if i may ask?

They can, and will, stop you, once they are in power. They already did, in the 20th century, both, so called "right wing" (fascists) and "left wing" (communist) regimes#.
If they can, so can you/we. The issue is: Do we have the balls? Do we have the spine to fight for our freedom(s), or do we take them for granted? Are we willing to sacrifice our ideals on the altar of those ideals?

As comrade cat already pointed out: (Absolute) free speech is a red herring anyway. Lets not pretend we are following this red herring and lose focus on whats really at stake here: All the rest of our freedoms too and the health and life of millions and millions.

#As i have pointed out somewhere else: In the US you can already get fired for calling a racist a racist and being divisive (and i dont think the judiciary branch will be of much help either *cough* SCOTUS *cough*). You already are in the process of losing your freedoms, including freedom of speech. Foreigners are losing their freedoms by being arrested by government goons at will. It is already happening. The principle of division of power is already undermined, it is a reality. Do you want to wait until you get thrown in jail for using free speech? Are you willing to wait until you just disappear or be taken to some "camp" once you do so? Because by then its already too late, as the recent history of the 20th century evidently shows.


* I think, in fact they arent so dissimilar, according to the idea that the political spectrum is a circle where you pop up on the far left once you went (too) far right, and vice versa. Extremist ideas seem to be totalitarian, and thus stuff like free *insert your favorite freedom(s) here* isnt what any of them tolerate.

[Ivan Denisovich]

No. There is no free speech because speech is regulated everywhere; speech is either less or more regulated exactly as it should be.

Because 'some' speech is regulated doesn't mean that 'all' speech is regulated.  That speech which isn't regulated is free.  Thus your claim that there is no such thing as free speech is false.

Whatever you say sweet cheeks. Speech is free unless it isn't.

[Paraselene]

Just because you were fired doesn't mean you weren't free to run your mouth in a way that led to that firing. Don't conflate breaking a social and written contract at your place of employment with lack of freedom.

[Angrboda]

Because 'some' speech is regulated doesn't mean that 'all' speech is regulated.  That speech which isn't regulated is free.  Thus your claim that there is no such thing as free speech is false.

Whatever you say sweet cheeks. Speech is free unless it isn't.

And you're still wrong. Calling me sweet cheeks doesn't change that.

[Ivan Denisovich]

Just because you were fired doesn't mean you weren't free to run your mouth in a way that led to that firing. Don't conflate breaking a social and written contract at your place of employment with lack of freedom.

If I can't do something without consequences (from law or others) I'm not free to do something. Simple as that. I'm physically able to not go to work tomorrow, no divine punishment will fall on me if I will do it either but that does not mean I'm free to do so as I would be fired (well, maybe not on first day).

Human condition is to be constrained whether by morals, law, birth, wealth or any other factor. Colloquially people may say that they're free but few if any actually are.

[Ivan Denisovich]

Whatever you say sweet cheeks. Speech is free unless it isn't.

And you're still wrong.  Calling me sweet cheeks doesn't change that.

You saying bullshit with I presume confidence will not change the fact that I'm right. It's not particularly surprising that you don't want to recognize heavy limits on something so stereotypically valuable to American.