# Hate speech laws. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 22, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881 "2012-12-22T23:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/21 "2012-12-23T01:50:03Z")
> [@Lauren-C](#): > > What about his freedom of speech? In USA, slander, threats, and disclosure of state secrets are prohibited. ---
**Author:** ![Lauren-C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Lauren-C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lauren-C)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/22 "2012-12-23T01:50:37Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Because in my experience, American islamophobes (particularly those who put much weight on what’s written in the Koran, as opposed to what’s preached to or focused on in Muslim communities) tend to be Christians much lacking in self-awareness. I was pre-emptively providing some, just in case. > > Doesn’t matter. The OT still says so, every Bible includes the text of the OT, and many American Christians use that very passage to justify their hating on homosexuals anyway. > > Is it now ? > > Oh this is going to be good. Paging Dr. \*\*Trihs \*\*? Doctor **Der Trihs** to report to GD please ?.. Hmm, that’s odd, he’s usually there in a NY minute. Oh well, I guess I’ll play his part for a spell: did you mean in the US or abroad ? > > If in the US, check the (literal) gay bashing and abortion-related violence stats vs. Muslims knocking on Jews. Hell, check the Christians victimizing Muslims (or people they think are Muslims…) stats for that matter. While you’re at it, you could be interested in looking up Christian Identity groups like Aryan Nations or the Covenant, Sword and Arm of the Lord - they’re good peoples. > > If abroad, well, mentioning the IRA or Anders Breivik would be too easy so do check up on the NLFT in India instead. Or on Africa - Christians are up to delightfully whimsical shenanigans there. And by that I mean killing children with machetes whom pastors had accused of witchcraft. That is, when they aren’t enrolling them in marauding armies of course - it’s still 2012, doesn’t KONY ring a bell any more ? Man, that fad was over quick… You are committing the logical falacy known as “tu quoque”. ---
**Author:** ![Lauren-C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Lauren-C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lauren-C)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/23 "2012-12-23T01:51:38Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > In USA, slander, threats, and disclosure of state secrets are prohibited. So exhortations to kill unbelievers don’t count as threats? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/24 "2012-12-23T01:52:05Z")
I’m not. I disproved your assertion. ---
**Author:** ![Lauren-C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Lauren-C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lauren-C)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/25 "2012-12-23T01:53:53Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I’m not. I disproved your assertion. No, I assure you you didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/26 "2012-12-23T01:55:33Z")
> [@Lauren-C](#): > > So exhortations to kill unbelievers don’t count as threats? I do not know – USA should try to maintain normal relations with Islamic states. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/27 "2012-12-23T02:03:07Z")
> [@Lauren-C](#): > > So exhortations to kill unbelievers don’t count as threats? See the Wiki cite above. No, exhortations to kill unbelievers (or homosexuals, or tax lawyers) do not legally count as threats in the US unless they’re specific. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/28 "2012-12-23T02:14:06Z")
> [@Lauren-C](#): > > At the very least, they should be applied evenly. If you distribute literature calling for the murder or enslavement of those who don’t follow your particular religion, you should rightly be prosecuted. So why aren’t those who distribute the Koran prosecuted? As others have pointed out, speech is pretty well protected in the U.S. Beyond that, the Qur’an does not really do what you claims it does. Various twits who are Islamist zealots and various other twits who are haters of Islam have cherry-picked a handful of passages from the Qur’an and declared that those passages have specific meanings that the vast majority of Muslims, (and the vast majority of non-Muslims who can actually read texts in context), realize are false. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/29 "2012-12-23T02:23:22Z")
> [@Lauren-C](#): > > What about his freedom of speech? His freedom of speech does not entitle him to theft. He was not entitled to the information he made public. Surely you can understand that. ---
**Author:** ![Lauren-C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Lauren-C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lauren-C)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/30 "2012-12-23T02:23:42Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > As others have pointed out, speech is pretty well protected in the U.S. > Beyond that, the Qur’an does not really do what you claims it does. Various twits who are Islamist zealots and various other twits who are haters of Islam have cherry-picked a handful of passages from the Qur’an and declared that those passages have specific meanings that the vast majority of Muslims, (and the vast majority of non-Muslims who can actually read texts in context), realize are false. There seem to be an awful lot of people “misinterpreting” the Koran like that. It’s not just the violence either, but the treatment of women and all sorts of other things. ---
**Author:** ![Lauren-C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Lauren-C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lauren-C)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/31 "2012-12-23T02:24:44Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > His freedom of speech does not entitle him to theft. He was not entitled to the information he made public. Surely you can understand that. Theft? How can you steal words? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/32 "2012-12-23T02:27:55Z")
Forget it guys. It’s Join Date Dec 2012-town. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/33 "2012-12-23T02:35:03Z")
> [@Lauren-C](#): > > At the very least, they should be applied evenly. If you distribute literature calling for the murder or enslavement of those who don’t follow your particular religion, you should rightly be prosecuted. So why aren’t those who distribute the Koran prosecuted? Interesting join date. That’s a rather gross simplification of the Quran, which is dramatically more tolerant than either the Christian or Jewish Bibles. Yes, like both of those books the Quran is very harsh towards pagans who denied the existence of the Abrahamic God, but it doesn’t call for the murder of non-Muslims who still believe in the Abrahamic God(most notably but not exclusively Christians and Jews). That’s why during the Medieval era there were large Christian and Jewish communities that flourished throughout the Islamic World(though they did face some discrimination) while Muslims were slaughtered like cattle in Europe. So, why did you feel the need to complain about people not being jailed for selling the Quran, but ignore the vastly more intolerant Christian Bible which is sold in vastly higher numbers in the West? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/34 "2012-12-23T03:07:36Z")
> [@Lauren-C](#): > > Theft? How can you steal words? I was wrong. You surely don’t understand it. I don’t know what to say. Sucks to be you? Best of luck with your writing endeavors. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/35 "2012-12-23T03:56:52Z")
> [@Lauren-C](#): > > There seem to be an awful lot of people “misinterpreting” the Koran like that. It’s not just the violence either, but the treatment of women and all sorts of other things. “An awful lot of people” do a lot of different things. It is very common for people in a given culture to engage in an activity for various reasons and then point to their beliefs as the “reason,” when other people of the same faith, but different cultures, do not engage in that behavior. In places where it is practiced, “an awful lot of people” point to their religion as a reason why they engage in Female Genital Mutilation even though their beliefs are Christian, Muslim, or Animist, and despite the fact that the majority of other Christians, Muslims, and Animists find that behavior repulsive. In Europe and North America, people pointed to the Bible for the “reason” to subjugate women for centuries. The culture changed, the worst excesses of subjugation disappeared, and the same Bible was no longer found to be “saying” the same thing. The same is true of your claims against the Qur’an. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/36 "2012-12-23T04:49:41Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > They have very similar hate speech law practices. No, they don’t. Why would you say something so easily debunked? Hate speech law in Germany is drastically different from what it is in Canada (or anywhere else, really.) ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/37 "2012-12-23T04:51:06Z")
> [@Lauren-C](#): > > You are committing the logical falacy known as “tu quoque”. No, he just hates Christians. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/38 "2012-12-23T05:02:27Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > No, he just hates Christians. That of course is a giant load of bullshit. That said, if it will make you feel better, feel free to climb back on your cross and pretend that you’re persecuted and that the world is against you. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/39 "2012-12-23T05:07:49Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > That’s why during the Medieval era there were large Christian and Jewish communities that flourished throughout the Islamic World(though they did face some discrimination) while Muslims were slaughtered like cattle in Europe. :rolleyes: Yeah, Islam is the religion of peace and tolerance. As for all those Christians, Hindus and Buddhists butchered in the name of Islam, that just because … um … well … well, damn, I forget. How the fuck do you explain all those millions of people massacred in the name of Islam? Why did the streets of Byzantium run with blood when it was finally conquered by Muslims, why were Hindus burned alive in their temples, and why did Muslim pirates based in North Africa consider hunting Christians for slaves or just for the simple pleasure of plunder and murder to be a jolly good sport justified by the fact that their victims belonged to the wrong religion? Islam, the religion of peace and tolerance! No greater lie was ever told. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881/40 "2012-12-23T05:08:51Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > That of course is a giant load of bullshit. > > That said, if it will make you feel better, feel free to climb back on your cross and pretend that you’re persecuted and that the world is against you. Bullshit. He’s a Christophobe, as are you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws/644881.md?page=3)