Valin Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Thought Catalog: Tanya Cohen Mar. 18 2015 One of the most admirable things about Europe is that most (if not all) of the right-wing rhetoric that you hear in the US is explicitly against the law there. For example, attempting to link Islam with terrorism, saying that gay marriage isn’t really marriage, or saying that trans women aren’t really women would get you charged with discrimination and/or incitement to hatred. Numerous European public figures have been charged with hate crimes for implying that large-scale immigration is connected to higher crime. In fact, a politician in Sweden was prosecuted for hate crimes for posting statistics about immigrant crime on Facebook. Assaults on the human dignity of Muslims are simply not tolerated in Europe, and Europe cracks down hard on any attempts to incite hatred against Muslims. In a notable example, a woman in Austria was convicted of a hate crime for suggesting that the Islamic Prophet Muhammed was a pedophile. Recently, a man in Sweden was charged with incitement to ethnic hatred for wearing a T-shirt saying “Islam is the devil.” Nobody in Europe believes that these laws interfere with their sacred, guaranteed right to freedom of speech. Rather, these laws protect freedom of speech by ensuring that it is used responsibly and for the purposes of good. In the US, however, no such laws exist. Right-wing hatemongers like Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Bill Maher, and Sarah Palin (to name just a few) are allowed to freely incite hatred and violence, oppose human rights, and undermine progress with impunity. When people like this are allowed to sway public opinion against the common good, it can have disastrous consequences. Just ask the millions of people killed due to wars pushed by right-wingers, even though propaganda for war is illegal under international human rights law (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights mandates that all countries outlaw propaganda for war). In the United States, hate speech is often spewed forth by people with a great deal of influence, thus making it even more dangerous. Freedom of speech always comes with responsibility, and people in powerful positions need to have extra responsibilities. Consider the case of Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson. In a civilized country with basic human rights, Phil Robertson would have been taken before a government Human Rights Tribunal or Human Rights Commission and given a fine or prison sentence for the hateful and bigoted comments that he made about LGBT people. In the US, however, he was given no legal punishment, even though his comments easily had the potential to incite acts of violence against LGBT people, who already face widespread violence in the deeply homophobic American society – and his comments probably DID incite acts of violence against LGBT people. (Snip) ____________________________________________________ (And On...And On...And On.... ) H/T Hot Air Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyber_Liberty Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 FTA: Right-wing hatemongers like Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Bill Maher, and Sarah Palin... Bill Maher is "right wing" to this twit. I'm glad I spotted that before I wasted too much time on this claptrap. The comments at the link are good, the readers of that website aren't taking it kindly at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 FTA: Right-wing hatemongers like Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Bill Maher, and Sarah Palin... Bill Maher is "right wing" to this twit. I'm glad I spotted that before I wasted too much time on this claptrap. The comments at the link are good, the readers of that website aren't taking it kindly at all. For parts of the Left He is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyber_Liberty Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 FTA: Right-wing hatemongers like Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Bill Maher, and Sarah Palin... Bill Maher is "right wing" to this twit. I'm glad I spotted that before I wasted too much time on this claptrap. The comments at the link are good, the readers of that website aren't taking it kindly at all. For parts of the Left He is. Tells you what part of the left the writer hails from. You are correct, of course. Ronald Reagan was a tad liberal for me on some subjects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Tells you what part of the left the writer hails from. Beautiful downtown Nutterville? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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