[newjersey]

There are people who actually believe the earth was created six thousands years ago. What people believe is their own business. This guy isn't running for public office so this shouldn't matter.

In a country where we have a Presidential candidate being introduced by a pastor where he says the Bible says gay people must die, I don't think we have a leg to stand on when it comes to prosecuting people based on their anti-gay "philosophy".

I still believe love shall overcome. It just takes time and effort.

[mikeash]

I think it matters in this case. A hacker ironically spreading Nazi propaganda for the lulz is different from a hacker spreading Nazi propaganda he actually believes in. Nobody's saying we should persecute this guy for his beliefs, but it means the motivations are different and that matters in some way.

[geofft]

Nobody's talking about prosecuting people for their thoughts. But the foundation of the right to free speech is that thoughts, expressed publicly, mean something, and that public debate matters.

What people believe privately is their own business, sure (until it starts to affect how they act in public). But what they publicly communicate their beliefs in is an entirely legitimate subject of public discourse, if not the primary legitimate subject of public discourse.