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by Andrew_nenakhov 1699 days ago
Any sane person would support free speech principles. Harm from restrictions of free speech far outweighs harm from hate speech, etc.
2 comments

>Any sane person would support free speech principles. Harm from restrictions of free speech far outweighs harm from hate speech, etc.

A reasonable position. And one I, for the most part, support.

However, the other side of that coin is that private actors (i.e., not the government, at least in the US) have free speech rights too. And that includes the right not to allow or support speech on their private property.

As such, if you attempt to force private actors to host/support speech they do no wish to host/support, then you are violating the principles you espouse.

I wonder if the victims of hate speech would agree with that.
There are no victims of hate speech. There are victims of hate crimes, like murders, rapes and beatings. Speech doesn't cause physical harm, violent actions do. Thus, violent actions must be stopped, not words.

Oh, and if you will claim that speech insites actions, i ask you one thing: who determines what hate is? In Russia, talking about corruption and opposing Putin is extremism and hate speech.

If a mobs screams racist obscenities at someone is that a hate crime?
Screaming anything is not a crime.
Well, that's not true. Death threats are. And my point was that, even though it may not be a crime, there's still someone who would be a victim.
> Well, that's not true.

If you want to argue that some spoken words can be prosecuted in some jurisdictions, chose another opponent. I state my personal opinion that anything spoken should be protected under free speech rights, and even the death threats. Yes, because words do not kill. Killing requires action, and actions must be stopped, not screaming.