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An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

bbc.com

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Re: An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

#31

Post by grouseway »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #28
grouseway wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lets not be too smug. Plenty of Americans who speak out on any type of political issue receive death threats. Sure it's not from the state but does that make a difference if you have to live in fear? Here is one example, but you've probably seen this lots of times. https://www.wmay.com/2018/10/02/cartoonist-says-hes-getting-... The irony is the type of people doing this are probably also the types with bumper sticker…

>Sure it's not from the state but does that make a difference if you have to live in fear? It makes a massive difference! If some random person tries to kill you and you blow their brains out in self defense the court will almost certainly back you up (assuming it's legitimate self defense). If random person someone tries to kill you and the police happen to be nearby they will probably intervene. In contrast, if the…

The effect is the same: keep your mouth shut. It's not worth going to prison and it's not worth getting shot.

I was just trying to point out how people don't really support freedom of speech when it comes to something that makes them angry - which is often the important stuff to be talking about.

Re: An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

#32

Post by lostmsu »

hnaz wrote: post #15
esaym wrote: post #11

Truly troubling. I feel like the only person on Earth right now that knows what free speech even is and is actively trying to engage in its protection is Jordan Peterson. And sadly, he is no activist, but just a psychologist that doesn't really want to be involved in the controversy. But nobody else seems to be joining him. I find it hard to believe there were days where you could be killed if you did not acknowledge…

Don't know about the US, but the lack of freedom of speech in the EU is really troubling: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6316567/Woman-corre...

Wow. That case is really concerning. She was basically prosecuted for applying modern label to past events: calling a muslim figure marrying 9yo a pedophile.

Re: An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

#33

Post by gamblor956 »

lujim wrote: post #4

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Ahhhhhh goes down smooth every time.

Not sure why the US Constitution is relevant to a case under Indian law involving Indian citizens in India?

Re: An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

#35

Post by thanosnose »

commandlinefan wrote: post #7

This is the world that the religious right wanted (but in their favor) in the 80's, that we all stood up to and rejected. How did we end up back here again?

People in power love to censor. When the religious right had the power, they tried hard to censor what they didn't like. Now it's the left that is in power and they are trying to censor what they don't like.

The fight for free speech is a neverending one because one side will always be in power. It's why the founders made it an inalienable right, not given to us by the government, but by "the creator".

Free speech isn't a privilege provided to us by the government. It is something we are born with.

Re: An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

#36

Post by anonlastname »

gamblor956 wrote: post #33
lujim wrote: post #4

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Ahhhhhh goes down smooth every time.

Not sure why the US Constitution is relevant to a case under Indian law involving Indian citizens in India?

obviously because having such a clause in Indian law would resolve this situation

Re: An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

#37

Post by gamblor956 »

justtopost wrote: post #17
Aloha wrote: post #3

Stuff like this is why I keep standing up for free speech, even if I find what the other person is saying to be reprehensible. Breaching the wall of freedom of speech will almost invariably lead to these kinds of prosecutions over time - people will eventually use speech laws to regulate political opponents even.

People forget the ACLU fought for the KKK for decades. I may not like what you say, but as an american, I will fight and die for your right to say it. This is the freedom that made the USA the melting pot and economic powerhouse it is today.

The ACLU specifically fought for the right of KKK members to espouse racist beliefs and to assemble as a group. They did not defend the KKK's practice of lynching black and Jewish men.

Re: An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

#38

Post by lujim »

grouseway wrote: post #27
lujim wrote: post #4

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Ahhhhhh goes down smooth every time.

Lets not be too smug. Plenty of Americans who speak out on any type of political issue receive death threats. Sure it's not from the state but does that make a difference if you have to live in fear? Here is one example, but you've probably seen this lots of times. https://www.wmay.com/2018/10/02/cartoonist-says-hes-getting-... The irony is the type of people doing this are probably also the types with bumper sticker…

Well not to worry. There are plenty of Americans that openly advocate to make offensive speech illegal. THEN it will be time to live in fear of the state because a cartoon could have resulted in some prison time.

Re: An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

#39

Post by lujim »

gamblor956 wrote: post #33
lujim wrote: post #4

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Ahhhhhh goes down smooth every time.

Not sure why the US Constitution is relevant to a case under Indian law involving Indian citizens in India?

I get the impression that you are asking that not because you don't know the answer, but because this is a politically motivated topic for you and you don't like the implication.

Re: An Indian man in prison for cracking 'offensive' jokes

#40

Post by lern_too_spel »

justtopost wrote: post #17
Aloha wrote: post #3

Stuff like this is why I keep standing up for free speech, even if I find what the other person is saying to be reprehensible. Breaching the wall of freedom of speech will almost invariably lead to these kinds of prosecutions over time - people will eventually use speech laws to regulate political opponents even.

People forget the ACLU fought for the KKK for decades. I may not like what you say, but as an american, I will fight and die for your right to say it. This is the freedom that made the USA the melting pot and economic powerhouse it is today.

I will fight for you to say something offensive but not for you to say something that puts others at risk. This is where the ACLU's support of the KKK and Nazi groups to say dangerous (not just offensive) things becomes a risk to the melting pot or salad bowl and to the economic powerhouse.

This is how we end up in a world where people think nothing of putting up Confederate monuments (for comparison, try putting up Nazi monuments in Europe on public land and see how far you get) and implementing policies like repatriation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Repatriation

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