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A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

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Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#11
post #4

Before the coup that happened a few days ago, my country was casually known as a dictatorship. You don't insult politicians, not especially on a public place. When you are home, you check if the coast is clear before you call the president names. Otherwise you get an armed and humiliating response, if not tragic. Looks like lots of democratic countries are looking at us with envy and for inspiration these days.

which country?

Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#12
post #4

Before the coup that happened a few days ago, my country was casually known as a dictatorship. You don't insult politicians, not especially on a public place. When you are home, you check if the coast is clear before you call the president names. Otherwise you get an armed and humiliating response, if not tragic. Looks like lots of democratic countries are looking at us with envy and for inspiration these days.

which country?

Guinea is the only recent coup I know of https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58461436

Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#13

And as an American, Germans/Australians/etc. will still insist they're more free than me because of something arbitrary like free healthcare. I don't think there's anywhere I'd feel particularly more "free" all things considered aside from maybe Mars.

It would be hard to argue that a country where it's illegal to call someone a dick is particularly free, if that indeed is the case.

Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#14
post #9

The German basic law protects people's personal honour (article 5, freedom of expression), and this goes back hundreds of years. ( strafrechtlicher Ehrschutz ). > "These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons and in the right to personal honour. " This is reflected in the German criminal code Beleidigung (Insult), unchanged for about 150 yea…

Don't forget to mention the special provisions that used to exist for foreign heads of state.

Completely ridiculous from an American point of view, but I know we're in the minority here.

Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#15
post #8

I would like a balanced perspective on this. What do our German/European think about this? Is this expected or a random event? Does this have public support?

Yes the whole public support aspect can swing this either way, if Twitter comes out in support of the politician then that user will be guilty before he even hits the court. If on the other hand they come out in support of the user, then it may very well just go away and be slap on the wrist affair.

But the sad thing is that most if not all twitter users, have seen far worse go unpunished.

Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#16
post #8

I would like a balanced perspective on this. What do our German/European think about this? Is this expected or a random event? Does this have public support?

It's a bit early in the morning in Europe, so there are probably not a lot of users online, but since I'm awake anyway, I can give you my opinion: on one hand, there is definitely a sentiment that online hate is a problem and something needs to be done about it. On the other hand, I guess most would agree that this is an exaggerated response (probably the thinking behind it was: "we can't find all those other guys, but hey, this idiot actually confirmed it was his account, so let's make an example of him to show we are doing something about online hate"). But yeah, things like this happen.

A different example: there were some "creative" protests by environmentalists against the new "greenwashed" automobile fair IAA which has moved from Frankfurt to Munich since this year - defacing freeway signs etc.. Nine of the activists involved will be kept in "preventive custody" until the end of the fair (for one week) - https://twitter.com/mic_tra/status/1435529384174227459.

Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#17

And as an American, Germans/Australians/etc. will still insist they're more free than me because of something arbitrary like free healthcare. I don't think there's anywhere I'd feel particularly more "free" all things considered aside from maybe Mars.

It’s possible for a democratic political system to exist, and still prohibit insulting politicians. It’s quite possible to criticize any politician without resulting to ad hominem attacks. Even the former US Vice President Dick Cheney nearly faced consequences for violating senate rules by telling a senator to “go f___ himself.”

Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

which country?

Guinea is the only recent coup I know of https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58461436

Note that different people have different criteria for a coup.

For example, in the US in Jan 2021, there was a riot that some call a coup, and some do not.

Brazil might also count. I am not aware of the details.

Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

which country?

Guinea is the only recent coup I know of https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58461436

Thanks, I try not to follow the news too closely because I think that's healthier.

Re: A Twitter user insulted a German politician, then police raided his house

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Guinea is the only recent coup I know of https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58461436

Note that different people have different criteria for a coup. For example, in the US in Jan 2021, there was a riot that some call a coup, and some do not. Brazil might also count. I am not aware of the details.

Yes, I think a coup implies that it was perpetrated by people already in government, such as the military, or an opposition party. A riot by the populace that aims to violently remove or influence the government is more properly called an insurrection, a la the French Revolution.

People already part of the government could be involved in triggering an insurrection, such as with the Jacobins involved in the Insurrection of 1792, but it still counts as an insurrection and not a coup because it is carried out by the population, not by forces working for the government, such as assassins or the military.

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