61–70 of 189 posts
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.
How are we meant to make sense of your comment, if you don't state which country your from/in?
I see this often, commenters presuming we know which country they are in.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then most of the world isn't free I fear. Why should it be legal to publicly insult someone? You can't punch people in the USA. Does that make the country not particularly free?
Insulting someone with words and punching them in the face are two drastically different things.
Note that it is entirely play pretend anyway. I know for a fact that I can actually say and do far more here than the American society would tolerate in the USA.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Then most of the world isn't free I fear. Why should it be legal to publicly insult someone? You can't punch people in the USA. Does that make the country not particularly free?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ironically, said country with freedoms explicitly guaranteed by a constitutional decree rubber-stamped the German constitution that allowed for this.
Blaming America for Germany’s draconian speech laws isn’t right at all. It’s been almost 80 years.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Insulting someone with words and punching them in the face are two drastically different things.
Because as an American you put the border at physical violence but think verbal violence doesn't matter. You see that as freedom. I see it as a lack of culture. Far more than an ocean separates these two continents. Note that it is entirely play pretend anyway. I know for a fact that I can actually say and do far more here than the American society would tolerate in the USA.
For what it’s worth, having lived in both places Americans are less likely to insult you than the British, but more likely to take it seriously.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.”
As another commenter pointed out, it looks like it's against German law to insult anyone, not just politicians. If only politicians were protected from insult, I don't think that would be compatible with democracy at all.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are they wrong? Which is more likely to affect any given individual? Which country do you have the best chance of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in?
> Which is more likely to affect any given individual? That metric is hilariously wrong. Consider a country with universal healthcare, but where only a single political party is allowed. You're much more likely to face medical issues in your life, than wanting to start your own party and being prevented. Does that make the one-party-state more free than every country without universal healthcare? In other words, by p…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Insulting someone with words and punching them in the face are two drastically different things.
Because as an American you put the border at physical violence but think verbal violence doesn't matter. You see that as freedom. I see it as a lack of culture. Far more than an ocean separates these two continents. Note that it is entirely play pretend anyway. I know for a fact that I can actually say and do far more here than the American society would tolerate in the USA.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you genuinely believe that laws that try to separate criticize versus insult can work? I can't see anything other than laws like that being abused by politicians and government officials to quell speech and create a chilling effect amongst the populace.
Dueling used to be acceptable in the US and that didn’t prevent free speech. As long as it’s limited to reasonable fines simply requiring civility is unlikely to significantly quell free speech even if it did get abused by government officials.
This will only result in those not living paycheck to paycheck being willing to speak out.