Did you know that Norway, Sweden, and Denmark all have laws against hate speech, harassment, and discriminatory expressions targeting protected groups. For instance, Norwegian law prohibits public statements that threaten or insult someone, or promote hatred based on factors like ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. At the same time they consistently top indices like the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom index. I’m not saying that your comment is threatening or anything, but it doesn’t seem very important to me to protect the right of someone to use a crude derogatory like “tankie” (a word with parallels to terms like “pinko” and “judeo Bolshevik”).
In reality, the pervasiveness of derogatories like that limit free speech. Of course, this goes the same for calling everyone one disagrees with a lib or fascist as well.
Thank you, that’s true but doesn’t catch the nuance of my argument. It doesn’t need to be hate speech to have a chilling effect on public debate. Name-calling instead of actual political discourse, for instance.
I’ve been called many things but liberal or fascist are seldom among them. I do observe comrades who use those terms very lightly and in uncomeradely fashion though.
Did you know that Norway, Sweden, and Denmark all have laws against hate speech, harassment, and discriminatory expressions targeting protected groups. For instance, Norwegian law prohibits public statements that threaten or insult someone, or promote hatred based on factors like ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. At the same time they consistently top indices like the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom index. I’m not saying that your comment is threatening or anything, but it doesn’t seem very important to me to protect the right of someone to use a crude derogatory like “tankie” (a word with parallels to terms like “pinko” and “judeo Bolshevik”).
In reality, the pervasiveness of derogatories like that limit free speech. Of course, this goes the same for calling everyone one disagrees with a lib or fascist as well.
Permitting hate speech limits free speech by making the space unsafe for marginalized voices.
What are you saying that causes people to call you a liberal or a fascist?
Thank you, that’s true but doesn’t catch the nuance of my argument. It doesn’t need to be hate speech to have a chilling effect on public debate. Name-calling instead of actual political discourse, for instance.
I’ve been called many things but liberal or fascist are seldom among them. I do observe comrades who use those terms very lightly and in uncomeradely fashion though.