General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Do you support laws against Holocaust denial? [View all]branford
(4,462 posts)I'm Jewish and lost a significant part of my family in the Holocaust. However, I do not want some government official, elected or otherwise, from determining what anyone should say or publish.
Many on DU should also realize that much of our current First Amendment free speech jurisprudence was advanced by liberal and progressive groups like the ACLU, often to protect the rights and interests of those on the far left, such as communists and socialists. The same freedoms that protect the garbage spewed by the likes of Nazis and the Westboro Baptist Church also protect the liberties of those on the left with whom many here sympathize. If exceptions in American law were carved out for Holocaust denial, it would be a very, very short slippery slope before controversial left-wing speech was criminalized. Besides, I would rather know exactly who's espousing such hate and what they're saying in order to properly counter it.
I would also note that despite the criminalization of Holocaust denial and other forms of purported "hate speech" in most of western Europe, the far right still thrives, and many neo-Nazis and other violence-supporting bigots have even been elected to national parliaments and the European Parliament. Conservative Republicans are downright cuddly and open-minded compared to substantial number of these elected European leaders. Despite America's very liberal attitude toward such "hate speech" and activity, it would be inconceivable for anyone like these truly far-right Europeans to hold major elected office or be given a large platform by any private enterprise, including the media, in the United States.
It's enough to make one wonder whether Europeans are actually far more hateful than Americans (See, e.g., WWII and the Holocaust), but it's now simply moved underground, or their repressive speech laws actually encourage contrarian and rebellious views.