Quote:
Originally Posted by POed-poster
Fred Phelps has the freedom to go to the funerals of recently killed US servicemen with picket signs telling their families that their loved ones are rotting in Hell because God hates homosexuals and is judging the USA for allowing gays in the military. I doubt that you can say anything more despicable and yet we allow them the freedom to be fucking morons. But spreading false and misleading stereotypes about a groups of people for the purpose of causing hate should not be protected. Free speech would be something like 'I believe that all gays are perverts.' You would cross the line if you said something like 'All fags deserve to die and it is your duty to kill them', if that speech directly leads to violence.
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Which is precisely why anti-vilification laws are a good thing. We have implied freedom of speech in the Australian constitution, but we as a society also understand that it's not a thing to be abused. So while I can say quite freely all Mormons are fruitcakes, I can't use speech that is likely to cause those people harm.
It all comes down to tolerance.