Freedom of Speech (did I miss something?)

[FireIceTalon]

Is "hate" speech any different than anti-government speech, another form of hate

Anti-government speech is not the same thing as hate speech. They aren't even in the same ballpark. The differences should be blatantly obvious to any person who has even a sliver of functional grey matter upstairs.

Of course it isn't, however that was not the actual question. The TV and internet are on absolute fire over this to a degree I haven't seen since 9/11 occurred. There was swift action then which gave birth to what is now Homeland Security. What kind of language do you think would be in an anti-hate speech bill exactly? You want to say it's [hate speech] about putting down a specific sect of individuals based on their skin color, age, race, sexual orientation, etc., fine, however there are so many gray areas and matters of perspective between those lines, it's pretty much guaranteed to be an abused one way or the other, not to mention completely violates our freedom of speech. I can't wait to see Carrot Top or Kathy Griffin arrested mid-skit for saying inflammatory remarks <sarcasm>.

But to flip the coin on it's head here, as I said to Archon_Wing, the police are also culpable suspects in this meltdown whom reacted entirely too late for reasons only they will ever know. However, I'd like to point out here that they are in fact an entity of their own. If a law passed to protect against hate speech, do you honestly think the police wouldn't be included? You constantly hear people verbally bashing the police with such eloquent expressions as, "fuck you piggy," and other much more colorful phrases. Think long and hard about who new censorship laws would actually protect, and what would be lost in the process. Do you really think new rules would be restricted to lawful assembly of people? Groups [someone personally] deems as offending one of the protected classes? Or would it just be a blanket law?

I'm curious to see how this all plays out.

Ever seen cops join sides with protesters (peaceful or otherwise)? Yea, me neither.

Cops are bastards and already have way too much protection and power as it is now. They get called "pigs"? So what. Many if not most cops deserve much worse. They are a largely corrupt and racist organization hell bent on oppressing working class people (especially POC) any opportunity they get. They get called "pigs" and other names because of the atrocities and human rights violations they commit against minorities and poor people every single day.

The abuses of the police are so obvious and external that it might seem like they're the exception - but they aren't the exception - they are indeed the rule. In the US, cops are often given quotas that they must reach, like X amount of stops and searches per week or whatever. Often they are given incentives if they are successful in finding illegal substances through these stops and searches so it leads to a culture within the police of not giving a shit whether or not they are being assholes since they just have to reach their quotas. They're also not trained to try and diffuse situations but rather to escalate at the first opportunity which is why you have so many police shootings that seem so ridiculous.

Cops are not the victims. They are sociopathic predators and terrorists; and protectors of private property and ruling class interests.

As for censorship laws, well, I don't really concern myself too much with bourgeois law, since well....the quote in my signature sums it up nicely. As I've said in the past, free speech is a rather meaningless concept for a multitude of reasons - firstly, because speech has causation. You cannot say just whatever you want, and there isn't going to be consequences. Secondly, most of the time these days, its used as a shield used by various hate groups to give themselves a platform and safe space to express their hateful, violent, and deplorable views. White nationalists and fascists should NEVER be allowed a platform of any sort, under any circumstances. Whether their speech is protected by law or not is entirely irrelevant - if you go around saying how much you hate women, minorities, and poor people - expect consequences.