@Peter Perry
If you, Peter Perry, extend the "right to speak their mind" in public forums to all groups who are pro-"repugnant-practice" (e.g. rapists, child abusers, bombers, torturers, fire-bugs etc.) then all you and I have is a philosophical/political dispute.
I believe that if anyone wants to promote criminal violence of any sort then they should do so at the risk of legal sanction - that this has to be a civil societies response to the incitement of terror. There are plenty of people in the world who believe that trucks-full-of-fertilizer or planes-full-of-people should be steered into buildings. Just as there are people who believe that woman dressed a certain way are encouraging sexual assault or rape.
Obviously you cannot prevent fruitcakes from expressing themselves in private or in forums over which you have no control. What you can do is say "No, we don't endorse that **** here - the right to freedom-from-fear trumps the right to freedom-of-expression; if you want to say that stuff then say it somewhere else".
I am aware of the slippery-slope argument, and it worries me that I could be wrong on some level - but it seems to me that to publish is to endorse - unless perhaps you publish anything and everything, and who does that?
Discussion on:
Message 8 of 1
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
