We are asked to keep an eye on this British blog, because the author has been threatened with arrest for possibly violating Britain’s “incitement of religious and racial hatred” laws. Folks, if things keep going as they are, it could happen right here in the US.
Personally, I think a law banning “religious and racial hatred”, while no doubt well-intentioned, is an extremely bad idea, and unnecessary. We already have laws against committing physical crimes against people and property, and when they’re properly enforced, that should be enough. Even freedom of speech, one of our most sacred tenets, has limits set on it (falsely yelling “fire” in a crowded theater is the example always brought up, but it means not inciting violence against people because of religion, race, etc.). But freedom of speech also means freedom of thought, and if you want to be a religious bigot or a racist asshole in the privacy of your head, that’s your right, no matter how little I might think of you for it. Enforcing laws against hatred is the same as enforcing laws against freedom of thought, the very step needed to create a totalitarian society.
Unfortunately, Britain appears to be already far down that road, with Canada not far behind. We in the US (and with the help of the Anglosphere) should be vigilant and militant, to make sure that doesn’t happen here.
(h/t Instapundit and The Gates of Vienna).
The Tizona Group 
January 4, 2008, 2:47 pm at 2:47 pm
Ummm, Rebecca, you go girl. Happy you are on my damn side, I’ll tell ya’.
January 4, 2008, 4:15 pm at 4:15 pm
[…] Tizona’s Weblog: 1984 Anyone? […]
January 4, 2008, 4:44 pm at 4:44 pm
Whenever I hear someone use the “clear and present danger” argument to try to limit free speech, a section of a decision by Justice Louis Bradeis that I memorised in high school comes back to me. Bear with me here; it’s long, and you’ve most likely heard it if you’re a Yank and went to school (especially in one of the freedom-loving states) but it bears repeating. Often.
“Those who won our independence … valued liberty both as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty. They believed that freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth; that without free speech and assembly discussion would be futile; that with them, discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious doctrine; that the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people; that public discussion is a political duty; and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government.
“They recognized the risks to which all human institutions are subject. But they knew that order cannot be secured merely through fear of punishment for its infraction; that it is hazardous to discourage thought, hope and imagination; that fear breeds repression; that repression breeds hate; that hate menaces stable government; that the path of safety lies in the opportunity to discuss freely supposed grievances and proposed remedies; and that the fitting remedy for evil counsels is good ones. […]
“To justify suppression of free speech there must be reasonable ground to fear that serious evil will result if free speech is practiced. There must be reasonable ground to believe that the danger apprehended is imminent. There must be reasonable ground to believe that the evil to be prevented is a serious one. […] ”
“Those who won our independence by revolution were not cowards. They did not fear political change. They did not exalt order at the cost of liberty. To courageous, self-reliant men, with confidence in the power of free and fearless reasoning applied through the processes of popular government, no danger flowing from speech can be deemed clear and present, unless the incidence of the evil apprehended is so imminent that it may befall before there is opportunity for full discussion.
” If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence. Only an emergency can justify repression. Such must be the rule if authority is to be reconciled with freedom.
“Such, in my opinion, is the command of the Constitution. It is therefore always open to Americans to challenge a law abridging free speech and assembly by showing that there was no emergency justifying it.”
January 4, 2008, 4:48 pm at 4:48 pm
Again, sorry I was so long-winded, but please take the time to re-read that next time someone argues that they want to ban certain speech because of a clear and present danger situation. If nothing else, commit this line to memory:
More free speech, not less, is almost always the answer.
January 6, 2008, 8:24 am at 8:24 am
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Good post on this. We can’t stop, WE MUST NOT STOP fighting for Free Speech and Justice! We will fight for Lionheart!
The ‘Bushies’ would never advocate these legal shenanigans but some of the PIAPS people and Dhimmicrats do and would.
This ‘Racial & Religious Hatred Act’ is a load of crap. Hopefully it will be scrapped someday when the lawyers start being pressured to use it against Islam’s obvious and much more virulent hate speech.
This planned arrest is terrible news for Lionheart, Britain and the world.
Probably the Luton Pakistani Muslim Heroin and crack gang (which is also involved with forcing non-Muslim teen girls into sex-slavery) who he has helped expose pressured the dhimmi pigs to arrest him.
Too many in the dhimmidiot government in Britain are pathetic and corrupt.
The EU is showing itself to be very evil in practice as well as most misguided and extremely stupid and ignorant of reality.
This suppression of free speech will actually cause more violence and hatred of course.
This case will also serve to educate the masses even more about the evils of Sharia and the importance of standing up to Islam.
This must be made very public, we should all tell all our friends about this. Spread the word! God bless Lionheart, I believe he will prevail.
The lawyers on the Right MUST be supported to start fighting this BS more.
Both ‘The Left’ and ‘The Right’ should be ticked off about this.
We should tell all the Radio Gods about this. Maybe they’ll rant about it on their shows.
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absurd thought –
God of the Universe says
outlaw most bloggers
license all the rest
monitor their writing
.
absurd thought –
God of the Universe says
eliminate FREE speech
the truth may not be spoken
if criminals are exposed
.
absurd thought –
God of the Universe says
outlaw self-defense
exposing violent crimes
shall be deemed hate speech
.
absurd thought –
God of the Universe loves
corrupt politicians
offer immigrants welfare
get their votes to keep your jobs
.
absurd thought –
God of the Universe says
be traitorous garbage
just destroy your country
screw your great-granddaughter
.
http://lionheartuk.blogspot.com/
http://haltterrorism.com/
http://absurdthoughtsaboutgod.blogspot.com/
🙂
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