(Updated – see bottom)
No, this is not another post about the cartoons and the violence that followed. Instead, I’ll present three unrelated cases of what I consider extremities of Freedom of Speech – going to far, or none. 
1.) Right-wing British historian David Irving was sentenced to three years in prison Monday after admitting to an Austrian court that he denied the Holocaust — a crime in the country where Hitler was born. He is 67 years old, was arrested last year for a speech he made in 1989 in Austria. The Holocaust is a historical fact, a disaster in human history, and source of long-lasting shame and guilt especially in Germany and Austria. That said, it was a speech, and should be dealt with accordingly: ignore the old fool, or challenge him at any public forum. But nobody should go to prison for years for simply expressing their views, however stupid and insensitive they are.
2.) Forget the old fool, look at these cute girls … aren’t they adorable? So innocent-looking. Who would believe they are Prussian Blue, a white-supremacist band performing all around the US, and publishing their CD’s full of hate-lyrics like this:
“Soon will come a great war, A bloody, but holy day. And after that purging, Our people will be free… And the forests will echo our grace, For the brand new dawn of our Race.”
“Aryan man awake, How much more will you take, Turn that fear to hate, Aryan man awake.”
“Let the cities burn, let the streets run red, if you ain’t white you’ll be dead.”
Quotes from the “Nazi Olsen Twins” (as they are often referred to) : “Men like Adolf Hitler and Rudolph Hess are heroes to our cause…Adolf Hitler was a great man who was only trying to preserve his own race in his own country.”
The girls can freely perform and call for violent acts all in the name of Freedom of Speech.
3.) Just how far does our Freedom of Speech go? The Rolling Stones were censored during their halftime performance at the Super Bowl XL in Detroit. TV censors deemed two lyrics too sexually explicit to be broadcast and they were cut from the three-song show. During “Start Me Up,” the racy last line about a woman so hot, “you make a dead man come,” was silenced. A whole generation grew up listening to the Stones. Hundreds of millions have heard Start Me Up, including the censored line… they were not about to say anything new. Let me say this again: in the same country where the neo-nazi hateful trash can be performed, the Rolling Stones get censored.
Something’s wrong, terribly wrong here.
Update (2/20): Related posts:
- On Freedom of Speech and Fundamentals
- Is there a double standard on “thought crime?”
- IRVING’S SENTENCE
- British Holocaust Denier Gets Three Years Jail Sentence
- Europeans Fake Their Stand On Principle
- Man gets three years in prison for being a moron
- Deny the Holocaust and Go To Jail
- Is this really what a free society does?
- David Irving
- Mick Was Stiffed
- The Watcher watches the Grammys
- Rolling Stones Deny That They Agreed to Censorship of Super Bowl Halftime Songs
- The Stones Play It Rich in China
Update (2/21): A really thoughtful article about Mohammed Cartoon Madness and Understanding. Freedom of Speech is a right that should not be abused. Some things can not be regulated by law, but should be subject to self-control, common wisdom, decency, respect for others. Duncans comment below made me realize I didn’t express myself clearly: self-control, respect .. etc are subjective, and I did not mean those to be enforced by some outside authority, but the persons exercising their rigth to Free Speech.
Tags: Freedom of Speech, Holocaust, Prussian Blue, Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, Censorship, White Supremacism, Racism, Hate, hate crime, neo-nazi, aryan, cartoons, decency
Zoli
I know where you are coming from, but the updated comment worries me, because responsible freedom of speech is subjective. Sure, we shouldn’t allow people to promote criminality and what not but the Mohammed cartoons were commentary on a religion, they weren’t illegal.
“self-control, common wisdom, decency, respect for others” are all subjective as well. We’re not big on guns for example in Australia and the promotion of guns etc.. would be considered deeply offensive here, and yet in the states the VP shots people…again, subjective notions.
Duncan, I agree with you: “commentary on a religion, they weren’t illegal.” In fact that was my whole point, as well as – I think – the point in the article I referred to: there is room for subjective judgement in the area that’s clearly legal, and it’s up to one’s personal judgement. Clearly, the caricatures are in this “grey area”. I would not have published them, because I am sensitive to other people’s feelings, religion ..etc. But once they were out, they may have been poor judgement of the publisher, but no goverment could ban / stop them, since they had their right to Freedom of Speech.
The old fool denying the Holocaust: tasteless, a shame, considering the millions who died, but it was just a stupid lecture, my common sense would dictate it should not be a crime – yet it is per Austrian law.
I am all for Freedom of Speech, and am naive enough that most people are decent enough not to abuse it. I would be happy to see some restriction though: I would draw a line at actively calllig for violent, criminal action – which is clearly what Prussian Blue does. I would not lose any sleep over them being “banned”.
As for the VP shooting .. don’t get me started… I have zero respect for people who take pleasure in shooting animals.. there you go, now I am angering all hunters out there:-)
Here’s something especially for you:
http://www.current.tv/video/?id=1689949&WT.mc_id=NewsletterSupernews
Duncan, pls. see my correction in the original post. Thanks.
“That said, it was a speech, and should be dealt with accordingly: ignore the old fool, or challenge him at any public forum. But nobody should go to prison for years for simply expressing their views, however stupid and insensitive they are.”
I think that there are two points here: 1.) That freedom of speech always has limitations, and 2.) The context within which David Irving gave his speech.
1.) Your quote above refers to the fact that it was ‘just a speech’, (I guess this is along the lines that sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.) Unfortunately a line has to be drawn. A good example would be the furore over the Danish cartoons. My view point, along with many others, is that for the cartoons, whilst crass to the extreme, it was right that freedom of speech allowed for them to be legally published in countries which could handle them without an extreme reaction. On the other hand, the Muslims protesting in London saying that the cartoonists should have their throats cut etc. should be punished for such remarks (even if this is just a police caution.)
I don’t think that this is a racist ‘one rule for us, one rule for them’ approach. It is just a case of drawing the line between the expression of offensive views and the incitement to violence where this incitement might be acted upon. This ‘line’ must be drawn in…..
2.) Context. David Irving had expressed his views previously in the UK and whilst most people would have found them objectionable, he wasn’t charged with any offence. Going to Austria less than 45 years after the atrocities of the concentration camps and giving a speech to a right wing rally is a different matter. The ‘context’ is that the Austrians have seen this kind of thing before, perhaps more close up than the rest of the world. Hitler started by giving such Nazi speeches. These views snowballed to the Nuremberg rallies (“just a speech?”) and eventually manifested themselves in the Halocaust itself.
Again, the context for Prussian Blue (and all the other ‘White Power’ bands) is a bit different, but it still comes down to ‘drawing a line’. Prussian Blue may be touring in the US, but the view from the authorities is probably that banning such poisonous speech would be overall be more damaging than any rascism it stirs up, because this would be limited in scale. I guess Prussian Blue will not be touring in Austria any time soon however as the experience of the authorities there is that their society may NOT be able to resist the incitement to rascism quite so well.
By way of analogy, it’s one thing to drop a match in a puddle but a different matter to put it in a powder keg.
More Than Disturbing
The video below was not shot in some hidden terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, but in the state of Oklahoma, USA. All the weapons shown are available for purchase from the sponsoring vendor.
Should the embedded video not work, here…
Battle of the Bulge, Round 2.
The first Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II, in December-January of 1944. It was also the largest land battle the United States Army has fought to date. T…
with reference to the prussian blue crap,
I am an extremely proud white (TRUE AMERICAN)man who happens to be quite educated and well off. My family were among the first from England to settle America. My country means everything to me, so forgive me for my rather strong opinion on this issue. i incidentaly happen to be a proud north-easterner. Listen up carefully all you scumtastic nazi-loving fascist hate-mongering “rebels.” We, and when i say we, i am referring to northerners, allowed you national traitors to fucking live after the great cival war. My great great grandfather personally cut down and sent to hell a veritable truckload of you bastards. Be grateful that you werent all rounded up and drowned in the damn ocean. Through years of struggle, war, and national conference we as American citizens have galvanized and made virtually permanent the values that regulate our society. Values like capitalism, christianity, freedome, liberty, and yes tolerance for our kind, many many of which dont happen to be white, Americans come in many races. Our national strength comes from our unity and adherance to our core values, not from the mindless divisive ignorance pawned off as pride by the likes of your kind. Damn, i kind of wish that a war would break out again, because it just might be time to purge all of you anti-american cockroaches out of our beautiful homeland. This is tha land of Washington, Lincoln, Luther King, Kennedy, and many more. This is not the land of Hitler, Mousillini, or any other sub-human force of medeocraty and national decline. I prey all your days come quickly so that my christian god will judge you good and proper
I like their Music, and you spelled Mussolini wrong genius, you dont like it tough your an Eunch in a Muslim Whorehouse.
Anonymous Hate Commenter
I’ve received a rather disturbing comment to a previous post of mine. It’s such a “marvelous masterpiece” that I decided to repost it in its full glory… be warned, the anonymous (!) commenter uses strong hate language.Re: Our…
Free Speech Costs $100
A nurse in Athens, Georgia was pulled over on her way home by a local police officer, who disliked that her bumper sticker “I’m Tired Of All The BUSHIT.” The officer considered it lewd, and gave her a $100 ticket for violating a state …
Be careful of what you say you can go to jail for it. Is what the SJPD and the Justice department have said.
Such as, “Stick um Up” to a bank teller.