Free speech

Your thoughts...does it really exist?
____________

Remember...Always look on the bright side of life.

One can get away with such a thing in quite a lot of countries,
And in others you will be put away for a long time if you try to use it
Or just dissapear permenantly
I dont fancy trying it in Tibet.

The original question was asked by a British citizen. I cannot answer your question for where you live. In the US I can say yes, without a doubt we have free speech. In constitutional law we are taught that free speech is the freedom of expression, you can say anything you want. However, you may still be held responsible for what you said. There can be liability after the fact. For example if you yell "FIRE!!" in a crowed theater you can be held responsible for the injuries that the people suffer trying to escape. There are also types of speech that are not protected, You can say that someone is a lying, cheating, XXX. If it's not true you could be held for the damages you cause the target of your lies. But truth is a defense.
So yes, there is free speech, but like with any freedom, there is responsibility.

Gray, gray... I see only gray.

Yes here in the USA we have free speech, but I rarely post my views in Politics because I fear repercussion. Eric makes his living off of publicly funded grants, especially for his non-seti projects. In the current rabid political climate we have in this country, it would not take much for me to offend some people. This is a very public place. I fear some idiot senator on some powerful committee getting wind of my social, religious or political leanings and somehow being biased against my husband.

I know this sounds silly, but I fear it none the less. Yes I may legally have free speech, but if you want to know what I REALLY think, you will have to get to know me on a more personal level.

We basically have free speech in the UK. I don't know if it still happens but in the 60's it was an education to go to Hyde Park Corner on a Sunday morning and listen to all the people on soapboxes (literally!). If you look in the Politics threads Uk & USA politicians get pretty well hammered on a regular basis, You wouldn't get that in many countries, even in the Western world.

It all depends upon how you want to define free speech. If you publicly preach insurrection against a government you must expect to be asked to stop before a public order offence is committed. Racial abuse and taunts are not acceptable, and if you libel or slander someone you can end up in court.

Any society has rules of basic behaviour, and using profanities left right and centre is generally frowned upon. If you go around calling a spade a spade without regard for anyone elses feelings, one day you'll get a punch on the nose, either verbally or physically!

The posting rules here at Seti are reasonably tight, but they have to be as this is a public forum open to anyone to view, including young children.

Posts must be 'kid friendly': they may not contain content that is obscene, hate-related, sexually explicit or suggestive.
No messages intended to annoy or antagonize other people, or to hijack a thread.
No messages that are deliberately hostile or insulting.
No abusive comments involving race, religion, nationality, gender, class or sexuality.

I think its important to separate freedom of speech from freedom of the press as in my view they are different. DA notices are issued to the Press to request them to not publish something which in the view of the Government would be considered to compromise National Security. They are not legally enforcable, but all Editors voluntarily comply.

These so called super injunctions have been used recently by famous personalities to prevent publication of information which they claim is not in the public interest. In truth they use their wealth to stop embarrassing private details from being made public. They are being curtailed.

Freedom of speech means that I can within reason, stand in the street and say that the Government is incompetent and should be sacked, provided I don't incite civil disobedience. I might be asked to "move along" by a policeman though if a crowd gathered. Try doing that in China!

"Outraging Public Decency" is another matter altogether. It is classed as a lewd act in public, e.g. Nudity or urinating.

The United States is a land of free speech. Nowhere is speech freer - not even here where we sedulously cultivate it even in its most repulsive form. -- Churchill

____________

For those that have never actually read the 1st amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
____________

To illustrate: How many people have called our sitting President illegitimate - the birther controversy?

Can you imagine what would happen to a person saying that about the Queen?

In the USA I can burn the Stars and Stripes in front of the White House.

Can you imagine what would happen if I burned the Union Jack in front of Windsor Castle?


____________

To illustrate: How many people have called our sitting President illegitimate - the birther controversy?

Can you imagine what would happen to a person saying that about the Queen?

In the USA I can burn the Stars and Stripes in front of the White House.

Can you imagine what would happen if I burned the Union Jack in front of Windsor Castle?

As we saw recently over certain "royal nude photos".

The United States Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989), and reaffirmed in U.S. v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990), has ruled that due to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, it is unconstitutional for a government (whether federal, state, or municipality) to prohibit the desecration of a flag, due to its status as "symbolic speech." However, content-neutral restrictions may still be imposed to regulate the time, place, and manner of such expression.