Hate speech on Ratz. Should we tolerate it?

[devogue]

However, perhaps there are some clear historical precedents that show that hate speech can have an extremely negative impact. For instance, I would argue that Der Sturmer, the Nazi newspaper published between 1923 and 1945, was a prime example of "hate speech". Certain ethnic groups, especially the Jews, were villified week in and week out, As Albert Forster, the gauleiter of Danzig wrote in the 1930s:

With pleasure I say that the Stürmer, more than any other daily or weekly newspaper, has made clear to the people in simple ways the danger of Jewry.

An entire race was negatively stereotyped for years, the end result being catastrophic beyond belief. Was it enough to laugh it off? Was it enough to ignore the propaganda, to ridicule it, to sweep it under the carpet of one's sensibilities? Clearly not.

Addressing the part I've bolded, regarding laughing it off and ignoring the propaganda: Did this happen at all, and if it did, how many did so and for how long? What other factors were in play to coerce people into accepting the propaganda and eventually acting on it?

I don't have time at the moment to find primary sources, but I am pretty sure that many ordinary Germans viewed the Nazis anti-semitism with distaste and disgust. Many of them did not subscribe to Der Sturmer and its views, but the best that most could do was ignore it and hope it would all go away.

[Don't Panic]

I can merely shake my head in disbelief that such a law could exist in a civilized western country.

It gets worse... we have a "religious harassment" law here too.

We have you beat, we have a blasphemy law.

[charlou]

I can merely shake my head in disbelief that such a law could exist in a civilized western country.

It gets worse... we have a "religious harassment" law here too.

We have you beat, we have a blasphemy law.

We have internet filters being touted as a wholesome plan :I-love-pork:

[owtth]

I don't have time at the moment to find primary sources, but I am pretty sure that many ordinary Germans viewed the Nazis anti-semitism with distaste and disgust. Many of them did not subscribe to Der Sturmer and its views, but the best that most could do was ignore it and hope it would all go away.

Not so much ignore it as go along with the flow, perhaps from fear of persecution, thereby facilitating the whole debacle, only a small percentage of the Germans were Nazis but it was enough.

[Lion IRC]

I want the lying politicians, the nazis and the blasphemers and the islamists and the atheists right out in the open where they can be seen and heard.

[Svartalf]

I want the lying politicians, the nazis and the blasphemers and the islamists and the atheists right out in the open where they can be seen and heard.

Yep, so do I, right at the other end of the firing range where I'm practicing with an M2HB and live ammo.

[charlou]

I want the lying politicians, the nazis and the blasphemers and the islamists and the atheists right out in the open where they can be seen and heard.

Blasphemy is a victimless crime.

[Svartalf]

So is statutory rape... it's still quite vigorously prosecuted, even when the minor is testifying for the defence (and no, I don't believe it's Stockhom syndrome either)

[JimC]

Dev's point included mention of a thread title being inflammatory...

Mods can edit thread titles (and of course put a little note saying why...)

So, a future post saying "Evil Jews evict arab farmers" could become "Israeli government evicts arab farmers"

[Trolldor]

It could.

But it shouldn't.

[Don't Panic]

It could.

But it shouldn't.

Yeah, it should become IDF/Mossad/Zionist conspiracy seize Arab land to construct runway for UFOs.

[Santa_Claus]

Not entirely sure what hate speech is?

But I do have some seriously f#cked up political views if anyone wants to hear them

Even I wouldn't want to live in a world run by people like me...........

[RuleBritannia]

Dev's point included mention of a thread title being inflammatory...

Mods can edit thread titles (and of course put a little note saying why...)

So, a future post saying "Evil Jews evict arab farmers" could become "Israeli government evicts arab farmers"

Mods shouldn't be changing any thread titles. The OP of the thread needs to realise that (although we shouldn't) everyone will judge a book by its cover, and a thread titled "Evil Jews evict arab farmers" will instantly turn off many people even if the evidence for such an act is valid.

[FBM]

Not entirely sure what hate speech is?

But I do have some seriously f#cked up political views if anyone wants to hear them

Even I wouldn't want to live in a world run by people like me...........

I'd love to live in a world run by people like me. However, I know that 99.99...% of the rest of the world would hate it.

Stolen from XC, who stole it from Wiki:

Under the Law of the United Kingdom, "incitement to racial hatred" was established as an offence by the provisions of §§ 17-29 of the Public Order Act 1986. It was first established as a criminal offence in the Race Relations Act 1976. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 made publication of material that incited racial hatred an arrestable offence.
This offence refers to:

deliberately provoking hatred of a racial group
distributing racist material to the public
making inflammatory public speeches
creating racist websites on the Internet
inciting inflammatory rumours about an individual or an ethnic group, for the purpose of spreading racial discontent.
Holocaust denial is not covered under this legislation, but laws against incitement to hatred against religions were later established under the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incitement ... ial_hatred

[mistermack]

While it's right to make illegal the incitement of race-hate, it's easy to fall into the trap of feeling guilty over it.
Race hate is a perfectly normal human characteristic, we all inherit the tendency, and it made us what we are. Our ancestors were extremely territorial, hated their neighbours ( except the odd young sexy ones ), and used to kill and eat them.
The "nicer" ones, that we aspire to be like, got killed and eaten many thousands of years ago by our race-hating ancestors, who's genes we carry.

When I was a kid, we naturally formed into gangs, and I can remember being very scared of kids from two or three streets away, if I was on my own. You have to remember we are still stone age savages, genetically.

I'm personally not in the least ashamed when a racist thought pops into my head. I simply smile and ignore it, knowing where it comes from.
.