Quote:
Originally Posted by jinnzaman
I'm not aware if the US is a signatory to any UN law that bans hate speech.
Courts in the US would probably never issue an injunction against newspapers for printing caricatures like the Danish cartoons unless there was an overriding governmental interest on the level of a national security interest (such as releasing classified information). The cartoons are artistic expressions and a court would caution itself from restricting speech that, albeit hateful, is necessary to the public discourse. If the speeches called upon Muslims to be executed or raped, then it would transgress that boundary and fall into the category of inciteful speech and could thus be regulated.
The legal system should be the last resort for our community, we should exhaust alternative remedies. If these cartoons are calling the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) a terrorist, then instead of banning that speech and antagonizing people and coming off as a bunch of fascists who hate freedom and criticism, we should just organize events that high light his true personality.
You don't fight fire with fire, you fight fire with water.
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Is there any law saying you can't 'harass' people with it though? Say the cartoon people were eccentric billionaires who spared no expense posting the pictures at every turn, so that they couldn't be ignored.
Part of the reason I'm not against the cartoonist's right to draw those pictures is that they weren't at every turn, if people wanted to ignore them they could do so.