Quote:It is effectively unlawful as there is an understanding that any serious attempts to promote holocaust denial will prompt certain interest groups to haul them off to the High Court for 18c violations.
Crap. 18c specifically protects 'serious' attempts. The government has no place telling us what opinions we are allowed to have and express about historical events or historical figures. What (I hope) Brandis means is that anyone stupid enough to push that barrow is inevitably going to get themselves into trouble for hate speech. Either that or he is simply wrong.
One of the most effective attacks people could make on the Jewish community is that they have successfully outlawed opinions about historical events. In contrast with the Muslim community, the Jewish community is smart enough to see that as a problem - not just because it paints them as sinister puppet-masters, but because they value freedom of speech itself. The Muslim community on the other hand cannot even comprehend the problem, because they see the situation through the lens of an alien set of values.
Quote:Why because I hold a view that you cannot even demonstrate is "on the wrong side" as far as mainstream Australian opinion is concerned? We can go round and round on this all day FD.
Because you keep running away. You refuse to say what it is. You offer us platitudes about holding hands with mainstream Australia. You offer us excuses and justifications for your views. You offer us everything except what your views actually are. You are not that different from Abu after all.
Quote:Here's a hint - exactly the same thing can be said about the non-muslim community.
Crap. The 18c debate was framed as a freedom of speech issue. The Muhamed video debate was framed as a freedom of speech issue - including by Barak Obama. Non-Muslims utter the words freedom of speech whenever it becomes necessary, and often when it isn't. Muslims, including leaders of the Australian Muslim community remain devoutly silent on the issue of freedom of speech in the face of egregious and effective attacks on freedom of speech by Muslims.
Annie Anthrax wrote on Oct 5
th, 2014 at 6:40am:
Brian Ross wrote on Oct 5
th, 2014 at 1:04am:
Question Soren, what is the thread about? Religion and free speech? I have shown a clear, recent case where a Christian church attempted to impose its religious views on the issue of freedom of speech. Why do you find that so hard to accept that it happened and what it's implicatins are in the context of the claims made about Islam and the issue of freedom of speech?
Why not simply declare that this thread, like all the rest are really intended to be a hatchet job on Muslims and their religion? Then you can cook up as much preposity to go with your bombasity and we can all give up and leave you to it!
Well said, Brian.
Annie, do you not think this thread is about freedom of speech? Even you acknowledged that Muslims have been effective in scaring people into self censorship, and that this is a bad thing. Isn't it a bit of spineless victimhood-mongering to then turn around and insist people only raise the issue as a hatchet job against Muslims?