by hotspur 22 Replies latest watchtower scandals
That never answered the actual question.
Is it acceptable to remove the fundamental freedoms of speech as embodied in the American 1st amendment, if that removal means that the Witnesses will be prevented from preaching or discussing ex-members?
Teary has gotten the impression from several here that they believe in the affirmative.
Cases like this concern me. I would rather see the law error on the side of free speech rather than against it. However, I think an argument can be made that posting your desire to see people die is something that should be prohibited to prevent acts of hatred against groups or individuals. I'm just concerned that there could be a gradual erosion of free speech rights that limits valid criticism, especially of religions.
If laws like this are enforced, I think it's critical that it also applies to religious groups themselves and not just critics of religions. Therefore, I think it's justified to prosecute the Watchtower Society for it's extreme, hateful comments.
Teary why are you talking about the American constitution? The whole story took place in the UK. There is a whole world beyond your shores, in fact we used to own you guys ;)
Is it acceptable to remove the fundamental freedoms of speech as embodied in the American 1st amendment, if that removal means that the Witnesses will be prevented from preaching or discussing ex-members?
In my opinion, no. You will find that opinion here will vary (since we are all individuals with the privelege of free thought) but I would wager most would agree with me.
However, the Scottish justice system wouldn't have much interest in the 1st amendment.
Double post.
Wait... Why would he go to prison for that? Am I missing something important? It does seem like a political statement more than anything.
@Teary: No.
Birrell posted: "Hope they (Celtic fans) all die. Simple. Catholic scumbags ha ha." ... On 4 March, the day after the game, he wrote: "Proud to hate Fenian tattie farmers. Simple ha ha. ...Four days later Birrell posted: "They're all ploughing the fields the dirty scumbags."
Nothing political about that rant.
Yeah... But that is extremely mild compared to the stuff I see every day. I was hoping that someone could elaborate a little on the historical/social context I'm missing here. It referenced it briefly in the article, but I thought that the religious violence was limited to Ireland mainly.
Or is it just a case of "American's say things every day that people in the UK would be put in prison for?"
And I was referring to the judges verdict as a political statement, not the anti-Catholic sentiment.
Catholic v Protestant hatred and bigotry is a feature of life in west-central Scotland. It is focussed on the two top teams in Scottish football Celtic (Catholic) and Rangers (Protestant)
Online forums have traditionally been full of vitriol from both sides and at matches crowds sing disgusting sectarian songs. Last year a bomb was sent to the home of Celtic manager Neil Lennon. Scotland decided enough was enough and new laws were passed giving the courts more authority to punish offenders.
Has it gone too far? Possibly but if you grew up in the area as I did you would hve no sympathy for ignorant little bigots .
I can't see any reference to politics at all in the report
"Political statement" in the sense that the punishment was ill-suited for the crime but instead done to deter others... Which is manipulative, but whatever.
Thanks for the background. Makes much more sense now.
