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| Source:Chomsky's Philosophy- MIT Professor Noam Chomsky talking about free speech in America. |
“Noam Chomsky – Should Neo-Nazis Be Allowed Free Speech?”
From Chomsky's Philosophy
Noam Chomsky is a self-described Socialist and Libertarian-Socialist, no one’s moderate or right-winger, making the perfect argument for why even Neo-Nazis and others on the Far-Right in America, deserve free speech rights simply for being American citizens. Even if they’re the worst Americans citizens that we have in America.
Professor Chomsky arguing both for practical as well as principal reasons why even Neo-Nazis have free rights in America.
The practical reason being that Neo-Nazis could claim that their First Amendment rights are being trampled on an violated if some government authority passed some censorship law banning free speech in their jurisdiction or if the Federal Government attempted to do that and than enforced that law on Neo-Nazis and other Far-Right hate groups. These hate groups could no only claim that, but they would be right.
The right to free speech in America, just doesn’t protect free speech, but it protects speech. Including speech that offends the oversensitive so-called politically correct (really Far-Left) in America. Or speech that offends the Christian-Right in America. Certain forms of entertainment that offends the Christian-Right’s moral and religious values.
The First Amendment-
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right or the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The Supreme Court has made only three exceptions to this.
Inciting violence like yelling fire and calling for a panic in a large crowded public place.
Falsely libeling people and libeling people with no real base or evidence to back up what you’re accusing the person of.
And harassment. You can name call people and call them bad names, but once the person moves away from you and makes it clear they don’t want to even hear from you, let alone talk to you, but you insist and follow the person around simply to harass them, you could face legal consequences for that if the person presses charges against you, as well as civil charges.
Simply using language that is offensive and even hatful, as well as false against people you hate short of calling for violence against that individual or people, is protected by the First Amendment in the United States.
We’re all equal citizens in America all having the same constitutional rights and deserve to have those rights equally enforced and protected. From the best of us who work everyday to make America a better country for everyone and who volunteer for people who are disadvantaged and even donate their time and money to people who aren’t doing well. To hateful assholes who look down on people simply because they have a different complexion and are of a different racial and ethnic background as the people who hate them.
As Noam Chomsky said the way to deal with Neo-Nazis and other hate groups, is to win the argument. Shouldn’t be that difficult to do for anyone with even average intelligence. Most Americans or at least a large majority of us, don’t hate people or feel superior to other people, simply because they have a different race or ethnicity.
If Neo-Nazis want to claim that Africans are animals and not humans and therefor not deserving of the same rights as Europeans, well we all know that Africans are human beings.
If the Neo-Nazis want to deny the Jewish Holocaust and genocide in Europe, show people the footage and literature that proves how false those claims are. Simply just show Americans who are young and perhaps don’t know any better how stupid these hate groups are simply by showing people what these groups have claimed and people will know how stupid they are.
