I can go along with that, but then we already have laws that say that while you are free to write or say anything you like, you can still be held responsible for your actions. If you advise people to treat their diabetes by taping electromagnets to their waist, you can be held responsible for the inevitable outcome of that action. (this one's a true story in fact; a man in the early 70s was charged and convicted for murder for doing just that... and then selling people the belts) If you spread lies about someone that are injurious to them, you can be sued for libel or slander. (depending on if it's written or spoken)

In all cases though, it's never justifiable that people who have done these heinous acts should be silenced. Even a newspaper convicted of libel can still put out the next day's issue... (tabloids wouldn't exist otherwise) and the man who is convicted of incitement to riot is still free to stand on the corner the day after release from jail and legally protest his own conviction.

Words are just words. They hold no power in and of themselves... only the power we chose to give them. (a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt comes to mind here) I personally believe that fascists and totalitarian communists are terrible human beings, caring nothing for the human misery their 'ideas' have spread over the last century, but I would be the last person to say that they should be silenced. On the contrary, I say let 'em yammer! It exposes them for who they are and inevitably showcases the real motivations behind their ideologies. (typically self aggrandization through acquisition of power or money for themselves)

The power to silence others, if it exists in a society, will inevitably lead to tyranny. It can't help but do so as long as flawed human beings are the ones making the decisions as to what speech or written words are 'allowed'. Inevitably unscrupulous people will get that power and use it to silence their ideological adversaries... and thus begin the downward spiral toward barbarism.

I'm terrified of such power, since we here at BCTS are such a small minority that we could all too easily end up on on someone's 'blacklist'. As it is, many public internet access portals like hospitals and such block access here, likely on the grounds of it being 'indecent' from someone's point of view. That is their choice since they're paying for the access links... but it showcases just how vulnerable places like this are to being silenced should the power to do so come to those in positions of authority in our society. Our voices are small and all too easily shouted down, as they have been for centuries. Would we even know what we are if there existed the power to silence us? It was the unfettered free speech of the internet that finally freed most of us from our prisons of self-loathing. How many of us might not even be here were it not for places like BCTS that gave voice to our perspectives and told us we weren't alone in the world?

Beware any who would silence their enemies. We are all someone's enemy.

Hugs,
Roberta