But they "massively disrupted society's cohesiveness" with their music.

He he.

Yeah... but it'd still be nice to lock up most of the people putting out the crap that come over my radio.

Better yet... the record execs who shill it...

In the US, RL, I'd agree, but it will be a hundred years or so before Germany will be allowed the luxury of ignoring Neo-Nazism in the name of free speech.

At least they are using due process, something the Nazi's were not known for doing.

I don't think they are afraid of another Nazi movement starting up. I think they are afraid, and rightly so, of appearing tolerant of racial hatred. Tolerance is often mistaken as tacit approval, and that sort of endorsement is condemning to all of Germany that would like to see the whole Nazi thing fade away.

fishrockcarving: good point. I never thought of it like that.

This is far too thoughtful a discussion for Fark.

Did Britney show her boobs again yet today?

I like boobs.

Oh and Sweden has a similar law. I've never heard of anyone receiving more than a fine for hate speech though; I always figured it was more of a way to show such people that society does not condone or agree with their behavior.

Boobs are fun! Hate ain't!

Why do I get the impression that it's just a matter of time before this happens in the United States?

What else would you expect from a country where
David Hasselhoff is a pop star?

So much for democratic ideals such as "freedom of speech."

Leave it to Germany to use Nazi methods to supress free speech.

Uhh................ya?

i like the Kinks.

feh, as long as it doesnt effect me and my precious copy of Deus Ex Invisible war, and the stock of canned chilli, american cheese and Tostitos, give em the chair for all I care right now.

~this outlandish comment was brought to you by 4 days of not showering talking to other humans or seeing daylight because of Xbox.

now back to your regularly scheduled farking.

I don't know. Neo-nazis are assholes and I could care less about what happens to them. On the other hand, though, you've got that whole "free speech" thing.

And yet the lyricists of The Ketchup Song and La Vida Loca remain free. Selective enforcement, if you ask me...

isn't this a repeat?

I don't think this is amusing at all. More like scary. Yep, scary would have be the proper tag.
I don't give a shiat if it's Gandhi, Goebbels or Galileo, free speech should be a no questions asked right in a democratic society. Social engineering thought controls sucks.

But since it doesn't involve Bush/Ashcroft, noone gives a rats arse.

Call me weird, but while I didn't feel all that safer with Saddam in custody, I do feel safer knowing this asshat is going to prison.

So there.

Soooooo- the answer to ideologies you find scary is to:

A. EXPLICITLY refute them, and rob them of their power to convince, or;

B. Lock up anyone who utters forbidden thought, and pretend that fixes the problem.

Hmmmm. Gee, which one d'you suppose would actually have a chance of reaching those people at risk of romanticising Neo-naziism?

Britney showed her boobs???!!!!
Where's the link?

Knockers?

pugsleythegreat

It took you 4 days to finish Deus Ex: Invisible War? It's a 5 hour game!

Unfortunately there are people who cannot think for themselves and the government has to step in and keep them from listening to these asshats. If there were fewer morons that would take song lyrics seriously, this would be a non-issue.

/Still looking for boobies.

peat says- "hey..didnt we see this yesterday?"
repeat says- "indeed we did"

//britney showed her boobs?????

This didn't occur in Chciago or Muncie but in Berlin. They are on probation for a few more decades yet.

I might point out that, AFAIK, no country in the world has true Free Speech. Certainly not the US.

If you don't believe me, go to a public place and start talking loudly about how nice it would be to kill the president.

No, that isn't different. Just a slight matter of degree.

Read Peter Wyden's The Hitler Virus if you don't think Germany's closer to a return to Nazism than anyone's willing to admit.

There will always be those who look at nations like Israel and think "See? You gave the Jews some power and they're doing exactly what the Fhrer said they would, they're just doing it to the Arabs."

Nazism's part of the zeitgeist; if the German government has to employ some dirty tactics against that segment of its population in order to maintain international legitimacy and convince the other EU countries they're not trying to start World War III (and Wyden's book illustrates that the Euro countries' deeds since reunification betray that fear), then that's just the price of freedom for those people who are not Nazi adherents.

Hey sexy mama, wanna kill all humans?

What? I was just trying to hook up with a girl.

Weaver95 - It does seem to have a striking resembelence to this article:

http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/96/383/11655_neonazi.html

And this thread:

http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=770473

Im still working on it... so shhh madskillz, its not a 5 hour game man, it's friggin long! I been playing for a days now and no sign of an end in sight.

where's da butts?

InternetSecurityGuard - I thought it sounded familiar.

I think I read that Canada has a similar law.

There is a big problem with racial tension around here. I live about twenty miles from the former center of the kkk movement in Elwood,IN. There are still problems to this day. A prime example is on the city newspaper's front page.

http://www.thestarpress.com/articles/9/011702-4789-001.html

/sorry, I have no html skills.

"Unfortunately there are people who cannot think for themselves and the government has to step in and keep them from listening to these asshats."

Um. Uh. Wow.

I am absolutely dumbfounded.

Would you similarly approve of, say, a Government prosecution of bands who sing songs extolling the greatness and wonder of Stalinism?

He was a vicious, murderous totalitarian, too. And there are plenty of dissaffected youth who believe he was doing the right thing.......

Damn!

Handleman Co was negotiating with Landsen for a private performance in their Troy, MI headquarters in exchange for end-caps on the aisles in WAL-Mart, K-Mart and Target.

ZAZ: yes, Canada has a law making a crime to incite hatred against an "identifiable group". You can spew hate, but you can't single people out on the basis of race, ethnic group etc. I guess that would take all the fun out of it for those so inclined.

Unfortunately, Britney, et al have nothing to worry about, much less worry about surrender. This was in Deutchland, so it's appfels und oranges, if you'll pardon the pun. They, (the German Gov.), have to prosecute these bastards... they're nazi's! I farking hate nazis. Sadistic, criminal farks...

There are certain things that deserve more attention than others. I think fishrockcarving said it best. Germany has a real problem with the whole nazi theme and are trying to keep order in their country. I would liken this to shouting "fire" in a theater, there are some freedoms of speech that are not good for society.

Wow, this really tugs my tinfoil hat in two directions.

On one hand, I vigorously defend all free speech, ESPECIALLY the speech of the minority that the majority wishes to censor. I fully support the right of KKK and Neonazis to organize, rally, etc... (even though I'd be one of the first they kill)

On the other hand, there must be some government safeguards in place to stop their protected speech from actually convinving the majority of a democratic population that murder and mass genocide of a particular ethnic group is okay (which is what happened in the Balkins)...

Nothing scares me more than a majority that wishes to infringe upon the rights of a minority... but what do you do if the minority wishes to be the majority and their platform is that once they're in power, they'll set up a totalitarian government...

I hate Illinois Nazis.

C-Nut said:
Unfortunately, Britney, et al have nothing to worry about, much less worry about surrender. This was in Deutchland, so it's appfels und oranges, if you'll pardon the pun. They, (the German Gov.), have to prosecute these bastards... they're nazi's! I farking hate nazis. Sadistic, criminal farks...

What about those Nazis who haven't commited any crimes? They're suddenly criminals for their beliefs alone?

Free speech is a precious thing. As soon as the government decides what you can and can't say based on the message you're trying to convey its no longer a god given right. Its a privelege.

Yet Creed and Nickleback remain free........where is the justice?

Eminem's in the same boat right now with his "...I'd rather see the president dead" lyrics. And rightly so IMHO.

Freedom (including freedom of expression) comes with the price tag of social responsibility. If the people don't act responsibly with their freedoms, history has repeatedly shown that those in power will take those freedoms away. This has gone on since the Romans. Heck, way before that even. I'm sure the t-rex's pulled rank on any tricerotop metal bands that got out of line - right around suppertime.

/just my $0.02