Which points out that even Germany’s “hate speech” laws don’t stop that type of movement either. Because that’s not a problem solved by one magical legal bullet.
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Any time my European colleagues are horrified about some hateful thing that was said in the USA, I always respond the same way. We can't legislate away the racism, the sexism, or the antisemitism itself, so I'd rather let such people be open about it so we know who they are.
sep 12, 2025, 12:13 am • 3 0 • view
It's about harm reduction, and sometimes driving them underground makes them feel self-justified and it makes them more dangerous. It also helps ensure the REALLY stupid ones who are up to something genuinely illegal can be open, stupid, and probably get caught before anyone gets hurt.
sep 12, 2025, 12:13 am • 3 0 • view
But they’re not getting “caught” they’re rising to power. That’s what platforming the MAGA movement and treating positions of intolerance as valid as any other has brought us. Consequences for the rest of us, not them.
sep 12, 2025, 9:08 am • 0 0 • view
You’re missing the point. You pointed to the German speech laws as somegitbt that they can do but we can’t. Which means you think these laws should be used here. But those laws are not stopping the A(D. And in a democracy, you cannot shut down speech or movements just because you find …
sep 12, 2025, 9:11 am • 2 0 • view
Correction: "as something that they ..." not the gibberish I wrote
sep 12, 2025, 12:24 pm • 1 0 • view
offensive. We did that and it led to McCarthyism and it was used to shut down marginalized groups. There is no magic silver bullet to these problems.
sep 12, 2025, 9:13 am • 3 0 • view
I agree 100% with your take on the problem, I just don't see a good solution. Europe has all sorts of hate speech regulation. Look at how that's worked out. They STILL have MAGA-like movements like the BNP that morphed Reform and is getting uglier by the day.
sep 12, 2025, 12:55 pm • 2 0 • view
How are the hate speech laws being used in practice? They're banning groups for pro-Palestine marches and protests. They aren't banning the violence itself, they're banning words, phrases, and slogans as hate speech.
sep 12, 2025, 12:55 pm • 4 0 • view
Then, of course, we have weird shit like this. They literally prosecuted a guy for a hate crime for filming his dog doing a hitler salute. www.bbc.com/news/uk-scot...
sep 12, 2025, 12:55 pm • 2 0 • view
I have no idea if this guy is an actual racist or merely a huge idiot, but this is what happens when grant politicians the power to regulate speech and thought. They sometimes use it in good faith, but politicians are people. They will also abuse it.
sep 12, 2025, 12:55 pm • 2 0 • view
Over in Germany, we have AfD. They can't use certain words, so they do this sort of thing, and it's getting worse.
sep 12, 2025, 12:55 pm • 1 0 • view
You should see their parades. No swastikas, but you otherwise know what it is. I stumbled across a protest in central Munich over a Muslim community center supposedly being built in the ancient town hall, and holy %*$#. I'll see if I can find the pictures. It was basically calling for explusion.
sep 12, 2025, 12:55 pm • 3 0 • view
Focusing on the speech itself is mistaking a symptom for the cause. Forbidden talking about an idea doesn't make it go away. The people are still there. It's not like a perfectly innocent kid encounters a racist sign and suddenly becomes racist.
sep 12, 2025, 12:55 pm • 1 0 • view
So gross, I’m leaving Munich today, been here for two weeks. Thankfully didn’t see anything like that. Lovely trip. Same everywhere, people feel rising costs, desperation and misinformation encourage something new. AFD isn’t it, intolerance never built a damn thing, never solved a single issue.
sep 13, 2025, 5:08 am • 0 0 • view
AfD is a good example of why I don't trust governments when people are involved. Aliens from another star might be different, but not people. AfD started out reasonable. They just didn't want to see a homogeneous Europe. I can understand that. Each country has its own culture.
sep 13, 2025, 2:06 pm • 0 0 • view
We loved life in Munich. We moved back to the USA because the grandparents were here and getting older. We might move back someday.
sep 13, 2025, 1:55 pm • 1 0 • view