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The Forum > General Discussion > Is freedom of speech being denied

Is freedom of speech being denied

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Dear runner,

When you refer to other people's views as "perverted"
it doesn't speak well of your own or of the "freedom
of speech" that you're supposedly supporting.
Posted by Foxy, Saturday, 21 April 2018 3:49:05 PM
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I note we are descending into the subject of homosexuality rather than the right to hold an opinion about. Does a person have a right to have an opinion on say Mariana or alcohol and its effects to the human brain when the majority of the population hold it is normal to use. If you happen to offend a user you must be silenced because you are expressing hate. Foxy, You are way off the mark with this comment, "However, this is not about religious beliefs. This is about stopping people from having the same rights as the rest of us. The right to marry, and so forth. It's about inclusion - and being treated the same as anyone else." This is not about the homosexual marriage debate, but is it right for 40% on religious grounds to hold a different opinion and the right to express it. According to you they have no right to hold such a view or the right to express it. According to you there is only one view allowed in this Marxist totalitarian State and it is yours. All other views are hate.
Posted by Josephus, Saturday, 21 April 2018 4:19:49 PM
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Dear Josephus,

Defence of free speech should not only be for those we
agree with.

Of course Israel Folau is entitled to his religiously
influenced views. However even Anglican ministers have
stated that he should have paused before posting on
such a public forum. The responsibility that attaches to
freedom of speech is the responsibility not to use one's
words or one's position to hurt others. Folau as a role
model and national sporting star should have thought
better than air a view like he did on a public stage
like social media. He was in a position to reach a wide
audience and his speech would carry more moral weight
than an ordinary person in the community. He has to ce
careful not to abuse his responsibility with the freedoms
he's given.

Folau chose to put the word "hell" into capital letters, which
is widely interpreted as the online equivalent of yelling.
Words can as we know hurt and hurt badly.

Yassmin Abdel Magied's comments on Anzac Day caused a great
stir. She probably now would know better. Hopefully Mr Folau
will learn the same lesson.
Posted by Foxy, Saturday, 21 April 2018 4:45:35 PM
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That’s a terrible analogy, Josephus.

<<Does a person have a right to have an opinion on say Mariana or alcohol and its effects to the human brain when the majority of the population hold it is normal to use.>>

I don’t know who this Mariana is (sounds like a bit of a hussy, if you ask me), but alcohol is demonstrably bad for you, and people who drink it have a choice about whether they drink it, and those who find it difficult to stop drinking it have a problem - and one that is treatable at that.

The question of whether a conscious choice is normal, I think, comes a distant second to inherent traits that cannot be helped and that one did not choose.

<<If you happen to offend a user you must be silenced because you are expressing hate.>>

Here, you highlight yet another difference. People tend not to hate people who drink alcohol - at least not collectively as a society as they have done so where gays and blacks were concerned. Some prefer not to be around drinkers, but there has never been any systemic discrimination of drinkers (at least not that I’m aware of), and drinker-bashing was never a favorite pastime of the older generations when they were young, back in the good ol' days when people actually had respect for others. (Hang on a sec...)

On no level is expressing disapproval of those who consume alcohol (or this random woman of whom you speak, Mari-what's-her-face) analogous to demonising people for traits they cannot help, whether that be sexuality or skin colour or what have you.
Posted by AJ Philips, Saturday, 21 April 2018 5:03:42 PM
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Foxy, So homosexuals, rapists, thieves and atheists can clearly state there is NO HELL, but you cannot post there is a Hell for unrepentant sinners. So only one view can be posted. So you cannot express a personal view of what you hold as sin. That denies the right of those that believe sinful behaviour has eternal consequences to express it. Atheists should not be concerned as they do not believe in life after death, or ones life has eternal consequences; but they are the most zealous to deny others their right of difference.

AJ, Does Folau demonstrate violence or abuse exclusively toward homosexuals in his game or on the street, which you seen to imply is criteria of hate? Can you say he hates homosexuals in his sport? If you know his views you would see all persons are going to hell because they are sinners unless they repent of their sins.
Posted by Josephus, Saturday, 21 April 2018 5:29:28 PM
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Foxy,

I believe that the person being lambasted for airing his views would know much more about true Christianity than "Anglican ministers" (priests, actually) or most other practitioners of the established church. It is the established church that has sold out in their attempts to be relevant to people who actually hold them in contempt.
Posted by ttbn, Saturday, 21 April 2018 5:36:55 PM
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