BF2S Forums And That's Why We Should Not Allow Genocide Denyial

UGADawgs wrote:

Bertster7 wrote:

UGADawgs wrote:

While people definitely shouldn't kill someone over views, genocide deniers have the same right to voice their opinion as do regular historians.

People shouldn't have the right to perpetuate disinformation. It's totally unproductive and leads to all sorts of problems.

So should we make every lie a felony and unintentional misinformation a misdemeanor? In a public forum, people have the right to give their opinions, however stupid or wrong they are.

Misleading the public IS a crime. If the government continually states false but major information than that can be called misleading.

UGADawgs wrote:

Spark wrote:

UGADawgs wrote:

So should we make every lie a felony and unintentional misinformation a misdemeanor? In a public forum, people have the right to give their opinions, however stupid or wrong they are.

Misleading the public IS a crime. If the government continually states false but major information than that can be called misleading.

Yeah, but perjury is considered a crime because it's under oath and libel a crime because it can be damaging to a person's reputation. No politician would be idiotic enough to deny the Holocaust, and while Holocaust denial is insulting, it's hardly damaging to anyone's reputation but the denier.

Because of Holocaust denial this guy was killed.  Ignorance leads to violence and crime.

Mongoose wrote:

seriosuly relegion should be banned, fullstop.

QFT

All hatred in this world is caused by religion. Period.

sergeriver wrote:

UGADawgs wrote:

Spark wrote:

Misleading the public IS a crime. If the government continually states false but major information than that can be called misleading.

Yeah, but perjury is considered a crime because it's under oath and libel a crime because it can be damaging to a person's reputation. No politician would be idiotic enough to deny the Holocaust, and while Holocaust denial is insulting, it's hardly damaging to anyone's reputation but the denier.

Because of Holocaust denial this guy was killed.  Ignorance leads to violence and crime.

What are you talking about? This was in Turkey, not Germany. Besides, this is a different scenario because the government itself encourages denial. This guy was previously arrested because he had "insulted Turkishness" or something by condemning the government over the Armenian Genocide.

Bubbalo wrote:

UGADawgs wrote:

No politician would be idiotic enough to deny the Holocaust, and while Holocaust denial is insulting, it's hardly damaging to anyone's reputation but the denier.

Coming from somewhere where Holocaust denial isn't an issue......................

Is Europe so juvenile that actual laws have to be made just so people won't deny the Holocaust? I can't decide if this means that Europe  is okay with tougher restrictions on free speech or that anti-Semites run wild in Europe.

UGADawgs wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

UGADawgs wrote:

Yeah, but perjury is considered a crime because it's under oath and libel a crime because it can be damaging to a person's reputation. No politician would be idiotic enough to deny the Holocaust, and while Holocaust denial is insulting, it's hardly damaging to anyone's reputation but the denier.

Because of Holocaust denial this guy was killed.  Ignorance leads to violence and crime.

What are you talking about? This was in Turkey, not Germany. Besides, this is a different scenario because the government itself encourages denial. This guy was previously arrested because he had "insulted Turkishness" or something by condemning the government over the Armenian Genocide.

I meant the Armenian Genocide, not The Nazi Holocaust, that's clear.  So, is it correct that they killed him because he insulted the morons who deny the Armenian Genocide?

Bubbalo wrote:

Nope.  But Germany and Austria have citizens who refuse to face facts, and so they feel forced to take action to prevent the perpetuation of fallacies.

BTW, Europe is a continent not a country, FYI, and IIRC Holocaust denial is only a crime in Germany and Austria (maybe Poland also?).

In France and several other countries it's also a crime.

Last edited by sergeriver (2007-01-22 03:25:54)

Holocaust denial is a crime in a number of european countries, including germany. This is mainly due to the mark that Nazi Germany has left on collective european history. For those who have not experienced the holocaust and other Nazi atrocities first-hand, this law may seem out-dated or an infringement of freedom of speech, but it is not.
It was designed to help prevent this sort of thing from ever happening again, and it also helps identify those who claim to be scientists, but in truth are Neo-Nazis, intent upon spreading their hatred once again.

It goes together with a series of laws around the subject, which inlcudes the ban of certain Nazi symbols, a ban on the Nazi salute ( "Hitlergruß" ), a ban on Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" ( it can be sold, but only under very specific circumstances, and you are bound to draw attention when you try to order one in a regular bookstore ) and a ban on certain Nazi songs.

Again, this may seem silly to those who live outside of europe, and who have never experienced the horrors of the Nazi regime first-hand, but I can assure you it is very necessary, even today.

I don't know what the "official" world history says about the armenian genocide, so I'd be reluctant to comment, but to kill someone for voicing his opinion is certainly out of line. Given the fact that turkey is intent upon joining the EU sometime, I hope the government goes to the bottom of this.