German Police Arrest man with "Hitlermobil"

[Safe-Keeper]

Originally Posted by Snestorm

I'm quite sure that what he had to say was unpopular with many people.

One must stop, think, and remmember, that free speech is not written into constitutions to protect popular speech, which needs no such protection.

It would seem that tyranical government has never left Germany.
It just switched to the opposite extreme.
Meaning this german government is no better than that which they condem.

When Free Speech is killed, Free Thinking is the next target.

While this of course is an extreme statement, it does have a very good point. A long time ago, I, too, posted on a forum about how Nazis shouldn't be allowed to demonstrate, or speak their mind. As part of the ensuing discussion, someone pointed out to me that I was proposing basically the same model of freedom of speech that was in use in Nazi Germany: you can say whatever you please, with no restrictions, censorship, or fear of punishment... except from things that do not go along with the party line. In 2010 in Germany, every statement is allowed, except from statements that further a policy that goes against that of the strongly anti-Nazi government.

The punishments differ, sure, no one loses their heads, or faces firing squads, or mysteriously vanish for saying the Holocaust didn't take place. But facing up to three years of jail (more than you get for rape in many places) is still a very harsh sentence, and when it comes down to it, the sentiment -- that our cause is so all-important, so "sacred", that we simply cannot allow anyone to speak up against it, is the same.