humanity disgraced in worlds largest democracy India

No it should be illegal. Its a violent crime.

 

Violence is violence. I meant the act of having racist thoughts, or of being a racist.

Where did you get your definition from?

 

If you, after debating here, think for a while that this law there is in place by mistake or by misunderstanding the word, then you should take it up with the authorities. It's not an easy task for any one citizen, nor is it possible unless your legal system provides with avenues to challenge laws.

 

Racism and violence are two separate issues.

I cannot see any moral justification for making racism illegal -- that falls under the category of thought control. Send me to prison for thinking Asians are good at math.

On the other hand, if I hit someone on the head with a 2x4, it should be illegal -- whether I did it for racism or for theft or if I thought his brains would look pretty on the pavement.

 

How can being racist be jailable? Let me put in simple words for you two:

Having Racist thoughts - Okay (you may be frowned upon but its not illegal)
Being Racist as in not wanting to employ someone because they are black or of color - Okay (makes you a horrible person but still legal)
Using Racist slurs publicly - Not Okay and jailable (Use of profanity is just as violent as use of physical force)

Over here we are specifically talking about usage of racial slurs which IS violent.

 

In most places I believe it IS illegal to use racist slurs publicly.

Racism may not be illegal, but inciting racial hatred is a crime - and I believe that covers abusing someone with racial slurs publicly.

(I'm not getting involved in the discussion, I just stuck my head in here and thought I'd point that out in case it hadn't been already.)

 

With the US, inciting racial hatred by itself is not a crime. Like for example, the Stormfront forum where all the KKK type of people like to discuss stuff is based in the US. They can hate as much as they want, it's more when they incite actual violence that they could get into trouble. I actually heard racist slurs publicly, just today, but that's not illegal in and of itself either.

 

I'm with you so far...

OK, still with you...

Ehh... not with you any longer. As we learned in kindergarten "Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

As Thomas Jefferson said, "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." I might not like it when someone calls me a Potato, but it is not "just as violent as use of physical force", in fact, it is something that a mature civilized person will simply sluff off.

If you start controlling what people say, you inevitably end up living in a totalitarian hellhole. Progress requires the free and open exchange of ideas. You simply cannot squash ideas that some people may not like and expect the system to keep working.

 

actually words hurt the most. it breaks one's soul. broken bones can still be mended but broken souls are seldom mended.

glad i skipped school.

 

Here, have a moist towelette.

Now, quit being a wussy boy.

 

Your theory could very well be true in countries with 100% literacy rates and where people have access to the media and the internet (not the kind of net access in China). In other places, people get easily swayed by propaganda. Therefore, it is essential to control some information, especially disinformation.

 

Can you dare to take such photos, or pictures and publish. Indians are democrats and that's why such harmful and worst things are also brought to light, so that they could be tackled with heavy hand.

 

I mean can the writer publish such photos in pakistan? World know well how and what is Pakistan.

 

There are stupid people everywhere who fall for propaganda. Obama didn't elect himself.

The problem is that when to decide to control the flow of information, you have to give that power to someone. Centralizing that sort of power always leads to people making decisions in their own best interests. A small town mayor in New Jersey recently shut down a web site that was critical of him. This small town used to be the home of Thomas Paine -- one of the most important figures in American free speech. But people... they never learn. Give them a bit of power and watch them screw it up.

In practice, the best system is for individual information consumers to decide what is information and what is disinformation. It's not a perfect system, but it's better than the alternatives.

 

That's legal in Canada!? We have "anti-discriminatory employment" laws here. I read once how a self-employed hairdresser wanted to recruit new staff. A Muslim woman applied and was interviewed by the hairdresser. She chose to give the position to someone else and gave no indication as to why any other applicant wasn't hired - you don't have to, right? You just, "didn't get the job" - so the Muslim woman sued the hairdresser because she said it was because she was a Muslim. She won the lawsuit and the hairdresser was almost bankrupted by the compensation she had to give!

It's just as inane as the successful lawsuit by the criminal who injured himself on a knife, that was left out in a house he broke into.

 

so what do you suggest. get a gun and go on a killing sphere. quite common in US particularly among kids and my country too has witnessed such despite tough arms control.

 

Exactly. That just shows the gun control doesn't work. Notice how school shootings only happen in schools that are "gun free zones". Turkey shooting comes to mind.

 

Man up! Temper tantrums are for little kids.

 

BRUm

You need to come out of the straight jacket conditioning you appear to have got in your country. If something is defined as bad by law even when it's not, it's time for you to dump it. Paki isn't any bad word, not racist and definitely not derogatory.

Monkey is a racist term in Australia but not in DP.

 

Got the point. But what about so called "state secrets". Do you think the Official Secrets Act and similar legislation should be disposed off? (It would be great... we'd get to know some real wacky stories I think...though intelligence might be screwed)