
justinian
It does really suck that bigots are allowed to march out in public, but it is worth it to keep a robust 1st Amendment. European countries (many significantly more left-leaning than the US) are arresting pro-Gaza protestors under “hate speech laws”My problem is that laws only matter if they are enforced, and are enforced well. Words are words until they are put into action, theory that does not lead into actual practice is just intellectual play. Liberal democracy has many flaws, one of which is protecting minorities while also protecting individual rights since these are not distinctly separate spheres. I do not like the framing of modern political discourse on “hate speech” and expression
Not really. I bet you are a capitalist and a nationalist, believe in “free enterprise and competition” and you don’t want King George back. Your ideology is a lie, born from French and British liberalism that has been laundered as conservatism by big business interests in the 1980s and further bastardized with Epstein backed psyops to make you fear blue hair dye.
If the state attempts to define opposition to Israel as antisemitism, then it can be used against people who aren’t actually antisemitic. Simply claim that anti-Zionism (namely the phrase “from the river to the sea”) is incitement of hatred. Though frankly I think the UK is a better example of police crackdowns on Gaza protesters than Germany.
I think people can use “from the river to the sea” in an expulsionary context which is bad or in a context referring to “dismantle the Jewish supremacist government so everyone can live there peacefully.” *I* don’t use the term because the meaning can be unclear, but it’s not up for the government to make that decision. And in the reverse, why is it okay to support the destruction of Palestine by supporting the Israeli government?
You seem to not care about prejudice when it is against Palestinians. And “from the river to the sea” is not an inherently antisemitic phrase any more than “Amandla awethu” or “black power” or “Mayibuye iAfrika” are anti-white. They can be used in a bigoted way but that doesn’t define them.