freedom to protest is a civil right, probably the most important (either that or right to bear arms) If they want to protest french people because the ihop got their french toast soggy that is there right.

there is a fine line to walk, agreed... but who decides where that line is?

Yeah and lets ban politics from the pulpit... oh and national TV airwaves too. Also lets stop them from expressing offensive political opinions in public. I mean... fuck cant I just live my life without being offended for 1 hour?

If its a "private" cemetery and a private funeral they obviously cant be there if they arent allowed. You have freedom of speech, not freedom from speech. If you are willing to ban some speech today you better be prepared to ban lots of speech tommorrow. Lets start with banning Democrats from speaking publicly, They offend me.

When DM decides what is right or wrong (facts be damned) theres no refuting him. Get to know this.

If what they were doing was illegal they wouldnt be allowed to protest 200 yards away. Most "protests" are designated specific spots.

Where there is clear harm and no clear objective, purpose, or goal.

Let's get one thing straight; the Westboro assholes have no intention of converting anyone. They profess as much. They do these things to be hated, to get attention, and to hurt the family and friends there to mourn their loved ones. They are not trying to make any political points to effect any change; all they are trying to do is to disrupt and mar the funerals of innocent people.


This slippery slope argument is funny first because you seem to think that any perceived impairment of free speech will escalate into more and more, despite the fact that several forms of speech are already prohibited. Secondly, because you seem to think that extensive and unfair censorship of free speech has never taken place in this country. In truth, actually free speech is a phenomena we have yet to witness.

i watched a couple thing on youtube and they seemed like yokle fucking WV rednecks. no purpose, no direction, just blind hate, which is cool if its for the right reasons, but not for the boys that go to work everyday doing what you and i would be appaled at. their job is hazardous, and painful, why dont they protest dead cops and fireman and call them queer? why dont they protest the rebuilding of the twin towers? because its easier to target indivisual soldiers and call them fags because they spent their lives on this country. may as well spit or throw a bag of blood and call them baby killers, but from the behavior i witnessed on youtube (conducted by a minister) they are mislead, violent boys, and women or girls directed by some guy who's either a fag or his wife cheated on him. nothing new.

to clarify, a christian minister was interviewing a westbero guy and his attitude was of a drunken barmate who had been "cockblocked" to discribe it correctly. he just seemed angry. maybe that wasnt the case, but its what i thought.

Censorship breeds censorship. One law breeds multiple laws and all new criminals.

Therefore we should repeal all public nudity or disturbance laws, as they violate someone's right to express themselves freely. Likewise, someone shouldn't be held legally accountable just because they demanded sex from a subordinate at work, followed someone around, calling them and threatening to kill them, or they revealed classified government documents that caused the death of multiple American agents in high-risk positions. After all, clearly if someone's right to express themselves is violated in any small way, it will explode into a nightmare gestapo scenario overnight where every essential liberty is stripped from us and urinated on. I mean, that's what happens when you're not allowed to run up to a group of pre-schoolers and show them your penis, right?

I like to express myself by shooting a thick, sticky wad of man gravy into the drinks of 4 year old boys as they sit at McDonalds. Its performance art. And its protected speech.


At least try to see where DM is coming from. I'm pretty on the fence with this argument because i believe we should be as absolutely free as possible. But he's right, this seriously borders on harrassment and disturbing the peace.

I think DMs view on censorship does not take into consideration the definition of censorship. All men are free to do what they will unless what they will causes another harm. You can defend people from harm but you cannot defend people from thier own paltry sensibilities.
If they want to scream obscenities at a funeral they are causing harm. They are causing undue mental duress to others and as such should be stopped, not censored, stopped.

But if you were stop them from doing so under all circumstances due to thier one outburst at a funeral you are censoring them. If they wish to scream obscenities in thier backyards you better turn up your music

DM just likes to turn everything I say into a nice fuckfest of slanted opinion and sexual innuendo. I really think he is gay

I'm not sure what the fuck you even just said, but it sounds a lot like you're at the back peddling stage in this conversation.

Stopping someone from expressing themselves is called censorship. Don't try to pull out the No-True-Scotsman routine on this. You can't stop them from screaming obscenities and curses at funeral-goers, which you now admit is harassment, and pretend it's not censorship because it is. Censorship can't just be "any violations of free speech I don't agree with" or it really does become impossible to legally define and control, and then we are fucked.

In the case of the Westboro Church assholes, they have demonstrated a willingness to repeatedly harass and harm people at funerals with no justifiable provocation or agenda. Their purpose is only to hurt. Barring them from attending future funerals to protest is perfectly fair and legal, the same way former pedophiles aren't allowed to manage daycare centers. Even if they claim to be reformed (which the Westboro people haven't), you don't try to thrust people back into a situation where they'll be tempted to relapse.

Only an australian could flirt with a fag hating extremist.

God Bless Australia.

Meh fuck you.

You know what I meant but you still want to twist and turn things into a you are better than everybody scenario.... I just keep hoping you will stop replying to my posts so I can stop replying to yours

Oh. And you are gay.

I think you want Billys' big thick diK'tionary!!

All in jest.... just laugh it off my friend... laugh it off....

That was brilliant.