freedom of speech

[T H mjd]

i apoligise if this has been mentioned :(


"ppl" jabber on about freedom of speech but yet we dont get any, in schools if u go to an "un educated" school they dont let you speak your mind they just expect u to shut up and take it, well in the past few days i have been expressing my " freedom of speech" and not many ppl agreed with it.
we have been given the right of freedom of speech but yet "dickheads" as i like to put it, dont allow it.
wat u lot think ?

[Lefty]

I'm content with the level of freedom of speech i have. Since it is constitutionally guaranteed, I just threaten to sue or threaten other legal action if i feel like they are trying to take it away. Nice avatar, by the way.

[Beccie]

In Australia we have freedom of speech to some extent (i.e. we are aloud to protest). When you are dealing with authority, like teachers, I have found you have freedom of speech as long as you say the right thing and you can be punished if you say anything that goes against their point of view.

[Blackberry]

Quote: from Commie01 on 11:05 pm on Jan. 17, 2003
In Australia we have freedom of speech to some extent (i.e. we are aloud to protest).

Only if you get the required permit, which police are always reluctant to give, unless you want a protest that is 'out of the way' so you don't bother anyone.

It's disgusting.

[Beccie]

Quote: from Neutral Nation on 5:25 am on Jan. 18, 2003

Quote: from Commie01 on 11:05 pm on Jan. 17, 2003
In Australia we have freedom of speech to some extent (i.e. we are aloud to protest).

Really? I have been to protests without a permit.
Only if you get the required permit, which police are always reluctant to give, unless you want a protest that is 'out of the way' so you don't bother anyone.

It's disgusting.

I don't think we can even burn the flag (in public) without some kind of permit. I agree with you, it is disgusting.

(Edited by Commie01 at 6:11 am on Jan. 18, 2003)

[Doshka]

its better then what we have here in jordan...we're not allowed any protests or even pettitions without the kings personal permission and if we go ahead and do it anyway they send in the police and break us up..if we dont break up they start taking people to jail for weeks...i slept in a cell for three weeks and once for two weeks...and whats even mre digusting about it for one thing they are peaceful riots and second most of them are for palestine or something...palestine borders jordan and about 85% of the population is palestinian..i mean what are they expecting from us? here life is all about knowing the right people...if you know a minister or if u are related to the king or something you can do whatever you want...the corruption is terrible..then they go and critisise te corruption of communist countrys...its retarded

[mentalbunny]

When I went to private school I signed away my rights to wear the clothes I want and to say the things I want (to some extent). For some reason we are paying for our education so the school doesn't have to practice free speech and things can easily be censored, if your clothes are in breach of the rules you are told to change them, friends of mine have had chains, dog collars and fish nets confiscated. If someone is paying surely we have more right to do what we want if anything, but certainly not less?!! However no one has stopped me from wearing my hammer and sickle yet...

HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bored of Education]

Quote: from Commie01 on 6:05 pm on Jan. 17, 2003
When you are dealing with authority, like teachers, I have found you have freedom of speech as long as you say the right thing and you can be punished if you say anything that goes against their point of view.

Exactly. Recently I've been expressing my point of view towards my US History teacher or some other classes where it's appropriate. Well, they didn't like it too much. It's not like I'm very rebellious with my point of view, it's just that it's not what they want to hear. So I have to be humiliated and criticized because they're close-minded fuckfaces.

So much for "Freedom of Speech."

[Lefty]

Uh, don't ***** about "freedom of speech" and why you aren't getting enough of it because people are intolerant. You are guaranteed freedom to say what you want, but you are not exempt from the troubles it may bring you.


Those who wish for social change must first undergo the trouble of fighting for it
-Thomas Paine

[mentalbunny]

Lefty, easy for you to say, I have rules against what I do!!! I could possibly be kicked out and I'm paying thier fucking wages!!! Although when i start talking politics it's usually my friends (so-called) who tell me to shut up.

[Lefty]

Indeed. I didn't know that they actually had rules against saying what you want. And about the clothing...honestly, I look the same as everyone else, and I still get ostracized. I'm sure you'll get over not being able to wear "Hot Topic" clothes, complete with bondage straps and spikes.

[chamo]

Don't fret about that. In all of the UK nearly all schools have compulsory uniform regulations, and you're not allowed to let anything hang loose, figuratively speaking. It creates an atmosphere of equality because people would be judged on what they wear if it were casual shit.

[man in the red suit]

Quote: from T H mjd on 3:14 pm on Jan. 17, 2003
i apoligise if this has been mentioned :(


"ppl" jabber on about freedom of speech but yet we dont get any, in schools if u go to an "un educated" school they dont let you speak your mind they just expect u to shut up and take it, well in the past few days i have been expressing my " freedom of speech" and not many ppl agreed with it.
we have been given the right of freedom of speech but yet "dickheads" as i like to put it, dont allow it.
wat u lot think ?


you have freedom of speech but that does not exempt you from the consequences that will result from it. So nobody agrees with you, so what? try again. Nobody is putting you in a gulag because you're sympathizing commies. get over it!

[Beccie]

man in the red suit:

You make a good point but do we really have freedom of speech? People claim that we have freedom of speech but when somebody says something that goes against their opinion they get punished. I fail to see the freedom. Sure people will disagree with what another person says but that person should not have to suffer the consequences of having a differing opinion, if they do then it is not really freedom of speech.

[mentalbunny]

lefty and happyguy this is not about lesson time this is about my own time. But we are resticted because members of the public might complain if we are walking around canterbury cathedral in stuff they may not like. Ok, fine you get offended, sorry mr tourist but I live here for over half the year, I would like to be able to wear my clothes thank you, if it's all the same to you.

[Lefty]

i see. I dont mean to be an asshole, but it is my personal opinion that people that need to try hard to be different by trying to look different aren't really all that different. ("Posers")

[bombeverything]

Quote: from mentalbunny on 9:00 pm on Jan. 20, 2003
lefty and happyguy this is not about lesson time this is about my own time. But we are resticted because members of the public might complain if we are walking around canterbury cathedral in stuff they may not like. Ok, fine you get offended, sorry mr tourist but I live here for over half the year, I would like to be able to wear my clothes thank you, if it's all the same to you.


You should be able to wear what you want [and they say we live in a democracy].

However I understand what leftie is saying. I have seen so many people who believe they are 'different' or 'better' because of the way they dress. It is simply another exclusive group. I used to be that way. I thought I was such an individual because I dressed differently. What I realised is that I was exactly the same as the people I hated [who have now turned out to be my friends]. I was a snob. People always say that clothes mean nothing "oh don't judge me because I am different", then they go on to judge someone else because they dress like a "trendy" or a "teenybopper". Pleeeeeease. It is the same thing. Clothes are clothes. Nothing more. Express your individuality with your personality not your clothes.

[Nickademus]

i have a few things to say on this topic.

first of all many of you have gotten far out of the bounds of freedom of speach. freedom of speach, true, includes the ability to say whatever you want, which includes the way in which you say it. but the right to protest in the sense of large scale, people gathering together to speak together is actually the freedom of assembly. (just a wee technicality).

anyway, freedom of speech doesn't truly exist anywhere. but do we truely want freedom of speech? are you ok with the idea of nazis being able to sing white supremisist songs at a jewish convention cause they have the right to say whatever they want? should a government official be able to call african americans niggers because s/he wants to be derogatory in that sense? if you truly believe in freedom of speech you have to disagree with the entire political correctness concept, otherwise you are hypocritical.

and how do our human rights exist completely? inadvertantly, me exercising one of my rights will automatically infringe someone else's right. is that ok? generally we would all agree that it is not. generally most people believe it is ok to limit some peoples rights as little as possible, in order to protect other people's rights. thus i don't believe that people truely want freedom in its truest and most complete form (but perhaps that's just me).

anyway, i've been in university for 7 years now (i've been in school every year for the last 20 years --how depressing is that?) and i've come to realize exactly how limited you are in your speach in school. but once in a while you find an excellent teacher/professor who will let you express your true thoughts. its those profs/teachers who you have to embrace and cling too. its hard i know. unfortunately that's the way it is, but we can work towards changing that.

and with regrds to school uniforms. (please don't take this to mean that i'm for the concept of school uniforms).. i know many who have gone to schools with school uniforms and they were still able to express themselves. and in most north american cases, the purpose of the uniform is to avoid students being hurt for their possessions (i realize there is more too it as well, but hat is a large factor).

and yes for anyone who cares.....i'm back

[T H mjd]

Quote: from Lefty on 3:25 am on Jan. 21, 2003
i see. I dont mean to be an asshole, but it is my personal opinion that people that need to try hard to be different by trying to look different aren't really all that different. ("Posers")


true, every one wants to be differnt so were all the same

[mentalbunny]

Ok, can i clarify this? I don't want to be different, I want to be ME! There is a difference (not ment to be a pun!), if I am different then i'm different, but that isn't my goal. I like wearing black, i find it very comforting but the school doesn't really like it. fortunately i've never been told i couldn't wear my clothes but others have and i am scared that one day they will stop me "looking like a goth" as they might put it. I do not dress like this to stand out, i dress the way i dress because i like it and because it makes me feel a bit better in some strange irraitonal way.

[bombeverything]

Fair enough. I still dress weird [the same as I used to] because I like the clothes. However I now know I am not an individual simply because I dress a certain way. I am not a big fan of snob-goths. I wasn't having a go at you in particular; I was just making a point.