An indirect way of telling the inmates you swallow? Must have made you quite popular with them.
And... you're back to form.
Donald Sterling is a Democrat
- Thread starter CaptainObvious
- Start date
And... you're back to form.
Ah, so you're in agreement there can be no crime in what people say.
No. We have laws governing speech in certain environments, and to certain persons, governing certain types of speech, like libel, and we have a lot of social norms about what is permissible to say out loud. We have (or had) "fighting words", and so on. Speech has long been less free than we like to think it is. Now it's Sterling's turn to learn this. And it doesn't matter if he thought he was speaking privately, we now know what he really thinks, we know his character.
If you read the Time article, you'd take note that we knew his character a long time ago. No one gave a shit to consider it until the media made a circus about a private man's thoughts made in the privacy of his car and recorded without his knowing. I'm not defending the man, just the ability for a private citizen to say whatever the hell they want whenever they are in private. There is no crime, no matter how you want to bastardize the law.
Thought crime.
Judge: "I sentence you to two years for this crime."
Inmate: "Judge, if I said, 'you're an asshole', what would you do?"
Judge: "I'd find you in contempt and add a year to your sentence."
Inmate: "Ok, what if I thought, 'you're an asshole'?"
Judge: "Then nothing, because thinking is not against the law."
Inmate: "Ok, judge, then I think you're an asshole!"
You boys are confused about what a crime is. A crime is an unlawful act. Speaking out against what another one said is simply the free speech you want the racist to have. He does have that freedom and so do others to speak out against him. What don't you understand about that?
Because a trial has certain rules that must be followed inside the court room, and disruptive behavior is ruled in contempt. It's not the actual words, just the disruptive behavior. That same inmate, once he gets out of jail, can talk about the judge being an asshole all he wants, provided he is not disturbing the peace.
I understand that, which is why I wrote legal and social norms. Technically you're right, his speech is not a crime. Nevertheless he will be punished, so he broke "something", if not the law.
Damn Tao, lighten up man it was a joke. Geez you righties are wound up too tight.